Fossil fuel measure stirs debate at Town Meeting

(Editor’s note: this story was updated on March 28 with a correction in the last paragraph.)

Although the measure passed with only a handful of “no” votes, a first step toward limiting fossil fuels in new construction attracted the most attention and debate out of the 40 warrant articles at the Annual Town Meeting on March 26.

The “yes” vote on Article 31 directs the Select Board to seek a home-rule petition from the state legislature that would (if granted) allow Lincoln to craft a new bylaw that would prohibit using fossil-fuel technology in new or substantially renovated homes. As originally proposed several weeks ago, the warrant article also included some suggested language for that bylaw, but the Green Energy Committee removed that part after pushback from the Select Board.

Any new bylaw will be written from scratch and must be passed by a two-thirds vote at a future Town Meeting. A home-rule request is required to allow that step because towns are not allowed to pass building codes that are more restrictive than the state’s. Brookline, Acton, Arlington, Lexington, and Concord have filed similar home rule petitions but the legislature has not acted on any of them yet. 

Gov. Baker signed a bill last year that aims to fight climate change by making state buildings net-zero in energy use by 2050, and Lincoln has a similar measure with a 2030 deadline for town-owned buildings. “The window to act is closing fast,” said Trish O’Hagen of Mothers out Front.

GEC Chair Paul Shorb noted that, if Lincoln is permitted to write its own bylaw, that bylaw can include exceptions for things like generators, gas fireplaces and other equipment. Wood pellet stoves would also be permitted since wood is not a fossil fuel. “That’ll be sorted out in round 3” after action by residents on Saturday and then the state legislature.

In contrast to the Select Board’s earlier objection, Barbara Low said she would be more comfortable voting yes if the specific bylaw language was discussed ahead of time. “There’s too much unknown to be going to the state for permission to do something,” she said.

Lincoln ultimately didn’t do that “mainly because of urgency” in starting the process now, Shorb said. “We didn’t think of it sooner and we’re sorry.”

Mike Frankston noted that because countries including China and Indonesia are responsible for much of today’s growing greenhouse gas generation, “why would this help in the least? It puts an expensive burden on the people of Lincoln but does nothing measurable to what greenhouse gases do.”

“I’ll turn the question back to you: how will we make any progress if no one takes a first step?” Shorb replied.

“We can blame other countries that are developing, but we should look at ourselves first,” said Alex Chatfield.

Frankston and others at Town Meeting also objected to the “coercive” nature of the proposal. “Why is this not voluntary if so many people want to do this?” he said.

“It’s not fair to depend on volunteers to cure this worldwide problem,” Shorb said. There are already many other requirements and restrictions in place to keep people safe, including drinking-water regulations and seat belt laws, he added.

“This is a one-size-fits-all solution that is short-sighted,” another resident said. “To demonize fossil fuels is really not addressing the problem” when the electric grid has vulnerabilities of its own.

Shorb agreed that the electricity generation and supply system, which itself relies heavily on fossil fuels, also needs to change. “We have to work these paths in parallel; we can’t pursue one and not the other,” he said. 

Although climate change is happening more slowly than sudden emergencies such as a house fire, “We need to deal with it immediately as an emergency… we need to make this as a first step of many others.”

Jackie Lenth described the substantial investment she recently made to improve her older home’s energy efficiency. Prohibiting fossil fuel heating systems for new houses “would be doing a huge favor for people building in the future, since it costs so much to make these changes after the fact,” she said. “If you make changes in the code from the beginning, they don’t have to go through the headache that some of us are going to have to go through if we really want a greener climate.”

Fred Hopengarten tried to submit an amendment to the motion but the question was called before he could submit it. Residents voted to cut off further debate, though Hopengarten protested that he was trying not to interrupt Town Moderator Sarah Cannon Holden. “Am I to be punished for my courtesy?” he asked.