Green Community Information

Westford was designated as a Green Community by the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources on December 18, 2013.

Green Communities Overview

The Board of Selectmen voted on July 23, 2013, to support the Energy Committee recommendation to pursue a Green Community designation through the DOER program. The 5 criterion listed below have to be met for the designation application which is due on October 30. This site will be updated frequently leading up to Town Meeting.

Criterion 1: As-of Right Zoning

Criterion 2: Expedited Permitting

Criterion 3: Energy Reduction Plan

View letters of support from the Selectmen (PDF) and School Committee (PDF).

Criterion 4: Fuel Efficient Vehicle Policy

View the Fuel Efficient Vehicle Policy (PDF) and view letters of support from the Selectmen (PDF) and School Committee (PDF).

All vehicles purchased are required to have a combined city and highway miles per gallon (MPG) no less than the following:

2 wheel drive car: 29 MPG
4 wheel drive car: 24 MPG
2 wheel drive minivan 20 MPG
4 wheel drive minivan 18 MPG
2 wheel drive pick-up truck: 17 MPG
4 wheel drive pick-up truck: 16 MPG
2 wheel drive sport utility vehicle: 21 MPG
4 wheel drive sport utility vehicle: 18 MPG

Criterion 5: Stretch Code

The 5th criterion requires the town to adopt the stretch code as a general bylaw through a Town Meeting vote. The purpose of adopting the stretch code is to require builders to incorporate more energy efficiency measures into construction projects.

Stretch Code

The stretch code is an optional appendix to the Massachusetts building energy code that allows cities and towns to choose a more energy efficient option. This option increases the efficiency requirements for all new residential and many new commercial buildings, as well as for those residential additions and renovations that would normally trigger building code requirements.

“DOER released new code sets on December 23, 2022, for both the original base code and the stretch code, as well as a new, specialized Stretch Code. Like the stretch code, communities can choose to adopt the specialized stretch code at a town meeting in 2023 and beyond, which provides an additional layer of requirements to speed the transition to net zero buildings. DOER released additional technical guidance on this code and is accepting public comment. See below.

DOER is pleased to release a draft of the 2023 Technical Guidance for the Massachusetts Stretch Code and Specialized Opt-in Code, covering both commercial and residential sections. The draft 2023 Technical Guidance , released today, January 5th, 2023, is designed to inform and assist users in implementing the updated Stretch Energy Code and new Specialized Opt-in Code.

The draft Technical Guidance includes three documents:

DOER is seeking public comment on these documents. Written comments will be accepted until 5 PM EST on February 2^nd 2023. Please submit written comments on the Technical Guidance document electronically to stretchcode@mass.gov with the words TECHNICAL GUIDANCE in the subject line. Alternatively, comments can be submitted via mail to Ian Finlayson, Department of Energy Resources, 100 Cambridge Street, 9^th floor, Boston, MA 02114.