Market Overview - MIT
2.0 Review of Regulatory Processes
Governing Zoning
Our site is located in the South Boston Waterfront Interim Planning Overlay District (IPOD) and is governed by Article 27P of the zoning code. This article was written to facilitate re-zoning and development in the South Boston Waterfront District. Article 27P supersedes all other articles of the Boston zoning code, including Article 42E which was specifically written for the Harborpark: Fort Point Waterfront District in the early 1990s. Our proposed development project will most likely exceed 50,000 gross sq ft floor area and is therefore subject to the Large Project Review process, administered by the Boston Redevelopment Authority, IAW Article 80B-2.3(a).
Required Review Processes
Based on review of Boston zoning code, particularly Section 27P, Article 80, and Article 42E, as well as discussion with BRA staff, we believe the following review processes apply to this project:
• Large Project Review (Boston Redevelopment Authority - BRA)
• Urban Design Review (Boston Civic Design Commission) *BCDC may elect not to review project
• No Suffolk County processes.
• No Federal processes, though may be subject to standards of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and/or U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for Ambient Air Quality and Ambient Noise, respectively.
Large Project Review
Our project will most likely exceed 50,000 gross square feet floor area, so therefore will be subject to Large Project Review, as specified in Article 80. As such, it will be under the authority of the BRA, which has established a comprehensive review process. Development fees for BRA Review will be established at the time of review. Based on conversations with BRA personnel, fees cannot be estimated before submitting a Project Notification Form. Based on maximum timelines allowed by BRA review and assuming 30 days to prepare each project impact report, the entire review process will take roughly eighteen months. The timeline is an estimate, given that few of the procedures have delineated maximum days for review. After speaking with the BRA and several local developers, we understand that the timeline could range from as few as nine months to as many as three years. At this point, eighteen months seems like a reasonable estimate. Note, however that delays in our preparation of project impact reports could extend the review process.
The meetings, hearings and anticipated approval processes for Large Project Review are depicted in Figure 2 and outlined below as follows:
Pre-Review Planning Meeting: Before submitting documents for official review, we will arrange a pre-review planning meeting with the Boston Redevelopment Authority to discuss issues that may be raised by the proposed project and help coordinate with other public agencies.
Initiating the Large Project Review Process: The Project Notification Form (PNF), filed with the BRA will start the review process. This must be filed during the pre-schematic design phase. The PNF will consist of details of the proposed project that are necessary to determine potential impacts. These details include program of proposed uses, area photographs, site diagram, massing diagram, floor plan diagrams, building section diagrams, and preliminary zoning calculations. Within 5 days, the BRA will post notice of the PNF. A 30 day public comment period will run, where we must attend a community meeting.
Filing Urban Design and Schematic Design Review: Additionally, the BRA will review all Schematic Design Plans, drawings and specifications. Note: This process may be extended and expanded by an additional review by the Boston Civic Design Commission. The following outlines the design review process.
Design Development Plans and Contract Documents: After BRA approval of schematic design plans, we will submit design development plans. After BRA approval of design development plans, we will submit contract documents.
Scoping Determination: After the BRA issues a Scoping Determination, which will occur within 45 days of initial filing of the Project Notification Form, we will study, analyze and mitigate anything specified within the document.
Draft Project Impact Report and Preliminary Adequacy Determination: After receiving the Scoping Determination, we will prepare a Draft Project Impact Report that meets the requirements of the Scoping Determination by detailing the impacts and proposed measures to mitigate those impacts. We may have to submit any combination of the following documents:
Transportation Access Plan: A report prepared in consultation with the Transportation Department that assesses the impact and potential mitigation as it relates to traffic management, parking management, construction management and monitoring of traffic impacts.
Environmental Protection Component: Details the direct or indirect damage to the environment reasonably attributable to our project. It will also include proposed mitigation measures. The study may examine wind, shadow, daylight, solar glare, flood hazard, water quality, groundwater, geotechnical, solid or hazardous waste and construction impact. Additionally, because our project includes a residential component, we will have to examine ambient air quality and ambient noise to determine conformance with EPA standards.
Urban Design Component: Includes plans, drawings and specifications necessary for the BRA to determine if our project is architecturally compatible with the surroundings, enhances urban design features of the neighborhood, augments the quality of the pedestrian environment and is consistent with design guidelines in our PDA.
Infrastructure Systems Component: Includes a description of the project’s anticipated water, electricity consumption, sewage generation and energy requirements and assessment of our project’s impact on the capacity and adequacy of existing systems.
Within 5 days, the BRA will post the DPIR and allow 45 days of public comment. After reviewing the DPIR, the BRA will issue a Preliminary Adequacy Determination, which will indicate any additional necessary steps required to mitigate impacts. This document, based on our proposed building size, will be issued within 60 days of filing the DPIR.
Final Project Impact Report and Adequacy Determination: After receiving the Preliminary Adequacy Determination, we will prepare a Final Project Impact Report that satisfies the Scoping Determination and includes modifications required in the Preliminary Adequacy Determination.
The BRA will file public notice within 5 days. The public comment period will run 45 days. The BRA will then hold a public meeting to vote and issue an Adequacy Determination within 60 days of filing the FPIR. This Determination will approve, conditionally approve or disapprove the FPIR.
Certificate of Compliance: After Adequacy Determination, we will bring a completed building permit application to the BRA and within 30 days, the Director of the BRA will issue a Certificate of Compliance or give reasons why it was denied. An issued CoC will be brought to the Inspectional Services Department for issuance of the building permits.
Boston Civic Design Commission Review
Because our project falls within the Large Project Review, the Boston Civic Design Commission may choose to review our design. If the BCDC chooses to review the design, it may take up to 30 additional days. Approval by the BCDC generally results in BRA approval of the project design. Based on conversations with BRA officials, there has never been an instance where the BCDC approves the design and the BRA subsequently rejects the design.
Anticipated Issues with Review
Our primary concern with the review processes will be the length of time to meet milestones. Our strategy is to build professional and complementary (rather than antagonistic) relationships with the relevant BRA staff. A secondary concern is the magnitude of fees associated with this process. There is not a set fee schedule available which makes estimating difficult. Our strategy is to discuss fees with the BRA as soon as possible, as well as look for comparable projects and their fees.
An additional concern is the strong likelihood that the BRA Scoping Determination will require an Environmental Protection report, in which case we may face difficulties with the ambient air quality and ambient noise components. Due to the proximity of the “Vent Building”, which releases un-scrubbed exhaust from the Big Dig, ambient air quality may not meet the Ambient Air Quality Standards established by the US Environmental Protection Agency. In addition, the proximity of the Fort Point Channel Tunnel may also exceed the Design Noise Levels established by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development. Our strategy is to emphasize the design quality of our building, including aspects that are meant to improve air quality (e.g., green roof, co-generation).
Critical Constituencies and Local Public Objectives In addition to meeting the requirements of the BRA, and the constituencies well-represented by the BRA, we anticipate outreach to the following critical constituencies: Councilor James M. Kelly, Save the Harbor/Save the Bay, Seaport Alliance for Neighborhood Design, the Mass Convention Center Authority, Fort Point Cultural Commission, and other neighborhood groups concerned with monitoring the development of South Boston.
We feel our project meets many of the local public objectives, from the baseline of zoning to supporting the vision for a 24-hour, pedestrian friendly neighborhood to providing affordable housing, green development, and investment in the district. Therefore, we do not anticipate any community group opposition.
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2.1 Development Capacity
Land-use Regulations/Zoning
As previously stated, our site is located in the South Boston Waterfront Interim Planning Overlay District (IPOD) and is governed by Article 27P of the zoning code.
FAR/Max height: According to Article 27P Appendix B our maximum height is 150 feet with a maximum FAR of 4.0.
Setbacks/Buffers: There are no setback or buffer requirements for our site contained in Article 27P. There are several general recommendations for setbacks in Article 42E, for instance setbacks should be “used to minimize sense of bulk of structure.” There are provisions for setbacks in the “Waterfront Yard” area, but our site is not located in this area. The “Waterfront Yard” area is defined by locations in the Fort Point Waterfront District that are directly on the waterfront or on the pier structures.
Parking: There are no off-street parking requirements for our site according to Section 27P-13. The parking requirements are to be included in the Large Project Review process and subject to approval. The general off-street parking zoning code (Article 23) for Boston is included in Figure 3 in the next paragraph. This is not applicable to the Fort Point Waterfront District, but could be used as a general design guideline:
SECTION 23-1. Residential Uses. No structure or land shall be used for any use listed in Table A of Section 8-7 under Use Items Nos. 1, 1A, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 7A, 7B, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 13A, 14 or 15, unless off-street parking facilities are provided as follows in Figure 22.
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* Where use is not divided into dwelling units: (a) If sleeping rooms have accommodations for not more than two persons, each two sleeping rooms shall constitute one dwelling unit; and (b) If sleeping rooms have accommodations for more than two persons, each four beds shall constitute one dwelling unit.
Open Space: Article 27P-12 calls for at least 50% of the lot area to be devoted to open space. This is flexible through the BRA during the Large Project Review process. In initial discussion with the BRA they quoted our team with a ‘reasonable’ open space requirement of 25% for our site conditions which will result in potential concessions. We will watch this requirement closely, but anticipate that the BRA will be flexible given the difficult shape of the site, and the need to buffer the use and pedestrians from the fast-moving traffic that surrounds the site.
Development Envelope
According to the zoning code, the development envelope of our site is largely dependent on the BRA and the Large Project Review process. This process will approve our overall design to include setbacks, façade design, and open space requirements, as discussed in the regulatory process section of this report. With that in mind, according to the zoning code, our lot size is basically the development envelope. As discussed in the design section, we feel the initial design makes the best use of the site, while being compatible with surrounding developments and development objectives.
Concessions
The following paragraphs describe the specific concessions detailed in the zoning codes.
Open Space Requirement: 50%.
Response: We believe this is flexible and will pursue direction from the BRA during Pre-Review Planning since this is a critical aspect of initial design and feasibility work.
Affordable Housing: IAW Article 42E-18 at least 10% of the new dwelling units (d.u.) in a residential project must be allocated to Affordable Housing. However, we have heard at meetings with BRA staff that 13% is typically sought by the City.
Response: We are including this requirement in our financial feasibility analysis.
Street Improvements: Each project must enhance the pedestrian environment and make applicable improvements to the adjacent street in terms of vehicular access and pedestrian pathways. These improvements may include the following: developing pedestrian pathways to mass transit and/or creating spaces that accommodate pedestrian activities and pedestrian safety.
Response: Per our design strategy, we have begun to address these requirements and will continue to develop them through the review process with the BRA.
IPOD Zoning
We considered pursuing IPOD zoning and an FAR of 5, but found that the greater construction costs did not have economies of scale. A larger FAR is not financially feasible within reasonable limits. Additionally, the flexibility in design created by the IPOD zoning also results in greater uncertainty in terms of anticipating the BRA’s response to our plans potentially extending the entitlement process. Therefore, we decided to develop within the bonds of as-of-right zoning.
In sum
We are designing our project to abide by 27P of the Boston zoning code, which includes an FAR of 4 and building height of 150 feet. We are anticipating and comfortable with affordable housing and street improvement concessions. We are concerned with the open space requirement of 50%, but believe it is flexible. Again, our strategy will be to build a tight relationship with the relevant BRA staff and allow ample time for the regulatory and design process.
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Figure 22: Residential Parking Requirements
Source: Boston Zoning Code
Figure 19: Projected Haborfront Development
Source: Meredith & Grew Marketing Flyer
Note: Subject site is #1 in figure
Figure 21: Large Project Review Process
Source: Boston Redevelopment Authority Fall 2005
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