OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Environmental & Sustainability Subcommittee Meeting - August 5, 2026

City Council — Wednesday, August 5, 2026
BodyFramingham, Massachusetts
SessionCity Council
DateWednesday, August 5, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:16:49

Transcript — Verbatim
0:39

I it's Leara Malik, it's 803.

0:42

I'm calling to order the environmental and sustainability subcommittee meeting of the city counselor.

0:47

With me tonight is Councillor Mary Kate Feeney as well as Counselor Ward.

0:51

Um we um so let's start um with the agenda with the minutes.

1:03

So I was looking through the minutes and there were quite a few last names that were spelled incorrectly.

1:11

Um, or including Sean's, who's here.

1:13

So I apologize to you, Sean that your last name's been spelled incorrectly.

1:17

Um so I can send to Marion the correct spelling of Diane's last name from the April meeting as well as Amy's last name from the May meeting.

1:27

Um but just there's a bunch of last name stuff that I wanted to um correct in both of those.

1:36

So I would take a motion if there are not any other comments for the minutes, um, sort of pending the correct spelling of last names.

1:44

Uh motion to approve uh the minutes uh with knowing that the last names will be corrected for the record.

1:53

Awesome.

1:55

Are you guys okay with taking both for both of those dates?

1:58

April.

1:59

Yes, sorry, I should have said the both dates.

2:01

Um for April, I'm sorry.

2:04

I wasn't at the May one, but I'm happy to take them together.

2:08

Okay.

2:09

Um so it's for so approve uh the minutes knowing that the last names will be updated for the record for April 8th, 2026 and May 6th, 2026.

2:23

Awesome.

2:24

And is there a second second?

2:26

Thank you, Counselor Ward.

2:28

And now we'll vote, Mary Counselor Feeney.

2:31

Yes.

2:31

Counselor Ward.

2:33

Yes.

2:33

And I vote yes.

2:35

So I will send an email uh with the correct spellings.

2:41

All right.

2:42

Um moving on to public participation.

2:45

We do have a handful of folks who are as attendees.

2:48

If there's anybody who would like to make a comment on anything that is not on the agenda, I um please raise your virtual hand.

3:06

Seeing no hands raised, we'll move on to the decarbonization roadmap with Sean Luz, our city sustainability coordinator.

3:16

And I will turn it over to you, Sean.

3:18

Thank you, Counselor Malik.

3:20

I'm gonna share my screen.

3:23

And see, hopefully we get this set up right.

3:35

Um so firstly, I want to apologize.

3:37

I may get our with today's a demand response day.

3:40

So I may get a phone call, a text, and an email, like very quickly if you hear I've muted what I can.

3:46

So we'll see if that comes up.

3:47

But um, I really appreciate the opportunity to share our um, you know, a little bit about our municipal decarbonization roadmap.

3:54

And so really this is our high-level approach uh or plan to transition municipal facilities away from fossil fuels in connection with our uh net zero emissions target of um 2050.

4:07

So firstly, quick shout out to the Department of Energy Resources who gave us, they awarded us technical assistance to develop the roadmap.

4:14

And then also there's so many municipal uh and school team members who contributed to this from you know, uh helping me collect data, going with me on site visits to collect information on equipment, um, and then also reviewing plan drafts and schedules for decarbonization projects.

4:30

So that was very much appreciated.

4:32

So like I said, I'm gonna go over some highlights, but I I know um, you know, we included the report as part of the agenda.

4:39

So if you have any detailed questions, happy to get into those too.

4:42

So um what is our municipal decarbonization roadmap?

4:48

So really this is like I said, plan to re to reduce uh our emissions and eliminate the use of on-site fossil fuels using a zero over time approach.

5:00

And really what that means is the report goes into this in different sections, but trying to find those natural decision points or trigger events and the lifetime of a building and its systems to intervene and say, you know, this is a great time to install a heat pump system or look into a heat pump hot water heater.

5:22

Classic example is you have an aging boiler system that needs to be replaced.

5:26

It's a great time to look at a full building wide heat pump system.

5:31

I also highlight that development of this roadmap was a key requirement for the city and its application to the Department of Energy Resources Climate Leader Program.

5:41

It was really the last requirement we needed to meet.

5:45

And so we were able to, you know, complete our full application, complete the roadmap, and submit that before the June deadline.

5:51

So really excited about hearing back from DOER on next steps.

5:55

So the roadmap includes a couple key things that I'll highlight.

5:59

So includes a survey of our largest buildings and emitters of greenhouse gases, identifies opportunities to replace fossil fuel equipment, considers opportunities for solar PV across buildings, and then also has a long-term vision for tackling our fleet and transitioning it to zero emissions.

6:22

Like I said, it uses that zero overtime approach for income incremental electrification.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Environmental Protection█████████████████████████████████████37%
Procedural████████████████16%
Parks and Recreation████████████12%
Community Engagement████████████12%
Tree Management███████████11%
Engineering And Infrastructure█████5%
Sports Facilities█████5%
Zoning██2%
Summary of Proceedings

Environmental & Sustainability Subcommittee Meeting - August 5, 2026

The subcommittee convened on August 5, 2026, with Chairperson Leara Malik, Councillor Mary Kate Feeney, and Councillor Brandon Ward. The meeting covered approval of corrected minutes, a presentation on the municipal decarbonization roadmap by City Sustainability Coordinator Sean Luz, a presentation from Framingham Grows Food, an update on a proposed tree ordinance, and discussion of future agenda items including a shopping cart ordinance and artificial turf fields.

Consent Calendar

  • Approved the minutes of April 8, 2026 and May 6, 2026, with a motion to approve pending correction of misspelled last names. The motion passed unanimously (3-0).

Public Comments & Testimony

  • No public comments were made during the public participation portion.

Discussion Items

  • Decarbonization Roadmap: Sean Luz presented the city's municipal decarbonization roadmap, a high-level plan to transition municipal facilities away from fossil fuels towards net-zero emissions by 2050. The roadmap was developed with technical assistance from the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (DOER) and submitted as part of the city's Climate Leaders Program application. Key statistics: 75 buildings analyzed, over 2 million square feet, 85,000 million BTUs of natural gas, 14,000 MWh electricity, 8,000+ metric tons CO2 emissions from buildings in FY2022 baseline. Fleet: ~330 vehicles, 180,000 gallons gasoline, 170,000 gallons diesel, 3,000 metric tons CO2. The roadmap identifies high-impact buildings (Framingham High School, Walsh Middle School, DPW, etc.) and proposes a phased approach: light-duty fleet electrification by 2030, medium-duty by 2040, heavy-duty by 2050. The roadmap is a living document updated every three years. Councillor Feeney expressed concern about the 2050 timeline, wanting more ambition. She asked about integration with capital planning and specific projects like pumping stations and 188 Concord Street. Luz explained that the city is already working on projects like Loring Arena and that the roadmap informs capital planning. Councillor Ward asked about inclusion in the five-year capital plan; Luz noted ongoing coordination with finance.

  • Framingham Grows Food: Alison Stagg, director, and Carrie presented the organization's priorities: supporting and networking existing community gardens, advocating for new gardens (especially in underserved areas), developing communal food-growing spaces (e.g., food forests, school gardens), and providing education (e.g., seed lending library, garden tours). They highlighted a 2022 CPA-funded design project for new gardens at two city-owned parks in South Framingham. They discussed potential collaboration with the city, including reducing friction for garden expansion. Councillor Feeney asked about how to reduce barriers; Stagg explained the need for relationship-building and organizational capacity. Councillor Ward suggested coordinating with the Planning Board on new developments. Chair Malik asked about legislative asks; Stagg was open to suggestions. The group noted a 15th annual Framingham Vegetable Gardens Tour on August 29, 2026.

  • Tree Ordinance Update: Councillor Feeney provided an update on a proposed comprehensive tree ordinance, developed with input from the Conservation Commission, Sustainability Committee, Energize Framingham, and Tree Warden Rebecca. Key elements: codifying Tree City USA standards, consolidating public tree management under the tree warden, protecting mature trees, tree replacement mandates, public communication, a municipal tree fund for donations and in-lieu payments, and incentives for mini/micro forests (e.g., Miyawaki forests). The goal is to balance sustainability, safety, and property rights. Councillor Ward raised concerns about protecting property owner rights, citing a constituent's issue with a tree on a scenic road. Feeney acknowledged the need for balance. The ordinance is expected to be submitted to full council by October 2026.

  • Member Reports: Chair Malik provided an update on the shopping cart ordinance request from Keep Framingham Beautiful. She is gathering information from other municipalities, especially on enforcement. The proposal would target stores with 20+ carts. No timeline yet. Councillor Feeney raised the issue of artificial turf fields, noting environmental concerns. The subcommittee agreed to consider a fact-finding effort on alternatives to turf for future municipal projects. No immediate action.

Key Outcomes

  • Minutes of April 8 and May 6, 2026 approved unanimously (3-0) with corrections to last names.
  • The decarbonization roadmap has been submitted to DOER; next steps include integration into capital planning and periodic updates.
  • Next meeting tentatively scheduled for September 2, 2026, at 8:00 PM. (Note: Councillor Feeney was temporarily disconnected; Chair Malik to confirm.)
  • Motion to adjourn passed unanimously.

Meeting Transcript

I it's Leara Malik, it's 803. I'm calling to order the environmental and sustainability subcommittee meeting of the city counselor. With me tonight is Councillor Mary Kate Feeney as well as Counselor Ward. Um we um so let's start um with the agenda with the minutes. So I was looking through the minutes and there were quite a few last names that were spelled incorrectly. Um, or including Sean's, who's here. So I apologize to you, Sean that your last name's been spelled incorrectly. Um so I can send to Marion the correct spelling of Diane's last name from the April meeting as well as Amy's last name from the May meeting. Um but just there's a bunch of last name stuff that I wanted to um correct in both of those. So I would take a motion if there are not any other comments for the minutes, um, sort of pending the correct spelling of last names. Uh motion to approve uh the minutes uh with knowing that the last names will be corrected for the record. Awesome. Are you guys okay with taking both for both of those dates? April. Yes, sorry, I should have said the both dates. Um for April, I'm sorry. I wasn't at the May one, but I'm happy to take them together. Okay. Um so it's for so approve uh the minutes knowing that the last names will be updated for the record for April 8th, 2026 and May 6th, 2026. Awesome. And is there a second second? Thank you, Counselor Ward. And now we'll vote, Mary Counselor Feeney. Yes. Counselor Ward. Yes. And I vote yes. So I will send an email uh with the correct spellings. All right. Um moving on to public participation. We do have a handful of folks who are as attendees. If there's anybody who would like to make a comment on anything that is not on the agenda, I um please raise your virtual hand. Seeing no hands raised, we'll move on to the decarbonization roadmap with Sean Luz, our city sustainability coordinator. And I will turn it over to you, Sean. Thank you, Counselor Malik. I'm gonna share my screen. And see, hopefully we get this set up right. Um so firstly, I want to apologize. I may get our with today's a demand response day. So I may get a phone call, a text, and an email, like very quickly if you hear I've muted what I can. So we'll see if that comes up. But um, I really appreciate the opportunity to share our um, you know, a little bit about our municipal decarbonization roadmap. And so really this is our high-level approach uh or plan to transition municipal facilities away from fossil fuels in connection with our uh net zero emissions target of um 2050. So firstly, quick shout out to the Department of Energy Resources who gave us, they awarded us technical assistance to develop the roadmap. And then also there's so many municipal uh and school team members who contributed to this from you know, uh helping me collect data, going with me on site visits to collect information on equipment, um, and then also reviewing plan drafts and schedules for decarbonization projects. So that was very much appreciated. So like I said, I'm gonna go over some highlights, but I I know um, you know, we included the report as part of the agenda. So if you have any detailed questions, happy to get into those too. So um what is our municipal decarbonization roadmap? So really this is like I said, plan to re to reduce uh our emissions and eliminate the use of on-site fossil fuels using a zero over time approach.

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