Cambridge Article 22 Green Building & Passive House

Cambridge Article 22 Green Building Requirements and Passive House

Cambridge requires projects of 25,000 sq ft or more to meet a green building standard through zoning. You can choose LEED, Passive House (Phius or PHI) or Enterprise Green Communities. On top of that, Cambridge uses the Specialized Energy Code. Here is how the two rules fit together.

Phius Certified Rater & Verifier CPHC on staff RESNET HERS Rater

What Article 22 Requires

Cambridge Zoning Article 22 applies to projects of 25,000 sq ft or more. They must meet LEED Silver or Gold, Passive House (Phius or PHI), or Enterprise Green Communities, and submit a Net Zero Narrative.

Written by Dominic Zammuto, RESNET-certified HERS Rater (#3385643) and Phius Certified Verifier, Multifamily Qualified (Phius ID 124235). Checked against City of Cambridge sources in November 2026. Zoning changes often, so confirm with the city or town before you design.

Project size	Green building standard
25,000 to 50,000 sq ft	LEED Silver, Passive House (Phius or PHI) or Enterprise Green Communities
50,000 sq ft or more	LEED Gold, Passive House (Phius or PHI) or Enterprise Green Communities
All covered projects	Net Zero Narrative at preliminary and final review, and enhanced commissioning
Non-residential, 50,000 sq ft or more	Whole-building lifecycle analysis

How Article 22 and the Specialized Code Work Together

Specialized Code applies too

Cambridge has adopted the Specialized (Opt-In) Energy Code. Residential buildings over 12,000 sq ft must use the Passive House path in the building code, whatever zoning says.

One certification, two rules

For most residential projects over 25,000 sq ft, choosing Passive House under Article 22 lines up with the Passive House path the energy code already requires.

Smaller buildings

Residential projects under 25,000 sq ft are not covered by Article 22 but still follow the Specialized Code: Passive House over 12,000 sq ft, HERS or Passive House below that.

Net Zero Narrative

The narrative explains how the building could reach net zero. Passive House energy modeling gives you most of the numbers it needs.

See Specialized Code requirements and Phius Passive House verification.

How We Help in Cambridge

Check the rules before design is locked

We read the Cambridge requirement against your plans early and pick the cheapest pathway that passes.

Energy modeling

Our Certified Passive House Consultant runs the Phius or PHI model and gives you the energy numbers for the Article 22 submission and the Net Zero Narrative.

Documents for permits and review

We prepare the energy code paperwork for the building department and the energy numbers your architect or permitting team needs. HEEC does not do LEED; if your project needs LEED, your LEED consultant handles that part.

Testing and verification

We do the inspections, blower door and duct leakage testing and final verification with our own crew as a RESNET HERS Rater and Phius Certified Rater and Verifier (Multifamily Qualified).

More: Net zero and Passive House rules in other Massachusetts cities · Phius Passive House verification · Multifamily HERS, ENERGY STAR and Phius

FAQ: Cambridge Article 22

Does Cambridge require Passive House?

Article 22 lets you choose Passive House, LEED or Enterprise Green Communities for projects of 25,000 sq ft or more. Separately, as a Specialized Code city, Cambridge requires the Passive House path for residential buildings over 12,000 sq ft.

What LEED level does Cambridge require?

LEED Silver for projects of 25,000 to 50,000 sq ft and LEED Gold for 50,000 sq ft or more, if you use LEED instead of Passive House or Enterprise Green Communities.

What is the Cambridge Net Zero Narrative?

A report filed at preliminary and final review that explains how the project could reach net zero emissions. It is required for Article 22 projects.

Does Cambridge give a zoning bonus for net zero buildings?

Not as of November 2026. Cambridge studied a net zero bonus but has not adopted one. Somerville does have one: see the Somerville Net Zero Density Bonus.

Sources: City of Cambridge, Article 22 green building requirements, Mass.gov energy code adoption by municipality.