At its June 8 monthly meeting, Green Acton approved the following position statements on several Warrant Articles for the June 21 annual Town Meeting.
Article 13 and Article 14 (Amend General Bylaws – Regulation of Fossil Fuels Infrastructure, and Home Rule Petition – Building with Clean Energy to Regulate Fossil Fuel Infrastructure, respectively)
Green Acton supports Articles 13 and 14. These articles are Acton’s first step in taking action on our Climate Emergency, which Town Meeting declared in September 2020. The articles are also part of a movement by many cities and towns — including Brookline, Arlington, Newton, Cambridge, Lexington, and Concord — to send a strong message to the state legislature that we want to be able to move new and significantly rehabbed buildings to modern, electric technologies and off of fossil fuel infrastructure.
Article 15 (Authorize Payment in Lieu of Taxes Agreements for Solar Facilities)
Green Acton supports Article 15 as a simple way to help shorten the time between the permitting of solar facilities by Town boards and the beginning of construction. Once an appropriate site plan has been approved, the town and the larger world benefit by having these PILOT agreements proceed to completion as quickly as possible.
Article 16 (Authorize Solar Contract – Low Income Community Shared Solar Facility)
Green Acton supports Article 16. This innovative way of bringing financial benefits from the construction of a solar array to low-income electricity customers is a win for the Town and its residents.
Acton Town Meeting 2021 will start on Monday, June 21 at 6pm, at the Acton-Boxborough Regional High School: the Upper Gymnasium for indoor seating, and the adjacent parking lot for outdoor seating. Find more information here, and the Warrant for the meeting here.