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The Boston Planning Department approved a series of downtown zoning changes to make approving residential development and small businesses easier.
On Thursday, the Boston Planning & Development Agency board approved an overhaul of zoning regulations that aims to encourage more residential development in the city’s commercial core.
More than six years in the making, the new rules set new building height limits and streamline zoning requirements for small businesses. They also preserve state shadow protections for the Boston Common and Public Garden.
Critics fear the changes will bring taller towers and darker parks, drawing comparisons to Manhattan. Meanwhile, supporters say that the new zoning is crucial to reviving a downtown still struggling with post-pandemic foot traffic and underused office space.
“To preserve downtown’s character and function for our city and the New England region, it must also be allowed and encouraged to evolve,” said Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and Planning Department Chief Kairos Shen in a Thursday letter to downtown stakeholders.
From the parks outward, the height restrictions increase from 100 feet to 700 feet when they reach the Financial District.
It also expands the district to allow a maximum height of 155 feet along Washington Street, the Ladder Blocks, around the Old South Meeting House, and at Park Plaza.
Although the discussion was closed to the public, several elected officials at the meeting still submitted testimony and letters.
City Councilor Sharon Durkan said the new regulations will help make downtown a thriving economic and equitable place, with plans to create more affordable housing.
“If there can be no height downtown, where can there be height?” she asked.
During the meeting, state Rep. Jay Livingstone noted that he was testifying on behalf of his constituents, including residents of Beacon Hill, Back Bay, and Fenway, the Freedom Trail Foundation, and the Friends of the Public Garden.
Many of those organizations were part of a downtown coalition that crafted its own zoning plan after it voiced opposition to these plans before the meeting.
“If you approve this proposal, the process will result in the greatest threat to the Boston Common, Public Garden have ever faced,” Livingston said. “There is a better way.”
The plans include adding special eligibility for Planned Development Areas (PDAs) for one-acre sites. The PDA must consist of a landmark, be predominantly residential, and invest in preserving a historic building. The PDA sites do not have height restrictions, but must adhere to state shadow laws.
Two state laws help protect Boston Common and the Public Garden from excessive shadowing while still allowing downtown development.
The last time developers challenged the laws was in 2017 when Boston filed a home-rule petition to exempt the then-proposed Millennium Tower at Winthrop Square in the Financial District, which the governor ultimately allowed.
All residential projects must be 20% affordable, with at least 17% and 3% available for Section 8 rentals within the building or, if not possible, within a half mile of the proposed project.
The BPDA board voted 4-1 to approve the plan, with Ted Landsmark as the sole member objecting. Landsmark expressed his desire to take more time to incorporate the public’s concerns into the regulations.
The board also voted unanimously to forward it to the Zoning Commission, where it will receive a full public hearing. The commission next meets on Oct. 22.
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