If you are still wondering whether municipalities are serious
about planning for climate change, the Boston Redevelopment
Authority's
announcement this week of its new draft
Guidelines for the inclusion of planning for climate change in
its Article 80 review (basically the Boston local version of NEPA)
might convince you. While the Guidelines are fairly broad,
the accompanying
Climate Change Resiliency and Preparedness Checklist gets way
down into the weeds.
Over the expected life the of the project, the proponent must
analyze how the project is prepared to address extreme weather
events, including heat waves, storms, wind, and coastal
flooding. Details will have to be providing concerning
building energy efficiency, interaction with the project and
existing infrastructure, plans for operating in the event that
utilities are unavailable, stormwater management, and many similar
factors.
