Common use of Best Practice Clause in Contracts

Best Practice. Utilize Advanced Financing Tools such as an enterprise fund, stormwater utility, full cost pricing, or water bank for water/waste/storm water systems Waste Management Best Practice: Enhance Waste Ban Compliance so that recyclable and hazardous materials are diverted from the waste stream and reused or recycled Best Practice: Develop Waste Contracts that are fiscally, environmentally, and otherwise beneficial to the community Best Practice: Adopt Pay-As-You-Throw so that residents have an incentive to reduce trash disposal and save money Best Practice: Increase the Recycling Rate through regulatory improvements, service expansion, and other mean in order to reduce waste and disposal costs Best Practice: Enhance Education via Recycle Smart MA, the Recycling IQ Kit, etc. so residents throw away less, recycle more, & follow smart waste practices Site Cleanup Best Practice: Complete a Brownfields Inventory so that the community is aware of all abandoned & underutilized properties & can develop plan of action Best Practice: Conduct Site Assessments to determine the nature and extent of contamination and develop a plan of action Best Practice: Clean Sites to prevent further releases or the spreading of contaminants and to bring sites back into productive use Best Practice: Facilitate Site Cleanup and Reuse to encourage assessment, cleanup, & reuse of privately held sites offer tax incentives or update regulation Agriculture Best Practice: Adopt a Right to Farm By-law/Ordinance to clearly indicate that agriculture is a local priority and to minimize abutter conflicts Best Practice: Establish an Agricultural Commission to advocate for local farms, administer a right to farm bylaw, & otherwise represent agricultural interests Best Practice: Support Sustainable Forestry to help the forest economy in rural areas, improve forest habitats, and assist in the conservation of forest land Best Practice: Support Local Agriculture including Urban Agriculture, Aquaculture, Floriculture, & Horticulture, via marketing, food sourcing, & Farmers Markets to help local businesses and increase awareness of and access to fresh agricultural products Financial Management Best Practices Best Practice: Establish a Budget document that details all revenues and expenditures, provides a narrative describing priorities and challenges, and offers clear and transparent communication of financial policies to residents and businesses. Best Practice: Develop, document and implement Financial Policies and Practices including reserve levels, capital financing, and use of Free Cash. Such policies should identify the responsible parties and procedural steps necessary to carrying out the directed strategy or action.

Best Practice. Utilize Advanced Financing Tools such as an enterprise fund, stormwater utility, full cost pricing, or water bank for water/waste/storm water systems Waste Management Engage & Protect Vulnerable Populations in adaptation planning & action to decrease risk to those who are more susceptible to climate change effects Best Practice: Enhance Waste Ban Compliance so that recyclable and hazardous materials are diverted from the waste stream and reused or recycled Mainstream Climate Resilience into Capital Planning & Budgeting to ensure investments decrease risk & enhance resilience to a changing climate Best Practice: Develop Waste Contracts that are fiscally, environmentally, Integrate Climate Adaptation into Land Use and otherwise beneficial Environmental Regulation to the community minimize future risk & costs for new and redevelopment Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Best Practice: Adopt Pay-As-You-Throw so that residents have an incentive Become a Green Community pursuant to reduce trash disposal and save money M.G.L. c. 25A §10 to realize the energy & environmental benefits Best Practice: Increase Construct Zero Energy Buildings (or communities) to eliminate GHG emissions, reduce cost, & enhance resiliency Best Practice: Provide Electric Vehicle Infrastructure to facilitate the Recycling Rate through regulatory improvements, service expansion, and other mean purchase & use of electric vehicles Best Practice: Become a Solarize Mass or Solarize Mass Plus Community in order to reduce waste help achieve renewable energy use & GHG reduction goals Sustainable Development and disposal costs Best Practice: Enhance Education via Recycle Smart MA, the Recycling IQ Kit, etc. so residents throw away less, recycle more, & follow smart waste practices Site Cleanup Land Protection Best Practice: Complete a Brownfields Inventory so that the community is aware of all abandoned Master or Open Space & underutilized properties Recreation Plan to guide land conservation & can develop plan of action development decisions including zoning & land acquisition Best Practice: Conduct Site Assessments to determine the nature and extent Zone for Natural Resource Protection, Transfer of contamination and develop a plan of action Development Rights, Traditional Neighborhood, or Transit Oriented Development Best Practice: Clean Sites Invest in Land Conservation or Park Creation/Restoration via Community Preservation Act or other funds to prevent further releases or the spreading of contaminants and to bring sites back into productive use protect land & provide outdoor recreation Best Practice: Facilitate Site Cleanup Plant Trees or Adopt a Tree Retention Bylaw/Ordinance to preserve and Reuse to encourage assessment, cleanup, & reuse of privately held sites offer tax incentives or update regulation Agriculture enhance tree cover Water Resource Management Best Practice: Adopt a Right Require Localized Flood Protection Best Practices, including Stormwater Management Measures to Farm By-law/Ordinance increase recharge, manage water movement, reduce pollution, and control flooding to clearly indicate that agriculture is a local priority and to minimize abutter conflicts Best Practice: Establish an Agricultural Commission to advocate for local farmsprotect lives, administer a right to farm bylawpublic safety, infrastructure, the environment, & otherwise represent agricultural interests Best Practice: Support Sustainable Forestry to help the forest economy in rural areas, improve forest habitats, and assist in the conservation of forest land Best Practice: Support Local Agriculture including Urban Agriculture, Aquaculture, Floriculture, & Horticulture, via marketing, food sourcing, & Farmers Markets to help local businesses and increase awareness of and access to fresh agricultural products Financial Management Best Practices Best Practice: Establish a Budget document that details all revenues and expenditures, provides a narrative describing priorities and challenges, and offers clear and transparent communication of financial policies to residents and businessescritical assets. Best Practice: Develop, document Protect Public Water Sources in order to reduce potential threats to water quality and implement Financial Policies the public health of system customers; establish and Practices including reserve levels, capital financing, and use of Free Cash. Such policies should identify the responsible parties and procedural steps necessary to carrying out the directed strategy maintain emergency connections with other municipal or actionregional systems.

Best Practice. Utilize Advanced Financing Tools such as an enterprise fund, stormwater utility, full cost pricing, or water bank Improve the alignment and integration of YouthWorks and Connecting Activities programs for water/waste/storm water systems Waste Management local high school students pursuing summer jobs and paid internships. Best Practice: Enhance Waste Ban Compliance so Strengthen partnerships between public safety, social services, healthcare providers, and local public and private schools to establish systems and protocols for assessing and identifying children and young adults who present risks to themselves or to others, in order to ensure effective and pro-active responses that recyclable can prevent violence and hazardous materials are diverted from the waste stream provide timely supports to individuals in need. Energy and reused or recycled Environment Best Practices Greenhouse Gas Reduction‌ Best Practice: Develop Waste Contracts that are fiscallyPlan Ahead to mitigate climate change by establishing goals, environmentallycreating an action plan, assigning responsibility, and otherwise beneficial tracking progress Best Practice: Use Renewable Energy instead of fossil fuels by generating or purchasing clean power and by zoning for renewable power generation Best Practice: Increase Energy Efficiency in order to reduce power consumption, fuel costs, and GHG emissions Best Practice: Promote Zero or Low Carbon Transportation to reduce municipal transportation emissions & those from people living/working in the community Best Practice: Adopt PayEncourage Sustainable Development to reduce, through higher density & mixed-As-You-Throw so that residents have an incentive to reduce trash disposal and save money use, the number distance of car trips & resulting GHG emissions Best Practice: Protect and Manage Natural Resources to reduce carbon emissions from loss of natural land cover and to encourage carbon sequestration Best Practice: Reduce Municipal Solid Waste and Increase the Recycling Rate through regulatory improvements, service expansion, and other mean in order to reduce GHG emissions associated with solid waste disposal Climate Change Adaptation and disposal costs Best Practice: Enhance Education via Recycle Smart MA, the Recycling IQ Kit, etc. so residents throw away less, recycle more, & follow smart waste practices Site Cleanup Resilience Best Practice: Complete a Brownfields Inventory so that Climate Vulnerability Assessment and Adaptation Plan through the Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) Program to assess local risks from climate change and identify potential actions to enhance community is aware of all abandoned & underutilized properties & can develop plan of action resiliency Best Practice: Conduct Site Assessments Use Municipal Vulnerability Action Grant or Other Funding to determine the nature and extent of contamination and develop a plan of action Best Practice: Clean Sites to prevent further releases or the spreading of contaminants and to bring sites back into productive use Best Practice: Facilitate Site Cleanup and Reuse to encourage assessment, cleanup, Implement Adaptation Actions that utilize nature-based solutions & reuse of privately held sites offer tax incentives or update regulation Agriculture Best Practice: Adopt a Right to Farm By-law/Ordinance to clearly indicate that agriculture is a local priority and to minimize abutter conflicts Best Practice: Establish an Agricultural Commission to advocate for local farms, administer a right to farm bylaw, & otherwise represent agricultural interests Best Practice: Support Sustainable Forestry to help the forest economy in rural areas, improve forest habitats, and assist in the conservation of forest land Best Practice: Support Local Agriculture including Urban Agriculture, Aquaculture, Floriculture, & Horticulture, via marketing, food sourcing, & Farmers Markets to help local businesses and increase awareness of and access to fresh agricultural products Financial Management Best Practices Best Practice: Establish a Budget document that details all revenues and expenditures, provides a narrative describing priorities and challenges, and offers clear and transparent communication of financial policies to residents and businesses. Best Practice: Develop, document and implement Financial Policies and Practices including reserve levels, capital financing, and use of Free Cash. Such policies should identify the responsible parties and procedural steps necessary to carrying out the directed strategy or actionengage Environmental Justice communities.

Best Practice. Utilize Advanced Financing Tools such as an enterprise fund, stormwater utility, full cost pricing, or water bank Improve the alignment and integration of YouthWorks and Connecting Activities programs for water/waste/storm water systems Waste Management local high school students pursuing summer jobs and paid internships. Best Practice: Enhance Waste Ban Compliance so Strengthen partnerships between public safety, social services, healthcare providers, and local public and private schools to establish systems and protocols for assessing and identifying children and young adults who present risks to themselves or to others, in order to ensure effective and pro-active responses that recyclable can prevent violence and hazardous materials are diverted from the waste stream provide timely supports to individuals in need. Energy and reused or recycled Environment Best Practices Greenhouse Gas Reduction Best Practice: Develop Waste Contracts that are fiscallyPlan Ahead to mitigate climate change by establishing goals, environmentallycreating an action plan, assigning responsibility, and otherwise beneficial to the community tracking progress. Best Practice: Adopt Pay-As-You-Throw so that residents have an incentive to reduce trash disposal Use Renewable Energy instead of fossil fuels by generating or purchasing clean power and save money by zoning for renewable power generation. Best Practice: Increase the Recycling Rate through regulatory improvements, service expansion, and other mean Energy Efficiency in order to reduce waste and disposal costs Best Practice: Enhance Education via Recycle Smart MApower consumption, the Recycling IQ Kit, etc. so residents throw away less, recycle more, & follow smart waste practices Site Cleanup Best Practice: Complete a Brownfields Inventory so that the community is aware of all abandoned & underutilized properties & can develop plan of action Best Practice: Conduct Site Assessments to determine the nature and extent of contamination and develop a plan of action Best Practice: Clean Sites to prevent further releases or the spreading of contaminants and to bring sites back into productive use Best Practice: Facilitate Site Cleanup and Reuse to encourage assessment, cleanup, & reuse of privately held sites offer tax incentives or update regulation Agriculture Best Practice: Adopt a Right to Farm By-law/Ordinance to clearly indicate that agriculture is a local priority and to minimize abutter conflicts Best Practice: Establish an Agricultural Commission to advocate for local farms, administer a right to farm bylaw, & otherwise represent agricultural interests Best Practice: Support Sustainable Forestry to help the forest economy in rural areas, improve forest habitatsfuel costs, and assist in the conservation of forest land Best Practice: Support Local Agriculture including Urban Agriculture, Aquaculture, Floriculture, & Horticulture, via marketing, food sourcing, & Farmers Markets to help local businesses and increase awareness of and access to fresh agricultural products Financial Management Best Practices Best Practice: Establish a Budget document that details all revenues and expenditures, provides a narrative describing priorities and challenges, and offers clear and transparent communication of financial policies to residents and businessesGHG emissions. Best Practice: DevelopPromote Zero or Low Carbon Transportation to reduce municipal transportation emissions & those from people living/working in the community. Best Practice: Encourage Sustainable Development to reduce, document through higher density & mixed- use, the number distance of car trips & resulting GHG emissions. Best Practice: Protect and implement Financial Policies Manage Natural Resources to reduce carbon emissions from loss of natural land cover and Practices including reserve levels, capital financing, to encourage carbon sequestration. Best Practice: Reduce Municipal Solid Waste and Increase Recycling in order to reduce GHG emissions associated with solid waste disposal. Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Best Practice: Become a Green Community pursuant to M.G.L. c. 25A §10 to realize the energy & environmental benefits. Best Practice: Construct high performance all electric buildings (or communities) to reduce GHG emissions & enhance resiliency. Examples include Zero Energy or Passive House buildings. Best Practice: Convert streetlights to LED technology to reduce cost and GHG emissions. Best Practice: Reduce energy use at times of peak demand to reduce GHG emissions and enhance resiliency. Best Practice: Provide electric vehicle infrastructure to facilitate the purchase & use of Free Cash. Such policies should identify the responsible parties electric vehicles and procedural steps necessary when replacing municipal vehicles evaluate feasibility to carrying out the directed strategy or actionintegrate electric vehicles into existing fleet(s).

Best Practice. Utilize Advanced Financing Tools such as an enterprise fundFinancial Trend Monitoring, stormwater utility, full cost pricing, or water bank modeled after the ICMA’s Financial Trend Monitoring System (FTMS). Housing and Economic Development Best Practices Preparing for water/waste/storm water systems Waste Management Success‌ Best Practice: Enhance Waste Ban Compliance so Create an Economic Development Plan that recyclable engages diverse stakeholders, leverages local and hazardous materials are diverted from regional economic strengths and assets, encourages innovation and entrepreneurship, and/or promotes workforce development planning and implementation. Best Practice: Align Land Use Regulations, especially zoning, capital investments, and other municipal actions with Housing Development, Economic Development, Master, Land Use Priority or other plans for future growth. Promote development and reuse of previously developed sites. Best Practice: Create and Distribute an Economic Development Guide/Manual to not only promote development goals and priorities, but also specifically and clearly outlines the waste stream community’s policies and reused procedures related to zoning and permitting. Best Practice: Create Opportunities for Engaging Diverse Stakeholders in economic development efforts, such as to assist with identification of priority development projects, improve local permitting processes, and proactively address obstacles to housing accessibility and affordability as well as job creation. Best Practice: Create Cross-Sector Partnerships to help carry out community-driven responses to community-defined issues and opportunities for economic development. Best Practice: Create a District Management Entity that engages public/private stakeholders to develop and support downtown revitalization efforts. Best Practice: Adopt as-of-Right Zoning and/or Streamlined Permitting to promote development in priority districts. Best Practice: Adopt Zoning for Mixed-Use Development, including Transit Oriented Development, where appropriate. Best Practice: Adopt Chapter 40R Smart Growth zoning to facilitate the creation of dense residential or recycled mixed-use smart growth zoning districts, including a high percentage of affordable housing units, to be located near transit stations, in areas of concentrated development such as existing city and town centers, and in other highly suitable locations. Competitiveness Best Practice: Engage in an Economic Development Self-Assessment exercise to identify strengths, weaknesses, and areas of opportunity. Best Practice: Establish and Utilize Performance Data to evaluate the competitiveness of the community, conduct year to year comparisons, and measure performance against comparable communities. Best Practice: Create a Public Dashboard to benchmark, monitor, and communicate to the public regarding various housing and economic development performance measures. Housing Best Practice: Create a Housing Production Plan (HPP) that accounts for changing demographics, including young families, changing workforce, and an aging population. Best Practice: Amend Zoning By-Laws to allow for increased density and housing opportunities in a manner that is consistent with neighborhood character and supportive of aging in community. Best Practice: Develop Waste Contracts that are fiscallySector Strategies and Plans in collaboration with various providers and stakeholders to address homelessness for specific high need population groups, environmentallysuch as homeless youth, and otherwise beneficial to the community Best Practice: Adopt Pay-As-You-Throw so that residents have an incentive to reduce trash disposal and save money Best Practice: Increase the Recycling Rate through regulatory improvementsveterans, service expansionolder adults, and other mean in order to reduce waste and disposal costs Best Practice: Enhance Education via Recycle Smart MA, the Recycling IQ Kit, etcand/or families. so residents throw away less, recycle more, & follow smart waste practices Site Cleanup Best Practice: Complete an Assessment of Fair Housing Report, including strategic goals in alignment with HUD’s new rules to affirmatively further fair housing. Using HUD data, local data and knowledge, a Brownfields Inventory so that significant community participation process, and the assessment tool provided by HUD, the community is aware of all abandoned & underutilized properties & can develop plan of action will prepare, complete, and submit its AFH to HUD. Urban Renewal Planning Best Practice: Conduct Site Assessments Determine need and appropriateness of establishing an Urban Renewal Entity in accordance with MGL chapter 121B. If prepared to determine proceed, develop action plan and timeline for the nature and extent creation of contamination and develop a plan of action the urban renewal entity. Best Practice: Clean Sites to prevent further releases or Prepare an Urban Renewal Plan Application in accordance with MGL chapter 121B in partnership with the spreading of contaminants and to bring sites back into productive use Best Practice: Facilitate Site Cleanup and Reuse to encourage assessment, cleanup, & reuse of privately held sites offer tax incentives or update regulation Agriculture Best Practice: Adopt a Right to Farm By-law/Ordinance to clearly indicate that agriculture is a local priority and to minimize abutter conflicts Best Practice: Establish an Agricultural Commission to advocate for local farms, administer a right to farm bylaw, & otherwise represent agricultural interests Best Practice: Support Sustainable Forestry to help the forest economy in rural areas, improve forest habitats, and assist in the conservation of forest land Best Practice: Support Local Agriculture including Urban Agriculture, Aquaculture, Floriculture, & Horticulture, via marketing, food sourcing, & Farmers Markets to help local businesses and increase awareness of and access to fresh agricultural products Financial Management urban renewal entity. Human Resources Best Practices Best Practice: Establish Cost-Out Collective Bargaining proposals so that the impact of the total package is known. This provides the municipality with a Budget document that details all revenues clear understanding of both short-term and expenditures, provides a narrative describing priorities and challenges, and offers clear and transparent communication of financial policies to residents and businesseslong-term budgetary impacts. Best Practice: Develop, document and implement Financial Policies and Practices including reserve levels, capital financing, and use Develop a Workplace Safety program so that the risk of Free Cash. Such policies should identify the responsible parties and procedural steps necessary to carrying out the directed strategy or actionon-the-job injuries is minimized.