III Background - Meeting Minutes - Boston Redevelopment Authority

MEETING #5 cont.
82
I I I B a c k g r o u n d - M e e t i n g M i n u t e s
E. Institutional Master Plan
1. Zoning Commission adopts Institutional Master Plan for specific area
2. Overlays and supersedes underlying zoning
WEST END URBAN RENEWAL PLAN OVERVIEW
Presenter: Don Wiest, BRA Land Use Counsel
Don discussed how the West End urban renewal plan works as well as the relationship
between this type of regulation and the zoning controls for the area.
Zoning controls what structures may be built, and what uses may take place, on
property throughout Boston. In a few areas of the city, such as the West End, land use
is also controlled by an urban renewal plan. This plan is formally called the West End
Land Assembly and Redevelopment Plan, referred to here as the “Plan.”
Creation of Plan/Contrast with Zoning:
Zoning controls have been in place within the City of Boston since 1924. The West
End Plan, by contrast, was implemented in connection with a neighborhood-specific
urban renewal scheme that got underway in the late 1950s. The Plan was enacted by
the City Council on July 22, 1957. On July 26, 1957, the Mayor of the City of Boston
approved the City Council’s action, thus rendering the Plan operative. Afterwards, the
specified land within the neighborhood was either purchased or judicially taken by the
City of Boston, and was then cleared for redevelopment.
The land within the Urban Renewal Area was then divided into parcels, and each
parcel was designated for one of several different use classifications. A Master
Leasehold covering the entire Plan area was executed with the chosen redeveloper,
and, over time, the individual parcels were leased for development as the developer’s
specific plans for those parcels were approved. The leases transferring this land
contained dimensional and use restrictions consistent with the terms of the Plan.
These restrictions vary by type of parcel. There are also fairly specific restrictions on
the types of uses permitted within each type of redevelopment parcel. The leases to
the redevelopment parcels contained options to purchase, with the condition that the
deeds transferred must remain subject to the Plan restrictions appropriate to that
parcel.