Millennium’s proposal, according to the developer’s analysis, would be out of compliance on average about 36 minutes a day over the course of a year on the Common and on average about five minutes a day over the course of a year on the Garden.
That doesn’t sound like a big deal until you talk to park advocates. The state shadow laws were passed to protect the horticulture in public parks.
“You can correct for water with irrigation. You can correct for nutrients with fertilizer,” said Liz Vizza, executive director of the Friends of the Public Garden. “You cannot correct when you lose light.”
But to Vizza, the laws are not just about the tulips, but the ability of thousands of people to enjoy the civic right of sunshine.
“It’s important for us to realize it’s as much about the humans as it is about the horticulture,” she said.