New efforts to protect Boston’s waterfront
LOOK ON DEVELOPMENTS HE HAS BEEN TRACKING. MATT: A MAJOR COURT RULING A FEW WEEKS AGO DID NOT GET A LOT OF ATTENTION, HAS TO DO WITH THE ACCESS TO WATER AND HAS BIG IMPACTS FOR BOSTON AND OTHER COASTAL COMMUNITIES. BOSTON HARBOR AND ITS SURROUNDING SHORES, HAVE BEEN TRANSFORMED OVER THE DECADES. BUT NOW THERE ARE MAJOR CHANGES, OVER WHICH PROJECTS WILL GET THE GREEN LIGHT. THE SJC RULED EARLIER THIS MONTH THAT THE DOWNTOWN WATERFRONT MUNICIPAL HARBOR PLAN, APPROVED BY BOTH THE WALSH ADMINISTRATION AND THE STATE BACK IN 2018, DID NOT FOLLOWING — FOLLOW STATE LAW BY ALLOWING THE SECRETARY OF ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS TO SIGN OFF ON PROJECTS, INSTEAD OF A FULL REVIEW BY THE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION. >> WE HAVE A FRONT ROW SEAT TO THIS EVER-CHANGING, RAPIDLY CHANGING CLIMATE. MATT: RICK MUSIOL FROM THE NEW ENGLAND AQUARIUM, APPLAUDED THE SJC’S DECISION. WHICH RIPS UP THE CITY’S 42-ACRE DOWNTOWN MUNICIPAL HARBOR PLAN, WHICH CRITICS HAD CALLED TOO DEVELOPER FRIENDLY. INCLUDING THE PROPOSED CONSTRUCTION OF A 600-FOOT TOWER AT THE SITE OF THE CURRENT BOSTON HARBOR GARAGE. BUT MUSIOL SAYS THE BIGGEST IMPACT OF THIS RULING, WILL BE THE OPPORTUNITY FOR ALL OF CITIES SHAREHOLDERS TO FINALLY GET ON THE SAME PAGE. >> IN THE PAST WE’VE LOOKED AT RESILIENCY PROJECTS ON A PROJECT BY PROJECT BASIS. AND THOUGH THEY MAY BE THE MOST INNOVATIVE, COMPREHENSIVE STRATEGIES FOR THAT PARTICULAR PROPERTY, IF THEY’RE NOT BUILT INTO A COMPREHENSIVE PLAN, WATER WILL COME IN THROUGH A BACKDOOR SOMEWHERE, SOMEWHERE AND WE WILL HAVE WASTED A WHOLE LOT OF TIME AND A LOT OF ENERGY. MATT: IN RESPONSE TO THE DEFEAT AT THE STATE’S HIGHEST COURT, THE BAKER ADMINISTRATION REFERRED US TO THE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION, WHICH SAID THEY ARE REVIEWING THE DECISION AND ARE COMMITTED TO MAKING ANY NECESSARY CHANGES TO THE MUNICIPAL HARBOR PLAN APPROVAL PROCESS TO CONTINUE A DECADES-LONG PROCESS OF ENGAGING IN COOPERATIVE HARBOR PLANNING IN COORDINATION WITH COMMUNITIES. BUT WITH THE EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE ALREADY AFFECTING BOSTON, ADVOCATES SAY THIS DECISION PUTS THE POWER BACK IN THE PUBLIC’S HANDS, TO DECIDE WHAT THEY WANT THEIR WATERFRONT TO LOOK LIKE, WITH NO TIME TO WASTE. >> THE DEVELOPMENT AROUND THE WATERFRONT ISN’T JUST ABOUT WHAT THE IMPACT OF BUILDINGS WILL BE , BUT ABOUT WHO FEELS INCLUDED AND ABLE TO ENJOY THIS AMAZING TREASURE THAT WE HAVE RIGHT HERE ON THE WATER. THAT IS GOING TO BE A BIG FOCUS OF THE PLANNING IS HOW WE BUILD IN CLIMATE RESILIENCY, AS WELL AS PUBLIC ACCESS AND THAT DIRECT CONNECTION TO ONE OF OUR MOST TREASURED RESOURCES. NOT: WHILE BOSTON IS GOING BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD OVER HOW THEY WANT TO PROCEED, THIS RULING OF THE SJC PUTS THE FUTURE OF OTHER HARBOR PLANS IN JEOPARDY, FROM THE NORTH SHORE TO THE SOUTH
New efforts to protect Boston’s waterfront
Boston Harbor and its surrounding shores have been transformed over the decades, but now there are major changes about which projects will get the green light.
Boston Harbor and its surrounding shores have been transformed over the decades, but now there are major changes about which projects will get the green light.
Read More: New efforts to protect Boston’s waterfront