Public Improvement Commission meeting
The Public Improvement Commission will hold a meeting on November 19, 2020, in Boston City Hall Room 801 at 10 a.m.
With the ongoing public health concerns surrounding the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), the Public Improvement Commission (PIC) has implemented the following temporary practices and procedures in an effort to promote social distancing and to comply with federal, state, and local directives:
- Upcoming PIC hearings will tentatively be held as scheduled.
- Hearing participants will be digitally connected, per the City’s Department of Innovation and Technology.
- For those members of the public who are unable to attend the proceedings in person, all hearings will continue to be televised and may also be viewed online via Boston TV.
- Written testimony for all agenda items will continue to be accepted via email; testimony should be directed to PIC@boston.gov.
- Until further notice, only one full-size set of all PIC plans (rather than the customary three) is required to be submitted by the relevant filing deadline. All PIC plans, including revised versions, are also required to be submitted electronically as .pdf’s.
- A project may be considered eligible for a New Business agenda only if a 100% complete submission package (one hard copy of everything, including plans) is delivered to the PIC office by 4 p.m. on the Thursday prior to the target PIC hearing. Incomplete and/or piecemeal submissions will not be placed on a hearing agenda. For additional information on submission requirements, please reference the relevant PIC procedural checklist(s) found online.
- In addition to the typical hard-copy submission, a prospective New Business project is also required to submit a digital copy of all submission requirements (plans as noted above, signed petitions, agency responses, etc.) to PIC@boston.gov.
- Public access to City Hall continues to be limited. As such, hard copy submissions should be made via standard mail. Should any particular submission need to be delivered by hand, please contact PIC staff ahead of time via email to confirm staff availability to receive such a submission and to schedule a delivery time. Unannounced/unexpected in-person deliveries may not be accepted by City Hall staff.
- All dissemination of PIC plans to Public Agency and Utility Company reviewers should be done via email; certified mailings are no longer necessary.
- PIC staff will not be accepting in-person meetings until further notice; requests for phone and teleconference meetings will be accommodated to every reasonable extent. Such requests should be scheduled in advance via email.
- PIC staff will continue to be available via email during normal business hours.
These practices should be considered in effect immediately and will remain in effect until further notice by PIC staff. Updates to these practices will be posted as appropriate. Please feel free to contact PIC@boston.gov should you have any questions.
Discussion Topics
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Agenda
Hearing Minutes
At the request of the Public Improvement Commission staff, the Acceptance of the Minutes of the PIC hearing held on November 5, 2020.
Public Hearing
On a petition by GUGV II 212 Stuart Property Owning LLC for the making of Specific Repairs within the following public ways in Boston Proper, consisting of curb realignment, sidewalk, roadway, and pedestrian ramp reconstruction, as well as new and relocated specialty pavement, street lights, street trees, irrigation infrastructure, stormdrain infrastructure, groundwater recharge infrastructure, driveway curb cuts, and a “Silva Cell” groundwater retention/tree root protection system:
- Stuart Street – on its southerly side at address no. 212, east of Church Street;
- Church Street – between Stuart Street and Shawmut Street;
- Shawmut Street – on its northerly side between Church Street and Cocoanut Grove Lane.
(NB 11/5/2020) As shown on a set of plans entitled “City of Boston Public Works Department, Engineering Division, Specific Repairs Plan, 212 Stuart Street, Public Way, Boston,” 5 sheets dated September, 2020.
On a petition by GUGV II 212 Stuart Property Owning LLC for the granting of a Projection License for the installation of a canopy over a portion of the sidewalk within Stuart Street (public way), Boston Proper, located on its southerly side at address no. 212, east of Church Street.
(NB 11/5/2020) As shown on a plan entitled “City of Boston Public Works Department, Engineering Division, Canopy License, 212 Stuart Street, Public Way, Boston,” 1 sheet dated September, 2020.
On a petition by Back Deck Inc. (d/b/a French Quarter) for the granting of a Projection License for the installation of a marquee over a portion of the sidewalk within Washington Street (public way), Boston Proper, located on its northwesterly side at address no. 545, southwest of Avenue De Lafayette.
(NB 11/5/2020) As shown on a plan entitled “City of Boston Public Works Department, Engineering Division, License Plan, 545 Washington Street, Public Way, Boston,” 1 sheet dated October, 2020.
On a petition by Lark St Better Built LLC for the making of Specific Repairs within the following public ways in South Boston, consisting of sidewalk and pedestrian ramp reconstruction, as well as a relocated driveway curb cut:
- West Eighth Street – on its southwesterly side at address no. 177, northwest of Lark Street;
- Lark Street – on its northeasterly side southeast of W Eighth Street.
(NB 11/5/2020) As shown on a plan entitled “City of Boston Public Works Department, Engineering Division, Specific Repairs Plan, 177 West Eighth Street, South Boston,” 1 sheet dated September 10, 2020.
New Business
1. Massachusetts Avenue, Columbia Road; Roxbury, Dorchester – Specific Repairs – On a joint petition by the City of Boston Transportation Department and the City of Boston Public Works Department
2. Harvard Avenue; Hyde Park – Grant of Location – On a petition by Crown Castle
3. 17-19 Seaverns Avenue @ Brown Terrace; West Roxbury – Grant of Location – On a petition by National Grid