About Mark

Mark Sandeen has been a Select Board member since 2019, and is currently a member of the Lexington Affordable Housing Trust and Chair of the Hanscom Area Towns Committee. He is the founder and former chair of the Sustainable Lexington Committee from 2010 – 2019, which won the Commonwealth’s Leading by Example award.

Mark is focused on delivering affordable solutions for Lexington residents and creating new commercial tax revenue to offset residential taxes.

Mark Sandeen with former Massachusetts State Representative, Jay Kaufman — *Mark Sandeen meets with former Massachusetts State Representative, Jay Kaufman*

Mark advocated for and approved the Capital Stabilization Framework which dedicates new commercial tax revenue from recent zoning changes to lowering residential tax payments needed for the Lexington High School. This policy has added $20 million of new commercial tax revenue to the Capital Stabilization Fund to date, and is expected to add another $26 million over the next four years, followed by another $195 million to reduce residential tax payments for the high school debt service over the expected 30 year bond term.

Mark played a key role in creating Lexington’s Community Choice program which has saved $31 million for over 10,000 Lexington customers while delivering 100% renewable electricity.

Mark Sandeen with Sophia and Larry Ho at MLK Event — Mark Sandeen with Sophia and Larry Ho at the MLK Event

Mark advocated for the creation of 40 units of affordable housing at an average of 60% Area Median Income on a Town owned parcel of land. The developer has not requested nor has the Town of Lexington provided any monetary subsidies for this development. The heating and cooling for these homes will be entirely powered by solar panels on the roof.

He led the effort to install solar energy systems on Lexington’s schools and Composting Facility. Those solar energy systems have generated $5.9 million in net revenue for the Town and are expected to generate an additional $6 to $7 million in net revenue over the next 10 years.

Mark helped secure approval of three healthy, net zero schools all with lower total life cycle cost than conventionally designed buildings, lowering Town budgets for Lexington residents. The LHS solar energy system is expected to reduce the Town’s net operating expenses by $93 million over the next 30 years without any federal incentives.

Mark is a cofounder and active member of the Lexington Interfaith Garden, now in its 16^th year, bringing diverse groups together while delivering over 24,000 pounds of healthy produce to the Lexington Food Pantry. He volunteers as a HeatSmart Advisor, helping Lexington residents transition to heat pumps and solar power. Mark has lived in Lexington for over 40 years. He and his wife raised two children who attended Lexington public schools K-12. He was the author of the monthly “All Things Sustainable” from 2012 through 2024.

Previously, Mark was a high-tech executive with international experience on senior management teams in the semiconductor, software, aviation, and solar industries.

Lexington Board and Committee Memberships

Lexington Select Board – Elected 2019, Re-elected 2020, 2023
Affordable Housing Trust
Community Preservation Committee
Hanscom Area Towns Committee, Chair
Massachusetts Municipal Association Energy Policy Committee
School Facilities Master Planning Advisory Committee
Sustainable Lexington Committee, Founder and Chair 2010 – 2019
Getting to Net Zero Emissions Task Force, Co-chair 2016 – 2018
Community Choice Task Force, Chair

Select Board Committee Assignments

Affordable Housing Trust Study Committee
Bicycle Advisory Committee
Board of Health
Board of Library Trustees
Commission on Disability
Communications Advisory Committee
Comprehensive Plan Advisory Committee
Collaborative Reform Group
Council on Aging
Economic Development Advisory Committee
Greenways Corridor Committee
Housing Partnership Board
Human Rights Committee
Noise Advisory Committee
Permanent Building Committee
Town Manager Search Screening Committee Member
Transportation Advisory Committee
Tree Committee
Vision for Lexington Committee (Communications)

Policies

Capital Stabilization Framework
Fleet Electrification Policy
Getting to Net Zero Action Plan
Grants of Location
High Performance Building Design Policy
Integrated Building Design and Construction Policy
Select Board Procedures Manual
Small Cell Wireless Policy
Solar Canopy Integration Policy
Sustainable Action Plan

Community

Co-founder, Interfaith Garden
Founding Member, LexFarm
HeatSmart Advisor
Member, Hancock Church, LexCAN, Clean Heat Lexington, Quiet Clean Lexington
“All Things Sustainable” author from 2012 through 2024.