Community and public input on any part of the process is always welcome. You can share your thoughts or feedback by submitting your comments through the form below, or by emailing your community engagement manager at: [email protected]
Latest Updates
Upcoming PLAN: East Boston Engagement + Comment Period Deadline Extension
The public comment period for PLAN: East Boston and associated proposed changes to Article 53 will be extended! The deadline for public comments is now December 23, 2023 (previously December 1 and October 27, 2023, respectively, two recent extensions in the process). We want to hear from you! You can access a draft of the plan and draft zoning amendments below. Please submit your comments to [email protected]
Timeline:
Draft PLAN: East Boston Zoning Amendments
The BPDA is excited to announce the release of draft zoning amendments to implement PLAN: East Boston. The Draft Zoning Amendments implement the land use and built form recommendations from PLAN: East Boston, simplify and improve the readability zoning text, and establish new zoning maps. Please use the links below to access the Draft Zoning Amendment(s) and Draft Zoning Map(s), as well as a fact sheet providing an overview of the zoning changes proposed.
View Public Comments (updated 12/01/2023) on the PLAN: East Boston Draft.
View Public Comments on the Draft Recommendations for the PLAN: East Boston Neighborhood Residential Areas.
PLAN: East Boston offers the opportunity to imagine the future of an entire neighborhood, and respond boldly to the challenges it faces today. Guided by Imagine Boston 2030 and several city-wide strategic plans, PLAN: East Boston will produce a framework to predictably shape the future of East Boston, and identify opportunities to preserve, enhance, and grow.
PLAN: East Boston is a neighborhood planning initiative. Organized by the Boston Planning & Development Agency (BPDA) in partnership with several City agencies, PLAN: East Boston relies on the participation of the East Boston community to be both meaningful and sustainable.
To learn more about neighborhood planning including who participates and why it’s important to get involved, please watch this short video!
BPDA 101 For PLAN: East Boston (English)
BPDA 101 por PLAN: East Boston (Español)
Following 2 years of engagement with the East Boston community, the BPDA has prepared draft recommendations for public review. Recommendations are organized by character area and are focused on
- update neighborhood zoning and establish neighborhood design guidelines,
- and propose new capital improvements to public space including near- and long-term improvements to the neighborhood’s transportation network.
Draft recommendations build on feedback collected at many events including community workshops and open houses, “chat with a planner” events, neighborhood walking tours, advisory group meetings, and comments received via email and the project website.
On Thursday, May 20, 2021, the BPDA hosted a virtual event to share draft Recommendations for Squares and Corridors.
The BPDA will host a community workshop focusing on draft recommendations for Neighborhood Residential Areas on Wednesday October 19, 2022
Additional Information
Community Engagement
Most Recent
Reunión Comunitaria en Español (Spanish-Language Meeting) - PLAN: East Boston Borrador Revelado
Monday, October 2, 2023 | 6:00 PM–7:30 PM
PLAN: East Boston Virtual Office Hours
September 26, 2023 from 12:00 PM–1:00 PM & 6:00 PM–7:00 PM
PLAN: East Boston Draft Release
September 12, 2023
BPDA planning staff presented the public release of the complete draft of East Boston Tomorrow, the final report of the PLAN: East Boston planning initiative.
The report includes proposed changes to East Boston’s zoning article and new capital improvements to public space, including near- and long-term improvements to the neighborhood’s transportation network. The event included a high-level summary of the report and information about early implementation actions, including draft changes to East Boston’s zoning, Article 53. This event initiated a 30-day comment period for the report and proposed zoning amendments.
BPDA planning staff hosted a series of community meetings to preview draft recommendations for the Waterfront and Evolving Industrial Areas.
Reunión Comunitaria en Español - el Frente Costero & las Áreas Industriales en Desarrollo de Chelsea Creek
August 16, 2023
Presentación | Grabación
Community Meeting (English) Waterfront & Evolving Industrial Areas - Chelsea Creek
August 9, 2023
Presentation | Recording | Chat
Reunión Comunitaria en Español - el Frente Costero & las Áreas Industriales en Desarrollo del Inner Harbor
August 1, 2023
Presentación | Grabación
Community Meeting (English) Waterfront & Evolving Industrial Areas - Inner Harbor
July 18, 2023
Presentation | Recording
Advisory Group Meeting
June 29, 2023
Presentation
Reunión Comunitaria en Español
jueves, 25 de mayo de 2023 | 18:30–20:00
Thursday, May 25, 2023 | 6:30 PM–8:00 PM
Presentación | Grabación
Neighborhood Residential Workshop
March 2, 2023
Presentation | Recording | Chat Transcript
Advisory Group Meeting
February 8, 2023
Presentation | Recording
Reunión Comunitaria en Español (Spanish-Language Meeting)
January 24, 2023
A community meeting in Spanish to preview draft recommendations for Neighborhood Residential areas.
A una reunión pública en español para una vista preliminar de las recomendaciones provisorias para las Áreas Residenciales del vecindario.
Presentación | Grabación
Neighborhood Residential Workshop
October 19, 2022
Members of the planning team previewed draft recommendations for Neighborhood Residential areas. This event was part of PLAN: East Boston, a long-range neighborhood-wide planning initiative that, when complete, will update neighborhood zoning, establish neighborhood design guidelines, and propose new capital improvements to public space, including near- and long-term improvements to the neighborhood’s transportation network.
Presentation | Recording
Community engagement launched in September 2018 and has three major phases.
Establishing Existing Conditions
The first 18 months of the initiative focused on establishing existing conditions, using publicly-available data and deep local knowledge to document the neighborhood as it exists today.
East Boston Today - English
East Boston Hoy - Español
Community engagement during this phase was organized around high-level planning themes across the geography of the entire neighborhood.
Identifying Challenges and Opportunities
Community engagement during this phase introduced the concept of neighborhood character areas. Character areas are types of places in the neighborhood. Buildings, streets, and public spaces within a given character area share similar uses and physical features. East Boston can be thought of as having three distinct character areas. This phase of the planning initiative focused on identifying the unique challenges and opportunities present in each character area.
Imagining the Future
Citywide strategic plans help set high-level planning goals for the future of the neighborhood. PLAN: East Boston is guided by five goals:
- Housing - Expand access to housing options that are affordable, stable, and able to meet households needs as they change over time.
- Climate and Environment - Advance climate preparedness and promote a healthy environment.
- Transportation - Ensure access to travel choices that connect all parts of the neighborhood to all parts of the city both safely and reliably.
- Jobs and Economy - Support neighborhood economies that meet the needs of local communities as well as regional industries.
- Urban Form - Guide neighborhood growth that is predictable and contextual and contributes to a public realm that is active and connected.
This phase of the planning initiative will focus on developing the specific strategies and actions for achieving these goals. This phase of the planning initiative will use feedback collected to date to inform:
- Draft zoning and design guideline recommendations
- Draft public realm improvements including streets, sidewalks, plazas and open space.
Character Areas
Character areas are types of places in the neighborhood. Buildings, streets, and public spaces within a given character area share similar uses and physical features. East Boston can be thought of as having three distinct character areas. While high-level planning goals are shared across all three character areas, specific strategies and actions are tailored to each.
View a map of Neighborhood Character Areas
- Squares and Corridors
- Neighborhood Residential Areas (Releasing October, 2022)
- Waterfront and Evolving Industrial (coming soon)
Planning Efforts related to PLAN: East Boston
PLAN: East Boston Advisory Group
The Advisory Group is composed of twenty members of the East Boston community and six ex-officio members. Members of the committee were nominated by the community and appointed by Mayor Martin J. Walsh. The group is charged with guiding the overall planning initiative, including both the process and its outcomes. PLAN: East Boston would not be possible without the generous contribution of time and insight by these participants.
Advisory Group Members
| Name |
Affiliation(s) |
|
Debra Cave
|
Eagle Hill Civic Association, President
|
|
Mary Cole
|
Jeffries Point Civic Association, Board Member
Friends of East Boston Greenway, Member
|
|
Ernani DeAraujo
|
Eagle Hill Civic Association, Member
East Boston Neighborhood Health Center, VP Regulatory Affairs
East Boston YMCA, Board Member
|
|
Frank Delmuto
|
Harborview Neighborhood Association, Member
Frank Delmuto Architecture, Principal Architect
|
|
Margaret Farmer
|
Jeffries Point Neighborhood Association, Past-President
East Boston Chamber of Commerce, Board Member
|
|
Ana Gonzalez
|
Consulate of El Salvador
|
|
Tanya Hahnel
|
Jeffries Point, Resident
Traggorth Development, Project Manager
|
|
Lisa Jacobson
|
Jeffries Point, Resident
Barr Foundation, Program Manager
|
|
Jim Kearney
|
Orient Heights, Resident
East Boston Chamber of Commerce, Vice President
|
|
Charlie LoGrasso
|
Eagle Hill Civic Association, Member
East Boston Museum & Historical Society, Vice Chair
|
|
Theresa Malionek
|
Gove Street Citizens Association, President
|
|
Nicole Olivera
|
Orient Heights, Resident
Community Activist
|
|
Kathy Orlando
|
Orient Heights, Resident
East Boston Girls Softball, President
Sulprizio Real Estate, Realtor
|
|
Sarah Plowman
|
Orient Heights Civic Association, Secretary
City of Boston, Office of Emergency Management, Regional Planner
|
|
Angel Rodriguez
|
Maverick Central Neighborhood, Resident
Commonwealth Of Massachusetts, House of Representatives, Chief of Staff to House Committee on Public Service, Jerald Parisella
|
|
Casey Silvia
|
Jeffries Point, Resident
Commonwealth Of Massachusetts, Assistant District Attorney
|
|
Kannan Thiruvengadam
|
Jeffries Point, Resident
Eastie Farm, Founder
Friends of East Boston Greenway, Member
|
|
Thomson Vou
|
Maverick Central Neighborhood Association, Treasurer
Boston Water and Sewer Commission, IT Project Manager
|
|
John Walkey
|
Greenroots, Waterfront Initiative Coordinator
Eagle Hill, Resident
|
|
Luz Zambrano
|
Jeffries Point, Resident
Center to Support Immigrant Organizing, Co-Director
|
Ex-officio Advisory Group Members
| Name |
|
State Senator Lydia Edwards
|
|
State Representative Adrian Madaro
|
|
District City Councilor Gabriela "Gigi" Coletta
|
|
At-Large City Councilor Michael Flaherty
|
|
At-Large City Councilor Erin Murphy
|
|
At-Large City Councilor Ruthzee Louijuene
|
|
At-Large City Councilor Julia Mejia
|