Harvard ready for Tata Hall approval - Not ready to respond to the public

At the BRA Board meeting tomorrow afternoon, Harvard will be seeking (and I expect will be given) final approval by the BRA to proceed with the $100 million Tata Hall building at its business school.

During the BRA's comment period for this project that ended last week, comment letters were submitted that were generally supportive of the project and at the same time suggested how the project could be improved, how Harvard could mitigate the project's impacts and make good on past promises, and requested reasonable information about its impacts. See page 2 in this document for a letter from the Charles River Watershed Association, page 5 for one from Cathi Campbell on behalf of the State-appointed Citizens Advisory Committee, page 16 for one by John McQueen, and page 20 for one from the Allston neighbors who serve on the Harvard Allston Task Force.

Harvard, in this letter, responded to some questions that various public agencies asked about the project. However, the letters mentioned above got no response, just this:

"In addition, at the close of the public comment period the BRA received several comment
letters, including one from the Harvard‐Allston Task Force. These letters included a number of
suggested mitigation measures and community benefits and these letters are currently being
reviewed by the Harvard team."

What's the point of asking for public comments if Harvard chooses not to respond to them and the BRA doesn't do anything about it?