The Boston Planning and Development Agency board is set to vote on two major projects and a master plan for fast-changing Sullivan Square.
www.bostonglobe.com
Looks like the local city councilor has objections
The Boston Planning and Development Agency, in its second board meeting this month, is set to discuss two projects — a 22-story apartment tower on Mystic Avenue just north of Sullivan Square and a three-building lab and apartment complex off Roland Street on the west side of Interstate 93 — and PLAN: Charlestown. The neighborhood planning initiative will guide development of some 18 million square feet of new space and more than 6,000 residential units, but has drawn opposition from neighborhood residents and elected officials, including City Councilor Gabriela Coletta and State Representative Daniel Ryan.
PLAN: Charlestown has much to like, Coletta said, including a suggested three-mile green loop around the neighborhood, a focus on climate resiliency, and commitments to affordable housing and open space. B
ut proposed height allowances in a corridor between Rutherford Avenue and I-93, which the plan outlines as stepping up from 90 feet along the corridor to 150 feet and then to 280 feet along the highway, “is simply too dense for what Charlestown could responsibly absorb,” Coletta said. While many residents agree growth is necessary to address the city’s housing crisis, Coletta said, she has received about 350 letters opposing building heights and density.
“In this planning process, we were supposed to be setting a ceiling,” Coletta said. “The ceiling far exceeds anything the Charlestown community thought we would be getting.”
