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Authority discusses MEPA regulatory changes, NOMA lighting and neighborhood activation projects
Summary
Staff briefed the board on proposed state regulatory changes to environmental review for many housing and urban-renewal projects, and discussed local NOMA-area lighting, youth education and community development initiatives.
Forwarder Redevelopment Authority staff on Sept. 24 briefed the board about proposed changes to the state environmental review process that could reduce review for many housing and urban-renewal projects, and described local NOMA-area activation projects including uplighting and youth programming.
Sarah Page told the board the state has proposed regulatory changes that would remove many urban-renewal plans from full Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act (MEPA) review and shorten some approval timelines from months or years to roughly a month. Page said the proposed regulation would treat certain housing projects as not damaging to the environment; she described that change as removing an assumption that an urban-renewal plan necessarily harms the environment.
“That was one of my big beefs with the urban renewal plan issue,” Page said, explaining the Authority has been working with partners on comment language and that the change would allow the Authority to move forward with its urban renewal plan in the Flint neighborhood pending the public-comment period.
Page also described community-led NOMA efforts aimed at improving North Main Street’s appearance and safety through uplighting of public murals and landmark buildings. She said a leadership-program team won seed funding and plans to uplight a Portuguese tile mural visible from the Braga Bridge, and that the Audubon Society and Trustees of Reservations will run environmental education workshops for school groups on the spit as part of Seaport grant programming.
Board members discussed coordination with the police beat team and potential long-term electricity and maintenance arrangements for uplighting projects. Page said First Congregational Church and other local partners have committed funds and that the project will be pursued in phases, starting with the tile mural and then larger building uplighting projects.
No formal vote or regulatory filing was recorded during this portion of the meeting; Page encouraged board members to submit comments to the state during the open public-comment period for the proposed regulation change.
