The City of Worcester might soon ease stringent climate-focused requirements for new buildings after members of the business community complained about the costs and logistics.
“Worcester is the only community within 30 miles to have adopted the specialized stretch code, putting it at risk of being passed over for development and pushing development to surrounding communities with only the base code in place at times, thereby negating any positive impact of potential climate benefits,” Roberta Brien, executive vice president of the Worcester Business Development Corp., said during the Worcester City Council meeting on Tuesday.
The potential change would come two-and-a-half years after the council passed a specialized stretch code meant to help the City meet its climate goals. During the council meeting Tuesday, the 11 councilors were split on whether to implement a recommended pause in the stretch code.
“For those that try to color this as if we’re getting rid of the specialized stretch code permanently, that’s not true, because we’re not having a vote to opt out,” said Councilor-At-Large Morris Bergman. “What we are doing is pausing, and it makes good sense to pause, and I believe the memo states good reasons to pause.”
City Manager Eric Batista and Worcester Chief Development Officer Peter Dunn recommended pausing enforcement on the code until January 2028. Dunn had drafted a report at a previous request of the council investigating a temporary suspension of enforcement
“Many projects in Worcester have reported an additional six-figure cost in soft costs beyond what they would otherwise incur in order to satisfy compliance with the specialized stretch code,” Dunn’s report reads.
If pursued, Worcester would be the first municipality to suspend specialized stretch code enforcement. At Tuesday’s meeting, Councilor-At-Large Khrystian King pushed consideration of the pause to a later meeting.
Adam Gavel, a Worcester resident and developer, said the new stretch code hurts small developers.
“This stretch code is good for $30 to $60 million developments, but for the small developer who’s doing a $5-million project, who’s doing 16 to 24 units, it really makes a dent in design, the implementation, everything that comes to fruition,” Gavel said.
The Worcester City Council voted 10-1 in September 2023 to adopt a specialized stretch code, which went into effect in July 2024. The new code requires homes in excess of 4,000 square feet to be electrified. New multifamily projects more than 12,000 square feet must meet passive house standards. New commercial construction must be either all-electric, meet passive house requirements, and pre-wire for electrification; or if they use a fossil fuel, they must meet all stretch code efficiency requirements, be pre-wired for future electrification, and use solar power on-site where feasible. Renovations or additions to existing buildings are exempt from the specialized stretch codes.
The most stringent of three energy building codes Massachusetts municipalities can choose from, the goal of the code is to make buildings more efficient through tighter building envelopes and prewiring for electrification in buildings utilizing fossil fuels. In addition to environmental benefits, the specialized code leads to improved comfort for residents, better acoustics and air quality, and lower energy bills, according to the City of Worcester.
City of Worcester Chief Sustainability Officer John Odell has previously defended the stretch codes, with some sustainability-focused developers arguing the benefits of higher standards are a worthy endeavor, leading to higher-quality buildings and lower operating costs which can compensate for potential higher building costs.
The Tuesday meeting drew developers and representatives from various business organizations supporting the pause, including Mike Kane, director of economic development and public policy at the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce; Brien; Gavel; and Jon Weaver, president and CEO of Massachusetts Biomedical Initiatives.
Cost of compliance, difficulty in sourcing compliant parts, and the need to balance climate goals with housing production were brought up as reasons by supporters to temporarily suspend enforcement. The cost creates challenges in finding financing for housing projects, supporters said.
Dunn’s report said the best available information shows an average of 2% to 4% in upfront cost increases to comply with the specialized code, but cost implications range widely based on the nature and scale of a particular project.
Weaver focused on the impact the codes have on the life sciences sector, concerns he expressed before their 2024 adoption.
“To provide the HVAC requirements for these really advanced facilities and ensure that it’s safe for laboratory technicians, you have to provide very high air changes, and really complicated HVAC systems,” he said. “Frankly, the technology doesn’t exist currently to allow for going all-electric.”
Councilors who supported the pause during the debate included Bergman, District 1 Councilor Tony Economou, Councilor-At-Large Kathleen Toomey, and District 5 Councilor Jose Rivera.
King and District 2 Councilor Robert Bilotta expressed concern about the impact of a pause on the City’s climate goals, with King calling Dunn’s report incomplete.
“This report has no data or limited data on what that impact actually is,” he said. “I expected a full report, not a partial report.”
Questions remain about how Worcester would implement a pause. State law does not include provisions for temporary movement from one level or code to another. Once a code is selected, the state expects municipalities to enforce that code in its entirety.
City Solicitor Alexandra Kalkounis said a vote would be required to switch from one code or another, but clarified the report was calling for a suspension of implementation and enforcement.
“You would need a vote by the council to opt out, but that’s not the recommendation or the matter before the council,” Kalkounis said.
Eric Casey is the managing editor at Worcester Business Journal, who primarily covers the real estate and banking & finance industries.
