The state’s top environmental official rejected appeals of new Boston waterfront zoning that would enable The Chiofaro Cos. and the owners of the James F. Hook & Co. lobster pound to redevelop their properties with high-rises, including an approximately 600-foot tower on Chiofaro’s Harbor Garage site.
Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs Matthew Beaton said arguments by the Conservation Law Foundation and residents of two nearby properties did not raise significant issues about his earlier ruling.
The decision sets the stage for a potential legal battle with Boston-based CLF, which argued that the city’s downtown waterfront municipal harbor plan diminishes the public’s right to access the waterfront. The harbor plan applying to 42 acres would allow The Chiofaro Cos. to exceed the previous 155-foot height limit on its 1.3-acre parcel in exchange for a $10-million contribution for a new public park on the New England Aquarium property and $300,000 for park and water transportation improvements on Long Wharf.
“CLF is very disappointed by Secretary Beaton’s decision but unfortunately not surprised,” CLF Senior Counsel Peter Shelley said in an email. “Once again, the public has been shortchanged by the decision to put private interests over access to and use of the waterfront. We are considering all of our options, and we plan to meet with interested parties to decide next steps.”
Chiofaro Co. said it will kick off its permitting with the Boston Planning and Development Agency this year.
“We’re pleased that this five-plus year harbor planning process has finally reached its conclusion, and the city and state have embraced the vision for a transformative project that will dramatically increase public access to the waterfront and unlock the potential for Boston’s next great public space,” Chiofaro Co.’s Rob Caridad said in an email.
Beaton also rejected appeals from 10 condo owners at the InterContinental Hotel, and 13 residents of the Harbor Towers condos.
In letters issued Monday, Beaton said the harbor plan will bring “significant investments in public benefits and support for water-dependent uses such as new and enhanced parks and open space, access to the waterfront, water transportation facilities and other measures to activate the shoreline and watersheet.”
Owners of the James Hook & Co. lobster pound and restaurant presented preliminary plans in 2014 for a 285-foot-tall residential tower on their Atlantic Avenue property, with the restaurant occupying 9,000 square feet on the ground floor.
As mitigation for that project, Beaton directed $3.6 million toward the Long Wharf park and stabilization of the pier, and $500,000 to benefit open space and activation of Fort Point Channel.
