The Green Marblehead Implementation Committee met Thursday to discuss updates to projects in the town’s Historic District in anticipation of its joint-session meeting with the Old and Historic Districts Commission.
Of particular interest to the committee was the Marblehead Net Zero Roadmap and how the committee could help facilitate its goal of the town having net-zero carbon emissions by 2040.
Logan Casey, the town’s sustainability coordinator, pointed out that 25% of the town’s landscape is home to historic buildings.
One of the topics raised at the meeting was how to best handle updating the town’s historic buildings in a way that is not disruptive to their architectural aesthetics.
Committee Chair Thatcher Kezer brought up heat-pump systems, which present issues regarding their installation in historic homes, and “hiding” the systems to maintain the homes’ historical aesthetics.
Solar panels also led to questions about their implementation on and effectiveness for older houses.
“The challenge with the solar in an area like this is it has to be positioned correctly for the sun,” Kezer said. “And so when you’re densely packed, and you have homes facing all different directions, there’ll be those that can and those that can’t.”
“I’ve heard a lot of conversations about people interested in putting up solar panels and running into certain roadblocks to doing that,” Casey said.
Health Director Andrew Petty said that one hurdle to getting greener equipment into buildings within the Historic District is cost.
He asked if the committee might be able to receive credits if it does a solar project at a location such as the high school. He suggested the whole parking lot could be covered with a solar array, which could then be applied to the town’s Historic District.
Guidelines are in place that allow key pieces of green infrastructure to be added to historic buildings in town, Casey said. He added that things like heat pumps and electric-vehicle chargers are permitted.
Despite potential issues, Casey said that reaching net-zero carbon emissions and preserving the town’s historic buildings are not mutually exclusive.
“I don’t think… historic preservation and getting to net zero are in conflict with each other, because the ideals of historic preservation is… any of the changes that we’re making today to… the modern necessities of life should be easily reversible,” Casey said.
Discussion relating to green projects in town and throughout the Historic District is expected to be heard at both an informal joint-session meeting on Sept. 19 and at a potential meeting on Sept. 25.
