Copley Place Expansion and Tower | Back Bay

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Re: Copley Place plan calls for condo tower

I'm being optimistic that the administrative approvals are for no more than entrance changes and things of that sort.

Remember, Millenium tower came back bigger and better, not worse.
 
Re: Copley Place plan calls for condo tower

Hearing on May 9 Regarding Legislation to Protect Sunlight in Public Parks

From: Copley Neighbors [copleyneighbors@gmail.com]
To: Redacted
Attachments: ‎(2)‎ Download all attachments
2013-14 H.826 Protecting S~1.pdf‎ (95 KB‎)‎[Open as Web Page‎]; Bill H826.pdf‎ (103 KB‎)‎[Open as Web Page‎]

Monday, May 06, 2013 8:37 PM

Hi All,

I am writing to you because in the past you or your organization testified in favor of legislation before the Massachusetts Legislature that would protect access to sunlight in certain parks in Boston and Cambridge.

As you may know, Representative Byron Rushing and former Representative Marty Walz re-filed H. 826, An Act Protecting Sunlight in Certain Public Parks, in January 2013. The Joint Committee on the Environment, Natural Resources & Agriculture has scheduled a hearing for this bill on Thursday, May 9, at 10:00 am in Hearing Room A-1. As advocates for the parks and neighborhoods impacted by this bill, I wanted to make you aware of this hearing in case you or members of your organization would like to submit written or verbal testimony in support of the bill.

For those unfamiliar with the bill, it would expand state laws that protect sunlight on the Boston Public Garden and the Boston Common to include six additional public parks—namely, the Charles River Esplanade, the Commonwealth Avenue Mall, Copley Square Park, the Back Bay Fens, Christopher Columbus Park, and Magazine Beach Park. The purpose of this bill is to allow reasonably scaled development near the parks while ensuring that the trees, grass, and people who enjoy the parks have access to sufficient sunlight. For your reference, I have attached the bill text and a factsheet, which includes a more detailed bill summary of the bill.

If you are planning to submit testimony or testify at the hearing, please let me know. Also, please do not hesitate to contact me at david.vanderwoude@mahouse.gov or 617-722-2783 with any questions or concerns.

Best,
Dave

Dave VanderWoude
Office of Majority Whip Byron Rushing
State House, Room 235
Boston, MA 02133
(617) 722-2783
david.vanderwoude@mahouse.gov
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PLEASE ATTEND THIS.

I am already taking other days off, and will be unable to. But this is hugely important for the sake of economics and development. We can't afford these NIMBYs any more power.
 
Re: Copley Place plan calls for condo tower

...allow reasonably scaled development...

Who are these f.cks to decide what reasonable is? If anything, it seems pretty unreasonable to the laws of growth and economics.
 
Re: Copley Place plan calls for condo tower

Why is this even a State House issue? Fix our regional transportation. Don't muck up local zoning.
 
Re: Copley Place plan calls for condo tower

Better build this tower while they can
 
Re: Copley Place plan calls for condo tower

Guys, I urge all who can attend to do so.

I just emailed this David guy, Rep. Rushing and Queen NIMBY, Rep. Waltz. I plan on contacting all local representatives today.

I urge EVERYONE (even those who will be attending) to email the reps and use logical, non-emotional or offensive counter arguements against the bill. There isn't a lot of PR surrounding this hearing yet, so we have the opportunity to have an influence in "public opinion."

If you have enough time to write comments on this board, you can send a quick, concise and persuasive email to these guys.
 
Re: Copley Place plan calls for condo tower

type001 said:
...allow reasonably scaled development...

Who are these f.cks to decide what reasonable is? If anything, it seems pretty unreasonable to the laws of growth and economics.
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If I lived in the backbay too I would be bitching about everything. I can't blame them.

The Hancock looks great in the skyline but the ground level sucks nothing appealing and the wind currents make it extremely difficult to walk around on a windy day.
 
Re: Copley Place plan calls for condo tower

Reznor, Queen Nimby is no longer a Massachusetts legislator. She resigned some months back. Her aide, the one who signed the notice, is now working for Byron Rushing. The aide is a relatively recent graduate of Tufts.
 
Re: Copley Place plan calls for condo tower

I am going to go to the meeting. I do not actually live in the city though. Am I still allowed to voice my opinion?

One more thing. Copley Tower was initially approved. Doesn't that mean that any new legislation would not affect it?
 
Re: Copley Place plan calls for condo tower

type001 said:
I am going to go to the meeting. I do not actually live in the city though. Am I still allowed to voice my opinion?

One more thing. Copley Tower was initially approved. Doesn't that mean that any new legislation would not affect it?
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This is state legislation, and all state residents are welcome to voice their opinion.

Yes, this does not affect Copley Tower in its current form, as far as I can tell. However, this is still potentially dangerous and crippling legislation. Also, should Copley Tower change its disign significantly enough, it would thus be subject to a new permit, no? And then poof, no tower any more.
 
Re: Copley Place plan calls for condo tower

TheRifleman said:
We'll if your from Winchester forget it. Aren't you fighting about some corporate CVS getting built in the area. Type001 you must have enough problems.
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That was hilarious! That's funny that this is news outside of Winchester.
 
Re: Copley Place plan calls for condo tower

type001 said:
That was hilarious! That's funny that this is news outside of Winchester.
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Those red signs are everywhere NOMEGACVS in Winchester when I drive through the town. I love it. I don't blame the residents for being pissed about Corporate America ram-rodding one of their corporate building templates into this beautiful historical town.

Winchester is a beautiful town to drive or bike through.

What the hell was the planning dept thinking on that proposed development?



Sorry back to Copley Plaza.
 
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Re: Copley Place plan calls for condo tower

TheRifleman said:
Those red signs are everywhere NOMEGACVS in Winchester when I drive through the town. I love it. I don't blame the residents for being pissed about Corporate America ram-rodding into this beautiful historical town.

Winchester is a beautiful to drive through.

What the hell was the planning dept thinking on that proposed development?



Sorry back to Copley Plaza.
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Man you hate CVS, you were snarking at the one in Davis square too... of all the pharmacies around here, it's at least the locally founded one. Are there a lot of indie Apothecaries that are going to run out of business due to a CVS in Winchester?
 
Re: Copley Place plan calls for condo tower

The state should not be legislating the effect of shadows on city-owned land. That should be a municipal home rule determination. That said, I won't quibble over the state regulating shadows on the Esplanade, Magazine Beach, and similar land in state ownership.
 
Re: Copley Place plan calls for condo tower

Faxed a letter to my current local rep and my future local rep (Reinstein? or DeLeo? I'm hoping not DeLeo, since I feel it will be impossible to have letters get through to him personally).

I urged them to send someone to represent them at the hearing and to ultimately vote no on H.826, citing that the protection of mere sunlight in a few specific locations should not cripple large swaths of potential new development.
 
Re: Copley Place plan calls for condo tower

BussesAin'tTrains said:
Are there a lot of indie Apothecaries that are going to run out of business due to a CVS in Winchester?
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Not that I can think of. The problem is that the location of the new mega Cva was home to 7 small retail businesses that closed including a restaurant, a sports shop, convenience store, pet store, salon, and local bank. And we already have a CVS a mile away in the center of town. I can't really blame residents for not wanting it. And to further Rifleman's point, it does take away from the charm of the town.

However, I would gladly accept a mega CVS in Winchester over stupid height-restriction legislation in Boston.
 
Re: Copley Place plan calls for condo tower

Will this bill prevent the rotation of the earth so that we don't have the night preventing sun on those parks? What about a solar eclipse - can the moon still do that or would it violate state law?
 
Re: Copley Place plan calls for condo tower

BussesAin'tTrains said:
Man you hate CVS, you were snarking at the one in Davis square too... of all the pharmacies around here, it's at least the locally founded one. Are there a lot of indie Apothecaries that are going to run out of business due to a CVS in Winchester?
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Its not that I hate CVS and they are very much needed. In my opinion these corporate retail templates have ruined Boston's Character taking all the key retail locations.
Banks, Walgreens, CVS, (These types of retail components offer no character it’s like being at any old strip mall in America)

Harvard Square (Every major location is occupied by a corporate Bank)
North-Station (Giant CVS that is the focal point of the Boston Garden area)
Davis Square (CVS Template)
Boston has 7CVS (From Chinatown to North-End)

Bottom line is that these corporate templates take every key location that keeps the town from its true innovated character.
 
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Re: Copley Place plan calls for condo tower

Yeah, that's called free market capitalism. Econ 101. But the good news is that you/we can control what retail exists in our city without over-regulating every inch of potential retail space. Vote with your wallet and support local business, drug stores, etc. Encourage friends and family to do the same. In an ideal world, people wouldn't get coffee from Dunkin donuts and instead of their crappy white trash stores, we'd have local mom-pop stores providing better/comparable/diverse products.

As for retail banking locations, it's a bit more difficult. Banks are never a good thing for retail scene but have deep pockets and are desirable tenants for landlords. Some good news is that Bank of America is actually looking to begin reducing retail locations throughout the US and push more online... to be seen how that affects Boston.
 
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