Not in Allston or Brighton, but the story sounds sadly similar, from a politically connected developer, to a large project much larger than allowed, to a feeling that the public process is a meaningless show in a project may be a 'done deal'.
"But the most frequent and loudest protests were aimed at the prospective 85-foot height of the project -- 37 feet taller than the existing building and 30 more than current zoning allows. Some residents said it would block their views and wall them off from the harbor. Building to such a height would need to be approved by the Boston Redevelopment Authority . One speaker, addressing BRA project manager Kristin Donovan , said the variance and the project appeared to be a done deal as far as the BRA was concerned.
'Why aren't you honoring our height limits? Why aren't you helping us to maintain the character of our neighborhood?' asked Mary McGee , who said she has lived in the neighborhood for 32 years.
But former city councilor Paul Scapicchio , a North End native who is advising the developers as part of his work for the consulting firm, ML Strategies , said the project does have supporters in the neighborhood, even if none chose to voice his or her support during the meeting."
No comments:
Post a Comment