By Mark Sandeen, Chair, Sustainable Lexington Committee   

This article appears in the January/February edition of Lexington’s Colonial Times Magazine.

Q: How can we ensure that our Town’s economics are sustainable?

A: According to the Town of Lexington’s 2017 Annual Report, Lexington continues to maintain a very positive financial standing, sustaining our Aaa rating from bond agencies, which results in a very low cost of debt. However, residential property taxes are growing much faster than commercial tax revenue. The bottom line is that commercial property values aren’t keeping pace with residential property values. The Town’s 1987 Annual Report shows commercial properties provided 31% of our tax revenue, while today commercial properties provide only 17% of our tax revenue.

Q: Is there anything we can do to reverse that trend?

A: As a matter of fact there is. About 30 years ago, the Town passed restrictive commercial zoning by laws that discouraged commercial property investment. Without ongoing investment in our commercial properties, those properties became less desirable.

Commercial property owners are looking for Lexington to provide mixed use zoning that would allow for restaurants, coffee shops, and retail stores to be sited within walking distance of their office buildings. This would also reduce traffic flow in and out as employees wouldn’t have to leave the area for lunch or errands. With the addition of more public transportation, mixed use zoning could be a win-win-win for everyone, increasing the desirability of our commercial property, improving our tax revenue, while reducing traffic. Plus our largest commercial property owners have expressed a willingness to invest in energy efficiency and renewable energy for their buildings as part of a broader revitalization of our commercial districts.

Q: What types of actions are Lexington’s commercial property owners taking to improve their sustainability?

A: We are extremely lucky in Lexington to have some highly innovative, commercial property owners who are committed to implementing a broad array of significant sustainability initiatives. Three of those companies, Shire, Boston Properties, and King Street Properties, participated as task force members on Lexington’s Getting to Net Zero Emissions task force. They supported the development and adoption of a 25-year plan to move all of Lexington’s buildings to 100% renewable energy by our Board of Selectmen.

This is especially important because our commercial property owners are responsible for about half of all emissions from Lexington’s buildings. Shire is the largest company who owns their own facilities in Lexington, while Boston Properties is the largest real estate developer and manager in town.

Q: What are some of their goals and results?

A: Shire recognizes that in our interconnected world, human health and wellbeing have become inextricably linked to the long-term sustainability of all life on our planet. As a result, Shire has set sustainability goals to divert 100% of their waste from landfills, lower water use by 40%, while cutting operational and travel emissions by 20%. All of Shire’s manufacturing facilities have developed local sustainability teams and long-range sustainability goals. In Lexington Shire has achieved some excellent results including:

• Recycling all non-hazardous plastic waste
• Reclaiming 3 million gallons of water per year
• Switching to LED lighting
• Upgrading to high efficiency boilers
• Installing 10 electric vehicle charging stations

Shire was honored with the 2018 SEAL Environmental Initiative Award for its leadership and commitment to sustainable business practices.

Boston Properties also recognizes that the sustainability goals of environmental impact, health, wellness, and community involvement can all be achieved while mutually benefiting their tenants, investors, employees, and the communities they serve. In 2017, Boston Properties achieved their 2020 sustainability goals for energy use, emissions reduction, and water use three years early. And not content to rest on their laurels, they reset those goals to achieve even better results. Boston Properties consistently ranks at the top of the Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark, earning the highest GRESB 5-star rating.

Send your sustainability questions to questions@sustainablelexington.org. We look forward to hearing from you.