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A Suffolk Superior Court justice struck down the city of Boston’s new waterfront zoning that would have cleared the way for The Chiofaro Co.’s 600-foot-tall, 865,000-square-foot Pinnacle skyscraper at Central Wharf.
Justice Brian A. Davis ruled that former state Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs Matt Beaton overstepped his authority in approving the new zoning district for taller and denser development on 42 acres of waterfront stretching from Seaport Boulevard to Christopher Columbus Park.
Trustees of the Harbor Towers II condominium trust and Conservation Law Foundation challenged the new zoning. The height of new development on The Chiofaro Co.’s Harbor Garage property on East India Row was previously limited to approximately 14 stories.
“Public access to Boston’s beautiful waterfront won today,” Peter Shelley, senior counsel at Boston-based Conservation Law Foundation, said in a statement. “State officials acted unlawfully in coming up with the Downtown Municipal Harbor Plan and handed private developers a free pass to create new rules to benefit themselves.”
Waterfront development in Massachusetts is regulated by the Chapter 91 statute, which requires that developers preserve public access to the shoreline and limit the height and density of properties on tidelands. However, the state has granted exceptions to the regulations if developers agree to pay for public improvements in the neighborhood as part of a municipal harbor plan approved by the municipality.
Following a multi-year public process, The Chiofaro Co. agreed to pay for public benefits including $10 million for a new “Blueway” waterfront promenade and $300,000 toward design of a new park on Long Wharf.
The Chiofaro Co. said it’s reviewing the ruling and what it means for the future of the project timeline.
“For over 30 years, the municipal harbor planning process has served as an essential tool in communities across the Commonwealth for delivering waterfront development that is not only true to the core principles of state tidelands law but also reflects the unique character of our diverse coastal communities. The Downtown Waterfront Municipal Harbor Plan, which is the product of five years of study and over forty public meetings, represents just such a vision for the dynamic urban core of a great American city,” the company said in a statement.
The judge’s ruling focuses on whether the Secretary of Environmental Affairs has the right to overrule the state Department of Environmental Protection’s decades-old regulations about the height and density of waterfront buildings.
The state Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs argued that Massachusetts communities have the right to modify the zoning if they create a municipal harbor plan, including a provision that additional density can be allowed in exchange for benefits that promote public use of the waterfront.
Davis rejected the state’s argument, ruling that the secretary is not legally authorized by the Legislature to make such decisions.
“Arguing that the municipal harbor regulations trump the Waterways Act impermissively puts the regulatory cart before the statutory horse,” Davis wrote.
The rejected rezoning also applies to the Hook Lobster pound property on Atlantic Avenue where developers recently proposed a 400-room, 305-foot-tall hotel.
In a statement, the Harbor Towers group said the ruling “is an opportunity for a new public process to decide what Boston’s waterfront should look like. The world has changed since the regulatory enactments and approvals at the heart of this case came about. Now is a time for a renewed focus on climate change and public enjoyment of the waterfront. Harbor Towers welcomes the opportunity to participate in that process.”
The municipal harbor plan was led by the Boston Planning and Development Agency through a multi-year series of community meetings. Director Brian Golden said today the agency is reviewing the decision.
“The Downtown Waterfront Municipal Harbor Plan will strengthen Boston’s downtown for decades to come by promoting public access to the waterfront, activating the public realm, and creating new open space. The plan was the result of over four years of public engagement and over 40 public meetings,” Golden said in a statement.
This report has been updated with comment from The Chiofaro Co. and the BPDA.
