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ARTICLE 25A, COASTAL FLOOD RESILIENCE OVERLAY DISTRICT
September 15, 2021

WRITTEN BY YVE TORRIE, DIRECTOR OF CLIMATE, ENERGY, & RESILIENCE

On Monday, September 13^th, the Boston Planning and Development Agency (BPDA)’s Board approved regulations to establish a Coastal Flood Resilience Overlay District (CFROD) to ensure that certain new or substantially renovated buildings in the city’s most flood-prone neighborhoods can withstand risings seas and storm surges. The CFROD, also referred to as Article 25A, would apply the BPDA’s Coastal Flood Resilience Guidelines for projects subject to Article 80 Large and Small Project Review. In terms of process next steps, it is expected that at the October 13, 2021, Boston Zoning Commission hearing, the BPDA Director will petition the Commission to adopt Article 25A and the overlay district map and the approval will ultimately be granted.

Based upon feedback from A Better City, other stakeholders, and the public, Article 25A was updated and a revised version posted on August 23, 2021. The updated markup showed that consideration had been given to A Better City’s comments about below grade parking and modeling data clarification. A Better City submitted comments on the draft Coastal Flood Resilience Overlay District on February 12, 2021, to make the following recommendations:

• The resilience review component of Article 80, not the Board of Appeals, is the more appropriate process for determining that all uses proposed within the CFROD are designed to address projected coastal flood risks.
• Below grade parking that includes parking accessory to non-residential uses should be amended to . . .

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Update on the Boston Wetlands Ordinance
September 14, 2021

Written by Isabella Gambill, Senior Policy Advisor on Climate, Energy, & Resilience

In January 2020, Boston enacted the Wetlands Protection Ordinance, which grants the City greater authority to protect its wetlands habitat throughout Boston’s neighborhoods. While wetlands provide critical habitat to many species, they also are important natural climate solutions to storing floodwater, filtering stormwater run-off, producing oxygen and improving air quality, and reducing the “urban heat island” effect.

Once the Wetlands Protection Ordinance was passed in early 2020, the associated wetlands regulatory process began within the Boston Conservation Commission. Due to the complexity of wetlands regulations in an urban environment, the regulatory process is split into 3 phases, as follows:

• Phase I: Procedural Regulations – In August 2020, the Conservation Commission adopted procedural and administrative regulations within Phase I, which outline the process for submitting an application and receiving a permit. To read the Phase I wetlands regulations, see here.
  
  
• Phase II: Performance Standards – (currently under review) Phase II will create a set of regulations for 1) isolated vegetated wetlands, or wetlands that are not adjacent to open water, 2) vernal pools and vernal pool habitat, or small depressions that seasonally fill with water, and 3) land subject to coastal storm flowage, which is equivalent to the 100-year floodplain. To read the proposed Phase II regulations please see here, and to submit a public comment on . . .

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RMAT Resilience Design Standards Tool Focus Group
August 19, 2021

Written By Yve Torrie, Director Of Climate, Energy & Resilience

On Friday, July 30^th, we were joined by Mia Mansfield, Director of Climate Adaptation and Resilience at the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, and Julie Eaton, the Lead Resiliency Engineer at Weston & Sampson, for a  briefing and discussion on the Commonwealth’s Resilient MA Action Team (RMAT) beta climate resilience design standards tool. This web-based platform is designed to help integrate climate projections and climate resilience design standards into state and local projects. It has also been designed to provide consistent and recommended design methodologies to help you use climate data in your new projects. If you are siting a new building or preparing design specifications for a capital planning project, for example, this tool provides:

• A preliminary climate change exposure and risk rating;
• Recommended climate resilience design standards for projects with physical assets; and
• Guidelines with best practices to support implementation.

In addition, MEPA or the MA Environmental Protection Act, is considering using the tool in its Climate Change and Resiliency Protocol currently under development. Work is also underway to integrate the tool into state grant programs.

Discussion points included:

• Tool Objective: The object of the tool is for the state to have a more consistent basis of analysis for understanding high exposure/risk projects through the Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness program, MassWorks, and MEPA. It is not a regulatory tool at this point. The intent isn’t to stop a project from moving forward but to begin a discussion about how the risk will be mitigated.
• Tool Functionality:
  • Currently, once you submit . . .

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Addressing Extreme Heat in Boston: Heat Resilience Study
August 19, 2021

Written by: Isabella Gambill, Senior Policy Advisor on Climate, Energy, & Resilience

With recent news from the Pacific Northwest showing buckling highways and melting cables during record-breaking heat waves, to Boston’s hottest June ever recorded, extreme heat continues to be an urgent climate threat that claims more lives than any other natural weather event. In addition to heat’s systemic threats of more frequent power failures, tree canopy and green space loss, reduced air and water quality, increased strain on our healthcare systems, and slow or disrupted transportation infrastructure – extreme heat is deadly for our residents, and poses significant risks to our communities’ health and survival. While heat in our changing climate impacts all neighborhoods in Boston, the health risks of extreme heat in our communities are not borne equally across our city.

What scientists refer to as the “urban heat island effect” that causes urban spaces with more concrete, steel, and buildings to be significantly hotter than suburban or rural areas, means that Boston’s neighborhoods with the least amount of green space like Chinatown, Dorchester, East Boston, Mattapan, and Roxbury, are also the hottest and most vulnerable during extreme heat weather events. During heat waves, residents in these urban heat islands can experience temperatures up to 40 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than suburban neighborhoods in Greater Boston¹; places like Chinatown struggle to cool down at night due to residual heat kept in pavement and buildings – meaning that there is high risk and little relief for its residents during heat waves.

Although extreme heat has impacts on human health, infrastructure, and economic opportunities that will affect all Bostonians, the heat burden is not felt equitably . . .

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Event Recap: Championing TDM In Allston-Brighton
August 04, 2021

Written by Scott Mullen, Transportation Demand Management Director 

On Thursday, July 15^th, A Better City (ABC) convened a joint meeting in cooperation with the Boston Planning and Development Agency (BPDA) and the Boston Transportation Department (BTD). The invitees included the largest and most influential developers, institutions, businesses and other key stakeholders in the neighborhoods of Allston and Brighton. In the session BPDA Director, Brian Golden, and ABC President, Rick Dimino outlined a collaborative transportation vision for the future. The focus was to demonstrate the potential collective power of those working in the neighborhood and to promote collaboration toward a shared vision.

This meeting built upon a conversation started in late 2019 when ABTMA convened members to discuss aggregating existing shuttle services to reduce redundant vehicles, achieve savings through scale, and expand coverage through coordination. Paused due to COVID, this effort has resumed with financial support from the BPDA.

This past June in direct response to the recommendation of the Allston Brighton Mobility Study, the BPDA Board approved funding to conduct a Neighborhood Transit Connector (NTC) plan. The goal is to identify current and future transit gaps in the neighborhood and to explore options that will broaden transportation choices, reduce SOVs, and minimize particulate and GhG emissions.

The ABTMA will lead this NTC planning effort and is excited to bring more stakeholders into the conversation and to be part of the process. This will include local elected officials, community groups, city and state level planners, the MBTA, and others. As the pace of new development in Allston-Brighton has rapidly increased in recent years, the need for effective, coordinated and collaborative TDM has become ever more apparent.

If you want to be part of the conversation, please email our TDM Director, Scott . . .

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FMCB Public Comment Testimonies | New Transit Pass Options are Needed
July 29, 2021

Prepared by Tom Ryan, Senior Advisor on Policy, Government & Community Affairs

Members of the MassDOT Board of Directors, General Manager Poftak, Secretary Tessler, thank you for the opportunity to submit comments today.

As workers and employers are preparing for the returning to the work place this fall, transportation options for commuters are going to play a larger role than ever.  We are asking the MBTA and MassDOT to show leadership by creating new pilot programs related to commuter passes and the price we ask people to pay for a ride.

The MBTA is an integral and critical part of the Commonwealth’s decarbonization roadmap as the transportation sector accounts for 44% of Massachusetts greenhouse gas emissions. The region cannot afford to fall back to pre-COVID-19 congested roadways or worse—the Commonwealth’s economic recovery and climate goals will be heavily influenced by the performance of public transit system and the number of people choosing mass transit to commute.

Right now, the current Commuter Rail fare products, like monthly passes and options from the MBTA in the M-Ticket App, cater to pre-pandemic work schedules and routines.

The MBTA must induce demand this fall and beyond with new, flexible fare products and promotions that are hybrid commuter-centered.  You should be providing greater flexibility for riders to pay for what they use and appeal to the commuters with a hybrid work schedule.   This would include ideas like:

• Promotional rates on monthly passes
• Discounted rates for passes designed for less than 5 days per week, possibly even a 2-3 day pass.
• Free parking at commuter rail stations

We need to get these options in place as soon as possible, especially for September.

Other transit agencies are taking these steps.  In California, the BART . . .

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