Somerville seeks zoning edits to avoid conflicts with state building code and preserve green incentives

City sustainability and planning staff told the Somerville Land Use Committee and Planning Board that they are proposing jurisdictional amendments to remove overlaps between the city's zoning green-building standards and the state building code and to preserve meaningful local incentives for high-performance buildings.

"Where we can adopt and enforce new green building standards is through our incentive programs such as the Master Plan Development Overlay District and in the density bonus," said Josh Eckhart-Lee, sustainability planner in the Office of Sustainability and Environment. He said changes are needed because the state’s specialized energy code and decisions from the attorney general’s office have limited the city’s ability to require some material or efficiency standards in zoning.

The pac…