As Boston votes on fossil fuel ban, Worcester is getting its 'ducks in a row'

WORCESTER – With an expected vote Wednesday by the Boston City Council to  potentially ban fossil fuel systems in some buildings, environmental activists in Worcester said they must get their “ducks in a row” before they ask the City Council to support a similar move.

One activist thinks the matter could be brought before the council within a month.

"We expect it's going to be several weeks, maybe a month. That's just me talking," said Paul Popinchalk, a member of 350 Central Mass, a grassroots climate-action organization.

Up to 10 cities and towns in Massachusetts can establish a local ordinance to ban fossil fuels in new construction and major renovation projects.

Archives: Will Worcester try to ban fossil fuels in new construction? City Hall won't say

To accomplish it, each community must submit a home rule petition to state lawmakers for approval. The provision is included in a climate energy bill that Gov. Charlie Baker signed into law last month.

Buildings that house health care and life science operations are exempt from a ban.

Also, a city or town must meet a state law that at least 10% of its housing stock is classified as affordable in order to be eligible to be one of the 10 communities selected.

As of 2020, 13.5% of Worcester’s housing stock qualified as affordable, according to the state Department of Housing and Community Development’s Subsidized Housing Inventory.

No comment

John Odell, the city’s chief sustainability officer, declined to comment on a private meeting he held last week with Popinchalk and other environmental activists on the fossil fuel ban provision in the law.

Odell stated in an email that the general topic will be on Monday’s night’s open meeting agenda of the Green Worcester Advisory Committee.

In the wake of last month's announcement by Boston Mayor Michelle Wu that she wanted her city to be one of the 10 communities to ban fossil fuels, Odell said in a statement that it was too early to comment on the climate bill and how it could affect Worcester.

Ducks in a row

The ducks-in a-row assessment was offered by Popinchalk and David Coyne, a member of an interfaith group called Worcester Congregations for Climate and Environmental Justice.

Both attended last week’s meeting with Odell and said there are many questions around the process to become one of the 10 communities. Clarity is needed before activists ask the City Council to support a home rule petition.

“John gave compelling arguments why we need to develop our strategy,” said Popinchalk. “To educate the public and our groups so they understand the implications of this and address the false narrative that the real estate industry and gas companies are putting out about this initiative.”

Activists also need to get a clear picture of what City Hall leaders and councilors think of a potential ban. If there are objections, Coyne said activists need to understand them so any proposal before the City Council has a strong chance of getting a six-vote majority for success.

"Voting it down does not get us anywhere,” said Coyne.

Others in last week’s meeting with Odell, said Coyne, included representatives from the Worcester Chapter of Mothers Out Front and Jeuji Diamondstone, chairwoman of the environmental and climate justice committee in Worcester’s chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

Time limit

While activists want to make sure they’re careful to present a measure to councilors that has enough votes to pass, time could be a factor because other communities are jockeying for the 10 spots.

District 5 City Councilor Etel Haxhiaj supports Worcester becoming one of the 10 communities, and said it’s up to activists to come to the council and ask it to support a petition.

“(Activists) haven't come yet, but definitely conversations are happening to figure out the best way to go forward,” said Haxhiaj.

If activists make a formal request and it's not tabled, Haxhiaj explained it would go to a council subcommittee for a public hearing. Then back to the full council for a vote.

“I hope so,” Haxhiaj said when asked if there are six votes to support a petition, adding the council needs to keep in mind that it voted last year to support the Green Worcester Plan that calls for the city to become one of the most sustainable and climate-resilient midsized cities in the U.S. by 2050.

“(Councilors) need to look around and see how much climate change is affecting the present and the future,” said Haxhiaj to describe what councilors should consider when and if the time comes to vote on a home rule petition.

No time for speculation

Popinchalk and Coyne declined to speculate if there are at least six votes in their corner, but said there is work to do before the time comes to formally appear before the council.

For Popinchalk, cutting carbon emissions for the benefit of future generations is why he's involved in this effort.

“I’m a grandfather and I worry about the future my grandchildren are growing into,” he said.

As Coyne sees it, activists must do the work to put them in the best spot for success.

“We are exploring this,” said Coyne. “We don’t want to promote something prematurely in a way that city administration feels obligated to oppose it.”

10 submissions

Ten communities have reportedly submitted petitions to the state to be in the mix: Cambridge, Newton, Brookline, Lexington, Arlington, Concord, Lincoln, Acton, Aquinnah and West Tisbury.

If the Boston City Council votes to send a home rule petition to state lawmakers, New England’s largest city could be placed on a waiting list behind the 10 communities that already submitted petitions.

Boston could move into the top 10 if one of the communities drops out or doesn’t meet state regulations that govern the pilot program.

The state Department of Energy Resources has until July 1, 2023, to develop the regulations, a condition in the climate energy law signed by Baker.

That process requires input from cities and towns, the Department of Energy Resources said, and the state agency anticipates it will develop a formal process to implement the regulations.

Implementation will include a schedule of when the Department of Energy Resources intends to accept applications.

Contact Henry Schwan at henry.schwan@telegram.com. Follow him on Twitter @henrytelegram

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Vote in Boston to ban fossil fuels. Worcester needs more time.