By Emily Resnevic and Peter Shanley
Gazette Staff
The Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) board’s vote on the S. Huntington Ave. guidelines has been delayed so the agency can further discuss them with the Boston Parks and Recreation Department, according to spokesperson Nick Martin.
The BRA board was slated to vote on the guidelines during its Dec. 10 meeting.
“I don’t imagine there will be significant changes to the guidelines,” said Martin in an email. “We’re working with the Parks Department to make sure they’re comfortable with the plan.”
He said that he can’t guarantee that the guidelines will be voted on during the BRA board next meeting, but that, “we’re certainly interested in finalizing this process very soon.”
The guidelines are supposed to address the types of developments preferred by the community for the S. Huntington Ave. corridor. The guidelines will be used by the BRA on pending and future projects.
One recommendation that the guidelines include is to expand ground floor use. That will allow for developing buildings with a larger variety of uses—such as dry cleaning, restaurants, coffee shops—in an attempt to make the area more pedestrian-friendly.
The guidelines will be codified if the BRA board and the City’s Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) approve them. The guidelines are currently seen as recommendations, but they will become legal zoning requirements if they are approved.
If the BRA and the ZBA approve the guidelines, the mayor will have 10 days to sign them into effect. If he signs the guidelines, they will become an amendment to local zoning in Mission Hill and Jamaica Plain.
For more information about the guidelines, visit bit.ly/1P9Vglg.