October 2017: Please note that the information below refers to the stretch code in 2011, at the time Needham was considering becoming a Green Community. We have reached out to the DoER Green Communities Division for updated information. DoER is working with the MA Board of Building Regulations and Standards (BBRS is the agency that sets building code standards for the Commonwealth) to provide updated information on in a consumer-friendly form.
Until that becomes available, the formal notification of the building code changes adopted in July 2016 by the BBRS is available here.
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 in any municipality that adopts it, 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.
