Despite letters of opposition from neighborhood groups to postpone the August 13 City of Boston Zoning Board of Appeal hearing regarding the development of a hotel on Cross Street on the outskirts of the North End, the ZBA did not comply with the suggestion of the neighborhood and a protest by residents at the corner of Cross and Salem Streets.
Both the North End/Waterfront Neighborhood Council (NEWNC) and the North End/Waterfront Residents’ Association (NEWRA) sent letters to city officials and local elected officials calling for the postponement until more community input can be held.
“The ZBA held a hearing for zoning relief for possibly the largest development in recent North End memory,†NEWNC President Joel Faller said.
“I see no reason why this project should shot-circuit the community process,†he said. “There are many problems that will impact the neighborhood.â€
Apparently, the developer at two NEWNC public meetings held for informational purposes was expected to return to the Council before final plans and a zoning final plan was ready. That didn’t happen according to NEWNC.
“It was made clear that they would need to come back for us formally for a Council vote once the ZBA application was pending,†Faller added.
“Any hearing on this project should be postponed until the developer has finally presented the project before the community should have been postponed†according to the NEWNC letter.
“Impact from neighborhood Councils and the general community process has always been a crucial part of the process and I can see no reason to skip these elements of such significance,†Faller noted.
The project was approved by the Boston Planning and Development Agency about a month or so ago for 40-42 Cross Street with three restaurants, one a roof-top, at that time the Cutillo Park Committee oppose the plan which would abut the park in the North End Park on The Greenway.
Apparently, the developer received BPDA approval before addressing NEWNC.
The North End/Waterfront Residents’ Association (NEWRA) is extremely concerned about the project, and strongly opposed to the abdication of community process that has occurred with respect of the hotel project.
The project has been placed on the ZBA agenda for a hearing prior to the occurrence of any public abutters meeting or any appearance by the developer before NEWRA and NEWNC, the letter said.
While an earlier version of the project did undergo the first steps of Article 80 BPDA Large Project Review process, the modified version of the project that was approved by the BPDA and submitted to the City of Boston Inspectional Services Department (ISD), resulting in the insurance by ISD of a denial letter, did not undergo public review at all, according to NEWRA.
They claimed the project purportedly, approved by BPDA in March 2022 was not the same project that had been presented to the public and the supplemental filing.
Changes to the proposed project were only presented by the developer verbally at a Zoom meeting on February 16, 2022 but were never available to the public in written form of any sort of review, the letter claimed.
Reportedly, those changes included, among other things, increased use of the roof area resulting in ISD’s determination, as set forth in the denial letter, that the proposed building is greater than both the one-story height limit under Article 54, section 18 and the 55-foot height limit.
The lack of public process flies in the face of everything we have been told that the City’s new Mayoral Administration and new BPDA leadership stand for, NEWRA claimed.
While the postponement of the ZBA hearing didn’t happen, residents have filed a suit and plan to continue their efforts for a public process.