WHAT IS PLAN: DOWNTOWN?

PLAN: Downtown is a Boston Planning Department (formerly Boston Planning and Development Agency or BPDA) initiative to establish new zoning framework for Downtown Boston, including the geographic areas that surround the Common and the Garden along Tremont and Boylston Streets, respectively. PLAN: Downtown was created as an outcome from the Winthrop Square development project and was intended to establish a more collaborative and cohesive vision for development in Downtown Boston. This was meant to prevent projects from introduction and evaluation on a case-by-case basis while providing predictability and parameters to ensure that the contentious approval process of the Winthrop Square project was not replicated. 

The PLAN: Downtown process was initiated by the BPDA in 2018, with the Friends represented on an Advisory Group assembled by the City. The work of the Advisory Group identified distinct sections within the Downtown, each with different height limits to comply with State Shadow Laws and FAA flight path height limits, including areas designated as Character Preservation Areas. The goal was to update ca. 1989 zoning regulations and to encourage new development and preservation efforts that recognized, preserved, and enhanced unique fabric and historical assets. Also paramount was adherence to state shadow laws that were enacted in 1993 to protect the Common and Garden from unreasonable encroachment. 

A timeline of events following the conclusion of the Advisory Groups work follows.

PROJECT MILESTONES SINCE 2023

  • December 14, 2023 | The BPDA Board of Directors adopted PLAN: Downtown at a board meeting, available here. Key to the plan are zoning regulations that dictate building heights and other factors that will potentially shape the urban landscape for the next thirty years.
  • April 10, 2024 | The Planning Department published a draft amended zoning map. Public comments were received until June 4, 2024. The amended zoning map caught many off guard, especially when compared to the recommendations adopted by the BPDA Board.
  • January 6, 2025 | New draft zoning amendments were introduced, which you can read in full here. These newest amendments represent a significant departure from the plan that had been adopted by the BPDA’s Board in December 2023. The amended plan calls for the development of towers that are up to 500 feet in height (instead of 155 feet) along the entirety of Washington Street and other areas including those in close proximity to the Common and Garden.
  • January 15, 2025 | The Planning Department hosts a public hearing, attended by 230 individuals. The community response centered on two key issues. First, the process from the date of the hearing to BPDA Board approval was considered unrealistically abbreviated and did not allow for meaningful dialogue with the Planning staff. Second, the 2025 proposed zoning, which would allow 500-foot residential buildings, was seen as contradictory to the 2023 adopted PLAN: Downtown.
  • May 29, 2025 | The City releases the Final Draft Zoning and schedules a public meeting for June 16 at 6PM. The revised City proposal introduces the opportunity for certain developments to by-pass all zoning in areas closest to the Boston Common and Public Garden by allowing for Planned Development Areas (PDAs). The inclusion of PDAs runs counter to the intent of the PLAN: Downtown process.

OUR POSITION STATEMENT

As a steward of the Boston Common and Public Garden, the Friends recognizes the importance of a vibrant downtown that attracts and supports businesses, residents, visitors and more. The zoning for this area is the precise tool for shaping this vital neighborhood for generations to come. It is imperative that the proposed zoning amendments effectively respond to and enact the more than 6 years of advisory group and community input that went into PLAN: Downtown. In addition, it is critical for us to know that proposed zoning respects the living landscapes that represent the Common and Garden while ensuring that no new threats, particularly in the form of blocked sunlight, are introduced. We believe it is possible to create a vibrant, growing downtown neighborhood WHILE preserving sunlight and guaranteeing the continued health and well-being of Boston Common and the Public Garden, to support the future needs of our residents and visitors. However, the City’s Final Draft Zoning does not achieve this. Even with adherence to the state shadow laws, incremental new shadows will have a long-term adverse impact on the health, vitality, and comfort of our beloved greenspaces. 

WHAT WE ARE DOING

Despite compliance with State Shadow Laws and FAA limits, the new height limits in the zoning plan could potentially increase shadow depth and duration on the Common and Public Garden. The Friends has partnered with several other groups, including Boston Preservation Alliance, Downtown Boston Neighborhood Alliance, Freedom Trail Organization, Revolutionary Spaces, Beacon Hill Business Association, and downtown residents to respond to the City’s proposals. The collective goal is to develop zoning amendments that effectively reflect the adopted PLAN: Downtown and from our perspective, protects our parks. The proposed Final Draft Zoning does not achieve this goal. 

THE THREE ASKS

Laying the groundwork for a vibrant, thriving and reinvigorated downtown neighborhood while preserving sunlight and guaranteeing the health and well-being of the Common and Garden have been paramount concerns. Our key asks are essentially three “Outcomes”:

  • SKY-R should be SKY-LOW-D, with a maximum height of 155′, and should extend to the Pi Alley site and the block that the Old South Meeting House occupies.
  • Build in specific financial incentives such as tax policy and/or subsidies to motivate affordable and moderate-income housing development, the rehabilitation and preservation of historic structure, and foster the neighborhood’s unique urban character.
  • Commitment from the City to uphold the State Shadow Laws protecting Boston Common and the Public Garden

ORIGINAL vs. NEW PLAN: DOWNTOWN

The graphics below capture the significant differences between the April 2024 Draft Amended Zoning Map vs. the January 2025 Draft Amended Zoning Map that was introduced by the City of Boston’s Planning Department on 1/15/25.

January 2025 Draft Amended Zoning Map

May 2025 Final Draft Zoning Map

Changes from January 2025 Draft Amended Zoning Map to May 2025 Final Draft Zoning Map

TAKE ACTION TO PROTECT YOUR PARKS

We invite you to review the information contained in our related email(s), and by following the links to other Friends’ and Boston Planning Department’s project documents, respectively. New zoning amendments must reflect the nearly 6-year PLAN: Downtown collaboration, and must ensure a renewed vitality for Downtown Boston, by encouraging right-sized development, respecting unique urban fabric and historic character, and by protecting our essential green spaces from additional and excessive shadow encroachment.