►
Description
Docket #1096 - Hearing regarding local wetlands protection legislation
A
O'malley-
and
we
are
here
today
to
discuss
docket
number
10-
ninety
six,
which
is
regarding
local
wetlands
protection
legislation.
This
is
a
hearing
order
that
was
authored
by
my
dear
colleague
and
friends.
He
councillor
at-large,
Michelle
woo
I,
want
to
thank,
of
course,
councilor
Wu
for
introducing
this
hearing
and
for
her
partnership
on
this,
and
so
many
incredible
and
effective
environmental
initiatives.
I
want
to
thank
members
of
the
Rosendale
wetlands
task
force
for
their
efforts
in
wetlands
preservation
and
plant
and
wildlife
protection.
The
rasa
del
wetlands
I
spent
many
days
as
I
was
growing
up.
A
My
grandparents
lived
on
Coniston
Road,
which
abuts
said
it's
a
wonderful
place.
That
is
very
important
to
me
personally
and
professionally.
As
the
chairman
of
the
Environment
sustainability
and
Parks
Committee
I'm
encouraged
to
explore
any
additional
measures
to
ensure
our
urban
environmental
landscape
use
preserved
wetlands,
our
land
areas
that
fluctuate
with
seasonal
water
levels.
Coastal
wetlands
include
Atlantic
beaches,
tidal
pools,
bays
and
inlets
as
well
salt
marshes.
We
have
a
number
of
wetlands
throughout
the
city
of
Boston,
including
in
district
six
in
neighboring
district
five.
A
We
want
to
make
sure
that
we
can
protect
them
to
the
threats,
man-made
and
otherwise
development
and
otherwise
to
make
sure
that
we
can
they
protect
them,
as
it
relates
to
flood
control,
prevention
of
pollution,
protection
of
public
and
private
water
supplies.
Groundwater
supplies,
fisheries,
land
wildlife,
habitat
among
others,
so
I'm
now
going
to
turn
it
over
before
I
turn
it
over
to
the
chief
author,
councilor
whoo
I
want
to
remind
everybody
that
this
is
a
streamed
and
televised
hearing
happening
right
now.
A
There
are
sign-in
sheets
up
to
my
left.
At
the
end,
we
will
stay
here
as
long
as
it
takes
if
people
would
like
to
testify,
please
sign
up
we're
going
to
have
a
couple
of
panels.
First,
we're
gonna
have
the
city's
panel,
but
before
I
get
to
Commissioner
Spector
I
want
to
invite
the
lead
author
councillor
Wu.
If
she
has
any
opening
remarks.
B
Thank
you
to
Karl
and
Amelia,
and
everyone
else
for
joining
us.
I
am
excited
about
the
prospect
of
talking
through
this
I
know.
This
has
been
something
wetlands.
Protection
legislation
has
been
something
that
the
city
has
been
looking
at
for
a
number
of
years
now
and
I
just
wanted
to
give
credit
where
credit's,
due
David
Morgan
from
my
office,
who
has
been
with
us
over
the
summer,
is
really
the
author
on
this
and
has
even
started
thinking
about
potential
next
steps.
B
So
he
was
informed
shortly
before
this
that
he
will
be
one
on
the
next
panel
as
well,
so
we'll
get
to
grill
him
on
everything
that
he's
been
working
on
this
summer.
But
it's
it
all
falls
into
the
same
bucket
that
councillor,
Malley
and
I
have
been
pushing
on,
which
is
that,
given
the
current
environment,
it
is
up
to
the
city,
and
particularly
the
city
of
Boston,
to
take
leadership
and
do
whatever
we
can
to
fight
climate
change
and
set
an
example
for
other
cities.
B
So
I
know
in
broad
strokes
that
this
is
one
more
Avenue
in
which
we
could
take
very
short,
if
not
an
immediate
action,
and
that
Boston
is
only
one
of
only
three
coastal
communities
in
Massachusetts
that
has
not
taken
this
type
of
action.
So
there's
a
lot
of
room
to
fill
in
details
about
what
the
shape
of
potential
wetlands
Protection
Ordinance
might
look
like,
but
this
is
something
that
affects
all
of
the
city.
B
A
C
Thank
you,
council,
O'malley,
and
thank
you
council
wolf
for
your
strong
leadership
on
this
issue.
As
many
of
you
know,
the
city
has
been
impacted
more
frequently
with
extreme
storms.
Just
last
winter
we
saw
at
3
Nor'easters
in
the
span
of
a
few
weeks.
My
district
covers
a
significant
portion
of
the
waterfront
during
these
storms
we
receive
calls
about
flooding
from
residents
in
South
Boston
four
point
in
the
waterfront
district.
It
is
important
that
we
act
now
to
ensure
proper
protections
for
our
city.
C
I
believe
we
must
take
every
action
possible
to
protect
our
residents
in
our
city.
Natural
barriers
like
Oh
wetlands
must
be
protected.
We
must
ensure
those
building
along
the
waterfront
use
the
best
available
science
and
data
as
well
coastal
storm
Flowage
must
be
addressed
when
developers
built
again
I
want
to
say
thank
you
to
Mayor
Walsh
for
his
leadership
in
this
issue.
I
want
to
say
thank
you
to
council,
low
council,
O'malley
and
I
look
forward
to
hearing
or
about
this
issue
today.
Thank
you,
Thank.
E
Right
Thank
You
councillor,
yes,
I'm,
Karl,
Spector
I,
am
commissioner
of
the
environment,
for
the
City
of
Boston
and
with
me
with
me,
is
Amelia
croteau,
who
is
executive
secretary
of
the
Conservation
Commission,
who
I
brought
with
me
in
case
you've,
any
specific
questions
on
the
current
jurisdiction
and
activities
of
the
Conservation
Commission
and
our
enforcement
of
the
state
wetlands
Protection
Act,
you
know
wetlands
and
other
green
and
open
spaces.
Have
you,
as
you've
mentioned,
provide
many
important
benefits
to
the
Boston
community,
stormwater
management,
wildlife,
habitat
heat
mitigation,
recreation
and
beauty
and
more.
E
For
this
reason,
the
Boston
Conservation
Commission
protects
wetlands
through
its
enforcement
of
the
Massachusetts
wetlands
Protection
Act,
the
wetlands
Protection
Act
recognizes
eight
important
wetland
functions
and
17
specific
types
of
wetland.
Resource
areas
that
need
protection
under
the
Act
Boston
may
create
a
local
wetlands
ordinance
that
can
provide
even
stronger
protection
than
those
available
under
state
law.
Wetlands
in
Boston
are
subject
to
many
pressures,
including
the
effects
of
climate
change,
especially
sea
level
rise.
For
this
reason,
developing
a
framework
for
greater
wetland
protection
is
already
part
of
the
green
of
eight
Boston
climate
action
plan.
E
The
2014's
preparedness
section
includes
the
action
expand,
green
infrastructure
requirements
such
as
through
a
local
wetlands
ordinance.
This
was
expanded
in
the
2016
climate,
ready
Boston
report,
which
included
an
initiative
to
develop
a
wetlands
protection
action
plan
where
the
local
wetlands
ordinance
as
a
possible
component
of
such
a
plan.
Members
of
the
Environment
Department,
the
Parks
and
Recreation
Department,
the
Boston
planning
and
development
agency
and
other
offices
have
been
engaged
in
discussions
on
what
the
specific
provisions
of
a
wetlands
ordinance
might
be,
and
particularly
I
would
to
other
climate
initiatives
that
the
city
has
underway.
E
We
welcome
the
opportunity
to
work
with
you
with
other
members
of
the
council
and
with
the
many
stakeholders
who
will
be
interested
in
further
development
of
a
proposal
on
this
subject.
As
we
consider
the
possibility
of
a
local
ordinance,
we
should
keep
in
mind
that
sea
level
rise
in
its
affects
important
as
they
are,
are
not
the
only
subjects
that
could
be
addressed.
Several
years
ago,
the
conservation
commission
held
a
series
of
public
hearings
to
recommend
guidelines
to
then
Mayor
Thomas
Menino
for
developing
a
local
ordinance.
E
I
cannot
say
whether
those
recommendations
represent
the
views
of
the
current
Commission,
but
they
are
nonetheless
instructive
in
addition
to
provisions
that
incorporate
sea-level
rise
into
the
protection
of
wetlands,
the
the
recommendations
included
an
expansion
both
in
the
number
of
wetland
functions
and
in
the
number
of
resource
areas
that
should
receive
protections.
Such
measures
could
address
some
non
climate
related
challenges
that
the
Commission
has
encountered.
E
Finally,
we
should
be
diligent
to
ensure
that
the
procedures
required
by
any
ordinance
are
as
fair
and
efficient
as
possible,
and
we
need
to
consider
the
effects
of
any
change
in
jurisdiction
and
requirements
on
the
capacity
and
resources
of
the
Conservation
Commission
in
its
existing
jurisdiction.
Several
thousand
parcels
of
lands
are
already
subject
to
oversight
by
the
Commission.
If
we
expand
that
number,
we
want
to
be
able
to
continue
to
provide
the
effective
regulation
and
efficient
review
that
together
ensure
protection
of
the
public
interest
and
respect
the
interests
of
property
owners.
E
A
A
E
E
E
Well,
as
I
said,
we've
had
discussions
over
the
years
about
how
to
develop
an
ordinance.
Obviously
we
haven't
been
able
to
present
one.
The
mayor
has
not
been
able
to
present
went
to
the
to
the
council,
yet
obviously
we
have
been
engaged
in
a
few
other
climate
resilience
related
activities
during
that
time.
So
it's
not
as
if
we're
not
paying
attention
to
this
important
issue.
Well,
that's.
B
B
Again,
we'll
hear
from
the
next
panel
some
thoughts
they
have
so
I
see
our
role,
and
you
know
my
office's
efforts
in
bringing
this
forward
as
trying
to
supplement
and,
where
possible,
fill
in
some
of
the
resource
gaps.
In
terms
of
you
know,
our
intentions
all
matching
up,
but
us
being
able
to
help
advance
some
of
the
legislative
work
which
is
you
know,
which
is
our
bread
and
butter
on
the
council
side
so,
but
just
to
take
one
step
back
and
really
understand
what
exactly
we're
talking
about
and
what
the
impact
might
be.
B
Do
we
have?
Does
the
Environment
Department
have
a
full
inventory
of
all
the
areas
that
are
designated
that
could
be
considered
wetlands
under
the
the
state
act
and
and
what
would
potentially
also
fall
under
that
if
we
expand
it,
if
we
use
city
ordinance
to
expand
that
to
its
fullest
potential?
Well,.
E
Climate
ready
Boston
initiative,
we
have
identified
those
areas
that
we
are
well
I,
think
are
likely
to
be
in
the
floodplain,
with
up
to
40
inches
of
sea
level
rise,
and
so
we
have
an
estimate
of
the
amount
of
land
that
would
be
then
come
under.
You
know
would
come
under
Conservation
Commission
jurisdiction
under
the
current.
E
Law,
if,
if
we
sort
of
moved
it
forward
in
time
and
so
depending
on
how
we,
how
one
might
define
a
an
expanded
jurisdiction
of
the
Conservation
Commission
to
take
into
account
projected
sea
level
rise
and
projected
areas
of
flooding,
you
know
we
could
develop
an
estimate
of
how
much
land
would
be
could
possibly
be
under
the
jurisdiction
of
the
Commission.
Okay,.
B
So,
let's
start
there
so
basically
the
ways
that
we
could
add
more
either
teeth
or
oversight
to
the
Conservation
Commission
and
the
city's
ability
to
think
about
climate
resiliency
specifically
around
wetlands
are
to
change
that
or
interpret
the
definition
of
vulnerable
areas
differently
using
the
future
projections,
and
that
would
not
require
an
additional
ordinance.
That
would
just
be
an
administrative
practice.
No.
E
That
would
probably
work
I
believe
you
know
a
subject,
although
further
analysis
I
think
that
would
require
a
change
in
the
ordinance,
because,
under
the
current
ordinance
you
know
the
land
subject
to
coastal
storm
Flowage,
which
is
what
we're
talking
about,
is,
is
defined
by
the
floodplain,
which
is
the
current.
The
current
you
know,
1%
probability,
flooding
area
got.
B
E
So
why
not?
One
of
the
ideas
that
we
have
been
considering
is
to
start
to
take
into
kid
takes
to
start
taking
into
consideration
to
protect
projected
levels
of
flooding
with
some
amount
of
sea
level
rise.
So
you
know,
as
I
said,
in
climate
ready,
Boston
and
in
all
the
planning
work
that
we're
doing
now
we're
looking
at
forty
inches
of
sea
level
rise.
So
if,
for
example,
this
is
one
way
of
approaching
it,
you
know
we
started
to
include
future
areas
of
flood
plain
into
the
jurisdiction
of
the
Conservation
Commission.
E
E
So
there
are,
you
know
there
are
several
different
approaches
that
one
could
take
I
mean
I,
you
know
if
we
move
into
an
ordinance.
Obviously
this
is
something
that
we
would
need
to
discuss
and
really
figure
out
what
makes
sense
for
the
city
of
Boston.
Both
you
know
both
in
terms
of
policy
and
in
terms
of
the
behavior
of
natural
systems,
and
you
know
in
our
jurisdictional
capacity,
so.
B
D
Have
to
submit
everything
that's
required
by
the
state,
plus
a
few
other
items
that
be
that
we,
the
Conservation
Commission,
asked
for
detailed
narrative
plans.
Things
like
that.
But
if,
like
I
said,
if
there
is
a
sensitive
area
within
their
development
site,
we're
gonna
ask
that
they
do
a
wetland,
determination
and.
E
So
basically
the
Conservation
Commission
is
looking
to
is
looking
to
ensure
that
the
existing
resource
areas,
the
wetlands
on
any
parcel
of
land
are
being
protected
and
that
the
values
specified.
You
know
you
know
water
quality
protection.
You
know,
flooding
protection
are
being
maintained
by
any
development
by
any
changes
that
are
taking
place
on
that
parcel
of
land
and.
B
B
E
Madad
that
the
climate
checklist,
that's
part
of
the
article
80
review
process,
is
also
now
submitted
to
the
Conservation
Commission
as
part
of
the
information
that
they
request.
You
know
that
it
does.
There
are
no
and
Emilia
can
correct
me
if
I'm
wrong.
There.
No
specific
report,
formance
requirements
that
are
associated
with
the
projected
levels
of
flooding
and
sea
level
rise
that
are
that
we
that
we,
the
city
as
a
whole,
ask
developers
to
inform
us
about
in
relation
to
new
developments
and
Cielo
and
climate
change.
E
That
would
be
one
of
the
approaches
that
if
we
expanded
the
areas
of
jurisdiction,
the
type
of
resource
areas
to
expand
buffer
zones
or
some
sort
of
resilient
zones,
you
know
they're
called
various
things
and
develop
performance
standards,
performance
standards
for
them.
Then
you
know.
If
we
write
a
good
ordinance,
we
could
presumably
require
developers
to
meet
those
kinds
of
standards.
Have.
D
B
Okay,
okay,
so
what
I'm
hearing
is
that
there's
potential
with
an
ordinance
both
to
expand
the
physical
geography?
That's
included
in
the
jurisdiction
with
definitions
and
floodplain
projections,
but
also
to
change
the
practices
of
what
the
Conservation
Commission
requires.
Theoretically,
moving
into
or
adding
performance
standards,
and/or
different
types
of
restrictions
or
easements.
In
addition
to
what
happens
now,
yeah.
E
The
I
think
the
the
there
are
many
resource
areas,
even
under
the
current
law
that
do
not
have
performance
standards.
The
advantage
of
performance
standards
will
just
be
clarity,
mm-hmm.
You
know
that
that
everyone
will
just
know
what's
required
and
assumably.
That
would
both
help
help
both
landowners
in
preparing
their
proposals
and
obviously
the
Commission.
To
and
evaluating
the
repulsion.
B
D
E
A
Okay,
that's
good
to
know,
and
then
there's
been
little.
This
isn't
a
criticism
Carl,
but
it
seems
to
me
there's
been
little
focus
from
your
department
in
terms
of
re,
rewrite
REE
picking
up
the
banner
in
terms
of
crafting
a
ordinance,
but
there's
certainly
an
appetite
there.
It's
just
you've
had
oh
there's.
E
Certainly
I
mean,
as
I
mentioned
as
because
it
was
included
in
our
both
in
our
climate
action
plan
and
and
climate
ready,
Boston.
We
we
see
that
could
be
a
very
effective
tool
good
so,
as
I
said
so
we're
very
interested
in
look.
You
know
and
working
with
you
yeah
to
to
explore
this
and
see
what
we
can
come
up
with.
Okay,
excellent.
C
Thank
You
counsel,
Mellie
I,
know
in
the
city
we
have
currently
and
one
of
the
biggest
ever
building
booms.
I
know
we
have
current
regulations
for
developers,
but,
as
you
consider
this
issue,
do
you
have
any
recommendations
that
you
could
make
on
how
we
can
ensure
everybody
works
closely?
The
developing
development
is
development
or
the
people
that
are
concerned
about
this
issue
in
the
impacted
neighborhood,
you
know
going
forward
what
are
some
of
the
steps
we
can
take
as
a
community
or
as
a
city?
Well.
E
Certainly
for
us
to
start
off
just
being
aware
of
of
the
issue,
you
know
that
the
since
the
mayor
released
our
climate
ready,
Boston
report
in
2016,
we've
had
we've
completed
some
coastal
resilience,
solutions
for
East,
Boston
and
Charlestown,
and
we're
currently
at
work
as
I
think
you
know,
counselor
on
developing
plans
for
South
Boston
and
we'll
be
moving
on
to
other
areas
of
the
city,
so
we're
developing
specific
proposals
that
can
provide
in
neighborhood
based
protection
for
sea
level
rise
and
coastal
flooding.
So
that's
very
important.
You
know
we
are
making
our.
E
Standards
or
what
what
we
want
developers
to
address
very
clear
in
terms
of
new
development,
the
climate
checklist
that
we've
already
referred
to
this
morning,
we've
asked
or
this
afternoon
excuse
me
we're
asking
developers
to
look
at
the
consequences
of
40
inches
of
sea-level
rise
and
to
describe
to
us
how
they
are
preparing
their
projects
to
with
a
level
of
flooding
that
we
expect
to
occur.
Then,
and
so
this
this
is
one
mechanism.
C
E
Absolutely
though,
we're
always
looking
for
more
opportunities.
So
if
you
have
some
suggestions,
we
we
welcome
them.
In
the
past
the
six
months
we've
had
two
open
houses:
okay
in
South
Boston
as
part
of
the
South
Boston.
You
know
planning
efforts,
and
you
know
we
they
were.
You
know
high
attendance.
You
know
I
think
at
the
last,
at
the
last
one
we
had
over
a
hundred
people
from
the
community
come
and
look
at
some
of
the
proposals
that
we
were
being
developed
to
develop,
resilience
solutions
for
South
Boston,
and
you
know
we.
A
You
councillor
Flynn,
you
had
mentioned
I.
Think
one
of
the
questions
come
through.
It
asked
us
sort
of
about
the
process
when
a
developer
is
looking
to
build
something
that
may
be
adjacent
to
a
wetlands.
There's
certain
criteria
that
the
Conservation
Commission
outlines
correct.
Okay,
and
that's
this
it's
the
I,
think
you
said
the
state
guidelines
plus
a
site
visit
that
do
they
do
they
conduct
their
own
sort
of
wetlands
visit.
Is
there
so?
Is
there
a
person?
A
Who's
got
a
sterling
reputation
who
can
admit
how
does
that
work
walk
me
a
little
bit
more
through
that?
In
other
words,
we
had
a
situation
in
West
Roxbury,
where
there
was
a
adjacent
to
Allendale
woods.
In
fact,
there's
a
wetlands
area,
which
I
believe
is
one
of
the
two
vernal
pools
in
the
City
of
Boston
and
a
developer
was
looking
to
develop
several
units.
A
There
I
had
grave
concern,
as
did
many
of
my
neighbors
I,
believe
he
had
two
meetings
at
the
Conservation
Commission
and
and
without
getting
into
specifically
his
case,
although
perhaps
I
just
did,
can
you
just
walk
through
what
the
process
would
be
for
that?
You
know
specifically
in
terms
of
doing
the
the
state
mandated
guidelines
and
then
the
the
extra
step
that
you
all
prescribed.
A
A
F
E
I
may
add
so,
as
Amelia
said,
we
look
to
the
property
owner
or
the
developer
to
the
present.
The
initial
information
and
Amelia
or
her
colleagues
will
always
or
certainly
usually
perform
a
site
visit.
If
there
is
any
question
as
in
terms
of
what
we've
received
from
the
applicant,
we
do
and
we
as
we
do
it
on
occasion,
we
can
hire
our
own
wetlands
expert
to
conduct
an
independent
survey
and
check
the
information.
You
know
we
do
that
as
necessary.
A
A
D
F
A
A
Well,
to
that
end,
I
think
a
nice
way
to
I
appreciate
and
stand
with
councilor
Wuan
in
her
work
and
we're
gonna
continue
to
delve
into
this
I.
Think
a
nice
compliment
to
this
at
work
that
we're
also
have
been
working
on
with
your
team
Carl
on
NetZero
carbon
and
in
changing
the
building
code,
and
perhaps
we've
talked
about
doing
an
environmental
overlay.
District
we've
talked
about
changing
certain
aspects
of
the
building
code.
I
think
that
this
would
dovetail
nicely
of
both
strengthening
it,
bolstering
it
and
and
making
it
more
effective.
So
if
I.
E
Might
do
an
appoint
one
other
important
activity
which
is
not
the
same
as
this,
but
is
closely
related
to
the
idea
around
a
wetlands
ordinance
about
I,
don't
have
I'm,
sorry,
I,
don't
have
the
exact
tape.
In
the
last
few
weeks,
the
Boston
of
Planning
and
Development
Agency
has
opened
an
RFP
for
resilient,
open
space,
copper,
I'm,
sorry
for
a
flood,
resiliency
zoning
overlay,
district
and
resiliency
design
guidelines.
So
in
other
words,
how
do
we
get
these
kinds
of
concepts
of
preparing
for
sea
level
rise,
increased
levels
of
flooding
into
the
zoning
code
yeah?
E
Obviously
this
is
still
the
beginning
of
their
process.
It's
also,
but
it's
it's
parallel
to
a
possible
development
of
a
wetlands
ordinance
and
if
we
move
forward
with
the
wetlands
ordinance,
we
want
to
make
sure
that
these
two
activities,
both
in
ordinance
and
the
zoning,
are
closely
aligned
so
that
their
requirements
are
consistent
and
mutually
reinforcing
the.
A
B
Concert
well,
thank
you,
mr.
chairman,
so
on
that
note,
in
terms
of
codifying
through
zoning
versus
an
ordinance
right
now,
if
it
were
done
through
zoning,
the
VRA
would
be
the
entity
or
the
GBA
would
be
the
entity
to
grant
potential
variances
from
that.
In
that
case,
and
so
a
developer
could,
theoretically,
you
know
understand
what
the
requirements
are,
but
then
ask
for
an
exception.
What
would
be
the
parallel
for
doing
it
through
an
ordinance?
Is
there
a
concomitance
or.
D
E
And
I
don't
think
this
is
not
definitely
not
an
either/or
I
mean.
Obviously,
projects
are
already
subject
to
zoning
and
are
already
subject
to
Conservation
Commission
jurisdiction
and
they
address
different
parts
of
a
project
and
I'm.
Just
saying
that
we
we
would
want
to
develop
these
two
things
in
such
a
way
that
they,
you
know,
obviously,
that
they
don't
conflict,
but
they
work
together
to
create
a
you
know,
as
both
affair
and
as
strong
a
regime
as
we
would
like.
I.
B
Completely
agree
and
I
I
just
think
it's
an
important
point
to
note
that
so
I
guess
what
I
was
trying
to
underscore
in
your
statement
was
that
having
both
is
important
as
well,
because
relying
just
on
Zoning
to
do
it
still
leaves
open
the
door
for
a
lot
of
different
exceptions
and
one-off
circumstances,
many
of
which
are
valid.
But
in
the
face
of
climate
change,
sometimes
it's.
It
would
seem
to
have
more
consistency,
and/or
teeth
to
have
the
second
set
of
expectations
through
the
Conservation
Commission.
That's.
E
A
F
A
G
David
Morgan
I'm
a
policy
fellow
in
counselor,
whose
office
I
am
a
graduate
student
at
Tufts
University,
and
the
urban
and
environmental
policy
and
planning
program
and
I
have
been
working
on
this
ordinance.
The
last
ten
weeks
or
so
I
have
in
fact
drafted
a
copy
of
the
ordinance
should
that
prove
helpful
in
the
future.
It
addresses
many
of
the
things
that
commissioner
specter
raised
and
that
amelia
also
raised
in
their
testimony.
F
H
F
A
G
Flowage
mass
DEP
is
working
on
those
right
now,
so
there
will
be
eventually
regulations
at
the
state
level
that
are
binding
for
us
locally
that
moved
forward.
After
the
initial
version
of
this
wetlands
ordinance
was
introduced
back
in
2013,
so
I
know
that's
been
discussed,
it's
it's
out
in
the
air
and
at
the
state
level.
They've
started
working
on
it.
G
G
Things
like
size,
definitions,
setbacks,
things
of
that
nature,
fees,
permitting
processes,
etc
that
we
just
kind
of
need
to
deal
with
at
the
administrative
level
to
implement
a
local
wetlands
ordinance
and
then
the
second
is
a
bit
more
ambitious
and
even
groundbreaking
with
the
climate
change
resilience
clauses
and
those
are
more
specific
to
the
issues
that
we've
raised
so
far
and
subject
goes
assortment,
Flowage
and
so
forth.
So
there
are
two
separate
pieces
to
this.
G
H
Commission's,
it
is
a
statewide
organization
that
was
founded
really
just
a
few
in
1961
just
a
few
years
after
the
legislation
passed
to
set
up
conservation
commissions,
and
it
plays
a
very
important
role
in
educating
and
advocate,
advocating
for
Conservation
Commission's
around
the
state.
Boston
is
a
member.
As
our
you
know,
the
prime
constituency
really
is
the
2300
Conservation
Commission's
commissioners
in
the
in
the
state
that
Conservation
Commission
stupid
does.
H
Members
of
MACC
and
we
have
a
very
large
environmental
conference,
every
year's
largest
environmental
annual
conference
under
the
environment
in
New
England
and
with
the
largest
and
most
active
statewide
Association
of
Conservation
Commission's
in
the
country.
So
it's
an
important
group
and
and
I
just
I
think
it's
important
to
note
that
that
the
conservation
commissions
and
and
what
they
do
and
protection
of
open
space
and
protection
of
wetlands
is
very
important
in
this
state.
H
A
H
H
They
can
be
really
handy
for
helping
towns
to
tailor
their
wetlands
protection
to
their
local
needs,
as
you
know
that
the
state
law
has
resource
areas
and
values
that
interests
of
the
act
are
called,
which
are
the
values
they're
set
up
to
protect
their
eat
of
them
and
I.
Think
they've
been
been
largely
mentioned
here
and
then
their
regulations
spell
out
and
and
most
of
the
performance
standards
are
not
in
the
act
itself.
H
The
wetland
protection
act
they're
spelled
out
in
DP
regulations,
which
are
very
voluminous,
though
hundreds
of
pages
long,
they're,
very,
very
detailed,
and
they
contain
specific
performance
standards
for
each
resource
area.
So
so
you
figure
out
what
resource
area
that
project
is
going
to
affect
and
then
apply
those
performance,
standards
and
and
the
property
owner
would
be
expected
to
meet
those
performance
standards.
H
So
the
and
it
is
I
do
want
to
note.
It
is
a.
It
is
a
permit
process.
So,
although
a
large
land
area
can
be
subject,
jurisdiction,
people
don't
need
to
do
anything
unless
they're
going
to
do
something
that
will
alter
wetland
and
they,
you
know,
have
to
send
in
an
application
for
a
permit
and
and
typically
there's
also
a
process
called
a
determination
of
applicability.
That
can
be
a
little
simpler
that
that
may
handle
smaller
projects
or
make
a
determination.
It's
not
subject
to
jurisdiction.
H
So
there
is
that
just
turning
now
to
the
role
and
importance
of
local
bar
laws
and
ordinances,
the
when
cities
and
towns
choose
to
use
the
Home
Rule
Authority,
which
is
what
it
is
to
adopt
an
ordinance
by
law
and
and
as
I
think
it's
been
noted,
almost
200
of
the
cities
announced
Massachusetts
have
to
have
done
this.
So
it's
a
it's
quite
quite
a
movement
there,
and
so
a
couple
of
things.
First
of
all,
the
the
local
by
law
or
nose
has
to
be
different
and
more
stringent
than
state
standards.
H
You
have
to
make
sure
you
look
make
sure
that
what
you
do
when
your
ordinances
is
more
stringent
appears.
I
have
looked
at
this
in
some
detail
and
seems
like
it
definitely
would
meet
that
test
and
and
also
the
appeals,
would
go
to
of
under
a
bylaw
ordinance
go
to
court
rather
than
to
an
appeal
to
DEP.
But
I
also
want
to
be
clear
that
that
conservation,
Commission's
that
are
administering
bylaws
or
ordinances
they're,
also
administering
the
state
law.
H
So
there's
one
single
hearing
and
and
the
same
sorts
of
things
are
taken
into
account,
and
then
the
city
or
town
that
has
a
bylaw
also
considers
any
any
things
that
are
different
at
the
local
level
and
issuing
a
permit
and
their
permits
tend
to
be
sort
of
that
they
there's
a
sort
of
a
tendency
for
there
to
be
a
narrative
focus
that
they
can
be
about
depth
in
an
appeal
to
court.
They
can
be
defended.
H
The
ordinance
and
I
can
simplify
things
things
a
bit
and
then
the
things
that
are
most
commonly
different
under
bylaws
ordinances
are,
and
some
of
these
have
been
noted,
to
expand
or
use
different
jurisdiction.
An
example
of
that
would
be
many
cities
and
towns
at
the
buffer
zone
is
a
resource
area.
That's
been
been
pretty
common,
adding
interests
or
values.
For
example.
Recreation
is
also
added,
as
an
interest
of
the
average
is
not
under
one
of
the
ones
under
this
under
the
state
law.
H
That's
that's,
been
upheld,
sometimes
there's
some
changes
and
procedures
establishing
fees,
that's
something
that
under
the
state
act
commissions
get
some
fees,
but
but
not
enough
into
in
the
minds
of
some
communities
and
then
Claire
finding
grounds
for
issuing
they're
denying
a
permit.
Often
they'll
have
to
have
some
differences
there,
so
anyway,
MACC
does
have
a
model
bylaw
that
some
communities
have
used.
H
A
I
We
were
really
thrilled
to
get
the
invitation
to
come
today.
I
was
here
several
months
ago
on
a
very
similar
panel
to
talk
about
flooding
in
the
city
of
Boston
and
at
that
time
one
of
CL
s
major
priorities
was
that
the
city
look
at
getting
a
wetlands
ordinance
over
the
finish
line
this
year,
and
you
know
wetlands,
as
you
know,
my
colleagues
have
already
said.
I
And
you
know,
while
the
city
of
Boston
has
long
been
considered
a
leader
in
policy
in
Massachusetts.
This
is
an
area
where
I
think
we
are
noticeably
behind
our
neighbors
and
behind
other
municipalities
in
the
state.
Over
half
of
all
municipalities
in
Massachusetts
already
have
a
wetland,
bylaw,
ordinance
or
regulation
and
in
place
to
be
fair.
You
know
this
is
something
that's
been
contemplated
in
the
city
of
Boston
for
a
while
now
and
there's
been
a
lot
of
work
done
to
take
a
look
at
this
and
stopped
installed.
I
Most
recently,
it
was
included
as
a
recommended
strategy
in
the
2016
clarity
Boston
report,
which
is
great
and
I'm
encouraged
after
here
Carl
and
Amelia's-
testimony
that
it's
still
under
consideration
and
being
thought
through.
So
that's
great
I,
you
know,
Boston's
adoption
of
a
local
wetlands
ordinance
is,
in
our
view,
really
important
for
two
reasons:
one
there
many
reasons,
but
the
two
main
reasons
one.
There
are
gaps
in
the
current
state.
I
And
so
essentially,
it
is
the
floodplain
and,
as
I'm
sure
you
know,
everyone
in
this
room
knows
the
floodplain
there's
a
lot
of
there's
an
enormous
utility
in
preserving
the
natural
capacity
and
function
of
the
floodplain,
with
or
without
climate
change.
But
climate
change
has
obviously
made
preserving
that
function.
I
Much
more
important
land
subject
to
coastal
storm
Flowage
is
actually
the
only
resource
area
in
the
state
law
that
does
not
have
performance
standards,
and
so
many
municipalities
have
taken
it
upon
themselves
to
adopt
performance
standards
for
that
resource
area,
and
they
do
that
in
a
variety
of
ways.
But
the
good
news
is
that
there's
a
lot
of
precedent
for
us
to
look
at
how
they've
done
it
as
David
and
maybe
also
Pam
mentioned.
The
state
has
also
been
looking
at
performance
standards
for
these
resource
areas.
I
I'll
note
that
while
it
may
be
tempting
to
wait
for
the
state
to
come
out
with
their
recommendations
on
performance
standards,
I
think
the
City
of
Boston
should
move
forward.
You
know,
regardless
of
the
state
process,
mainly
because
the
state
has
been
considering
performance
standards
for
these
resource
areas,
since
the
1990s
so
again
has
stopped
installed,
but
that's
where
we
are,
and
so
second
you
know
our
understanding
of
climate
change.
Is
you
know
more
sophisticated
than
it's
ever
been
in
the
impacts
of
sea
level
rise?
I
So
we've
seen
many
cities
and
towns
start
to
account
for
that
as
well.
So
again,
the
good
news
is
that
there's
many
cities
and
towns
who
have
already
done
this
or
looking
at
this
and
there's
plenty
of
examples
to
look
to
I.
Think
I.
Think
everyone
in
this
room
can
agree
that
there's
fairly
broad
consensus,
that
there
is
a
need
for
a
wetland,
ordinance
and
regulations
at
the
local
level.
I
I
think,
what's
less
clear
is
how
the
relevant
city
departments
and
other
stakeholders
are
coordinating
to
really
make
this
an
actionable
item
this
year
and
it
we
think,
it's
extremely
important
that
you
know
going
forward
the
development
of
a
local
well
and
any
local
wetland
protection
is
coordinated
among
all
the
relevant
city
departments,
the
City
Council,
the
Conservation
Commission,
and
it
incorporates
all
of
the
data
and
findings
of
ongoing
parallel
efforts,
particularly
climate
ready
Boston.
So
we
look
forward
to
continuing
this
conversation,
see
elif's
available
as
a
resource
as
needed.
Thanks
thank.
A
You
very
much
thank
all
of
you
for
your
incredible
insight,
expertise
of
work
on
this
very
important
issue.
This
is
a
this
is
a
great
panel.
So
I
have
a
brief
question
for
each
of
you.
David
we'll
start
with.
You
haven't,
read
your
ordinance.
Yet
your
proposal,
yet
looking
forward
to
reading
it
and
I'm
sure
it's
very,
very
thorough
in
your
research.
A
G
Working
I
would
say
that
Arlington
is
probably
at
the
leading
edge
of
this
issue,
mm-hmm.
In
fact,
they
developed
regulations
that
only
went
into
effect
at
the
start
of
this
year,
roughly
the
first
couple
months
this
year
and
those
are
the
most
ambitious
set
that
I've
seen
to
date.
Of
course,
there's
the
difference
between
putting
it
directly
and
in
ordinance
and
then
doing
it
in
their
regulations.
Arlington
already
had
a
local
wetlands
ordinance
in
place,
and
so
they
chose
to
simply
add
climate
resilience
to
their
ordinance
and
then
develop
regulations.
So.
A
Not
only
are
we
behind
the
ball
so
to
speak,
but
there
are
cities
and
towns
that
are
now
on
their
second
iteration
of
their
wetlands
or
and
strengthening
it
to
address
climate.
Look
right,
that's
true
interesting,
but
but
Arlington
is
good.
So
Pam
do
you
talked
about
sort
of
the
template
that
you
guys
have
is?
Is
that
would
you
share?
You
know
probably
more
about
every
city
in
town
and.
H
D
H
Of
the
I
think,
a
town
in
the
Cape
I
think
it
may
be.
Falmouth
is
added
on
a
a
foot
to
the
dune
height
or
something
I.
Think
is
something
like
that,
but
anyway,
but
it's
important
to
keep
in
mind
that
cities
and
towns
have
different
sort
of
needs.
Char's.
What
to
think
about
here
in
Arlington
I
think
had
a
lot
of
flooding
concerns
I,
think
it's
the
alewife
up,
that's
causing
trouble
anyway.
They
and
they
one
specific
thing
they
add
did
was
for
in
the
in
land.
H
Subject
of
flooding,
boarding
limbs
of
flooding
along
rivers.
You
have
to
report,
you
have
to
a
developer,
has
to
give
compensatory
storage.
So
in
other
words,
if
there's
going
to
be
anything
in
the
floodplain,
they
have
to
account
for
that
to
be
sure
that
there
won't
be
any
overall
flooding
from
it.
H
So
it's
okay,
I,
don't
want
it,
don't
need
to
turn
you
into
engineers,
but
in
any
event
they
what
one
thing
they
did
and
specifically
under
the
state
regulations,
it's
a
requirement
that
the
volume
loss
be
compensated,
a
one
to
one
ratio
and
they
increase
that
ratio
to
two
to
one.
So
it's
an
example
in
an
ordinance
of
getting
more.
You
know
being
sure
that
you're
gonna
have
a
more
protection
from
flooding.
A
H
A
H
J
H
A
H
H
C
H
H
F
H
H
A
Thank
you.
Deana
talk
a
little
bit
about
sort
of
the
the
second
point.
You
talked
about
performance
standards
and
I.
Guess
it's
a
similar
question,
but
maybe
CLF
has
a
different
perspective
to
it.
Talk
about
what
performance
standards
would
make
our
eventual
councils,
eventual
proposal,
solid
and
effective
yeah.
I
I
emphasize
Pam's
point
that
local
conditions
matter
a
lot
and
in
the
context
of
Boston,
especially
because
we
are
in
the
midst
of
a
pretty
big
development
boom.
There
would
need
to
be
some
robust
conversation
about
what
the
impacts
of
any
performance
standards
would
be,
and
so
I
don't
know
that
we
can.
I
Process
I
think
would
be
really
valuable
in
to
Michelle's
point.
You
know
we
have
the
BPD
a
process.
We
have
the
zoning
process,
there's
an
appeal
process:
there
there's
a
variance
process
they're
having
the
conservation
commission
as
a
bit
of
a
backstop
on
some
of
that
waterfront
development
and
having
some
additional
standards
that
are
mandatory
and
you
know
have
their
own
appeals
process.
But
arguably
one
that's
a
little
bit
more
robust
and
different
procedurally
than
the
BPD.
A
process
could
be
really
valuable
in
making
sure
that
whatever
is
developed
in
those
floodplains
is
responsible
development.
B
You
so
I
wanted
to
start
with
this
idea
of
a
legislation
that
we're
passing
once
in
kind
of
a
static
view,
matched
with
constantly
changing
projections
of
sea
level
rise
and
impacts,
and
science
and
David
I
think
mentioned
it
in
the
beginning
of
how
do
you
have
the
best
available
so
in
the
in
the
draft
ordinance?
Do
you
you
get
at
that
by
mentioning
your
using
as
the
standard
best
available
measures
of
precipitation
frequency
statistics
and
500
year?
B
I
I
It
depends
Boston's,
I,
believe
was
updated
in
2016,
but
there
are
a
lot
of
other
criticisms
for
how
FEMA
develops
those
Maps,
particularly
that
they
don't
include
all
of
the
processes
that
would
affect
the
vulnerability
of
certain
lands,
including
things
like
erosion.
So,
if
there's
a
question
as
to
whether
or
not
even
the
retrospective
Maps
and
based
on
historical
rates
are
as
accurate
as
they
really
need
to
be,
let
alone
accurate.
For
you
know,
development
that
will
be
around
for
50
or
60
years
is.
B
G
A
part
of
the
ordinance
that
I
put
together
thanks
to
CLS
help
that
refers
to
special
transition
zones,
and
that
is
particularly
meant
to
address
salt
marsh
migration,
and
so
that
is
a
more
dynamic
evaluation
of
a
resource
area
that
necessarily
migrates
and
with
the
sea
level
rise,
we'll
need
to
move
further
inland.
So
there
are
ways
of
dynamically
defining
the
resource
areas
to
adjust
with
with
change.
Okay,.
H
B
It
okay
and
then
just
a
touch
a
little
following
up
on
councillor
mallies
line
of
questioning
around
performance
standards
are
we
talking
about?
We
had
an
exchange
with
the
administration
specifically
about
the
coastal
storm
water
flow
edge,
vulnerable
areas
and
not
having
performance
standards
are
there?
Would
we
be
looking
to
change?
And/Or
set
the
performance
standards
for
other
resource
areas
as
well
and
again?
How
do
you
get
at
sort
of
staying
ahead
of
the
curve
with
the
standards?
H
H
So
in
a
way
you
know
this
timing
is
good
because
you
see
what
what
they
do
and
then
you
know
you
can
need
if
you're
going
to
do
something
different,
you
want
it
to
be
more
stringent,
actually
just
changing
it
from
the
hundred
year
storm
to
the
500
year.
Storm.
Probably
what
you
know
would
be
just
actually
more
stringent
but
anyway,
but
there
has
been
some
movement
there
and.
B
I
think
I
think
it
was
Pamela
who
had
mentioned
Kahn
comms
the
commissioners
need
to
administer
both
sets
of
federal
and
state
I
mean
sorry
local
and
state
laws,
but
that
because
you're
doing
it
I
might
have
been
the
I
camera,
but
you're
doing
it
in
one
sitting
in
one
meeting
so
that
it's
not
necessarily
more
burdensome.
Is
that
I
guess?
Could
you
go
into
that
a
little
more?
How
much
additional
training
would
our
commissioners
need
or
other
resources,
technical
assistance
to
be
able
to
have
our
existing
structures,
administrative
structures?
H
Typically,
the
once
the
application
comes
in,
there
is
a
there
is
a
timetable,
and
and
so
typically
in
the
under
the
state
law,
it's
fairly
tight.
So
there
has
to
be
a
public
hearing
within
21
days.
I
mean
it's
a
you
know.
It's
things,
things
move
fairly
fairly
promptly.
So
that's
a
that's
a
good
thing.
Sometimes
it's
tough
but
anyway,
but
it's
a
good
thing
and
and
so
typically
bylaws
are
set
up
to
meet
the
same
timetable
and
there's
a
joint
public
notice
of
under
the
stayed
in
and
the
bylaw.
H
What's
called
the
order
of
conditions,
that's
what
the
permit
is
called.
We
use
that
and
then
then
there's
a
additional
pages
at
the
end
for
any
additional
conditions
under
the
bylaw
and
I.
Think
it's
often
done
that
way.
Communities
obviously
can
do
different
things
that
they,
if
they
want
to,
but
typically
it's
handled
that
way.
So
it's
it's
not.
You
know
like
two
separate
permitting
processes.
It
is
though
it
is.
H
It
is
true
that
under
the
under
the
state
regulations,
if
applicants
unhappy
with
the
permit
or
other
entities,
their
appeal
rights
to
others
as
well
can
can
a
request,
it's
called
a
superseding
order,
a
different
permit
from
DEP
and
then,
if
they
weren't
happy
with
that,
there
can
be
an
appeal
to
an
adjudicatory
hearing
and
that
can
go
to
court
under
under
a
bylaw.
The
appeal
is
directly
to
court
and
so
commissions
do
want
to
take
some
time
to
keep
that
in
mind
when
they
make
their
decision.
I.
H
B
K
B
I
guess
my
final
question
is
any
recommendations
you
have
in
terms
of
process
of
moving
forward
mostly
around
how
Boston
should
arrive
at
the
best,
the
most
suitable
balance
for
us
as
a
municipality
of
protection
versus
development,
and
you
know
the
city's
economy
or
you
know
we'll
hear
that
don't
kill
the
Golden
Goose
line
a
lot,
but
faced
with
this
very
real
threat
of
climate
change.
So
what
are
the
types
of
processes
that
have
worked
in
terms
of
bringing
residents
in
the
business
community
developers
I?
B
I
Mean
I
would
be
very
curious
to
see
where
the
city
is
in
their
processes,
because
my
understanding
is
that
they
are
kind
of
on
a
parallel
track.
Looking
at
this
issue,
so
I
think
it
would
be
really
important
to
reconcile
what's
ever
been
done
at
the
City
Council
level,
with
what's
happening
with
other
city
departments,
obviously
really
important
to
bring
in
all
the
various
stakeholders
that
want
to
seat
at
the
table,
including
real
estate
interest,
but
also
the
environmental
community
and
neighborhood
organization
and
others
I
think.
I
H
H
Some
some
communities
have
a
sometimes
you
can
look
at
and
put
in
regulations
things
that
are
sort
of
minor
activities
that
that
people
can
do,
provided
they
do
them
in
certain
ways
and
then
they
don't
need
to
apply
at
all.
So
that
can
be
a
handy
tool.
There
are
some
of
those
in
though
then
the
VP's
regulations,
actually
they
weren't
for
decades,
and
then
they
got
put
in
a
while
ago,
but
that
that's
been
helpful
and
some
communities
also
have
a
administrative
review
process.
H
So
people
can
talk
to
the
Commission's
agent
inquire
about
what
they
want
to
do
and
whether
or
not
it's
subject
to
jurisdiction.
So
that
can
help
so
I.
Think
if
you
have
some
ways
that
for
people
who
are
concerned
about
being
under
jurisdiction,
there
might
not
have
been
before
I
think
that
can
can
miss
things
and
I.
Think
the
other
thing
about
Boston
that
so
that's
a
little
different
than
the
many
communities
is
that
you
know
Boston's
pretty
fully
developed.
H
So
just
an
example
for
the
riverfront
area
under
the
rivers,
Protection
Act
there's
a
particular
provisions
for
redevelopment
rather
than
the
otherwise
applicable
performance
standards,
and
the
bottom
line
there
is,
you
prove,
can
just
existing
conditions.
So
that's
a
that's
a
good
thing
to
have
that
in
there.
So
that's
something
you
can
you
can
think
about
doing,
and
it
may
I
haven't
really
kind
of
thought
this
through,
but
it
may
work
for
other
contexts.
H
B
So
the
only
thing
I
forgot
to
mention
earlier
is
that
we
did
get
some
questions,
particularly
from
Fenway,
about
how
this
would
apply
to
the
fens
and
invasive
species.
They're,
the
organizations
and
community
leaders
really
wanting
to
have
reassurance
that
this
wouldn't
mean
that
any
area
around
wetlands
would
be
sort
of
frozen
from
any
activity
and
that
they're
the
goal
that
they
have
to
make
sure
that
the
native
plants
are
restored
and
invasive
species
managed
would
not
be
at
odds
with
this
and
I
believe.
B
A
G
A
That's
an
excellent
answer,
so
good
answer:
I,
look
forward
to
I
hope
to
read
your
thesis
women
when
you're
done,
family
I
know
you're
a
Brookline
yeah
resident,
but
right
over
I
can
I
can
think
of
one
between
Jamaica
Plain
and
Brookline.
That
I
used
to
love
to
go
to
and
I
still
love
to
go
to.
But
what
would
be
your
favorite
I.
L
F
L
I
A
Right,
we'll
save
it
for
the
next
time,
but
thank
you
all.
This
was
really
really
helpful,
really
really
informative.
That
is
all
I
think
we
have
fin
this
panel.
I,
don't
have
any
I,
see
some
dear
friends
in
the
audience
who
I
thought
for
certain
would
be
testified,
but
I
don't
have
anyone
who
is
signed
in
and
asked
to
testify
if
any
open,
I
see
a
hand
raised.
A
So
anyone
who
would
like
to
testify
just
please
you
are
the
first
line
up
behind
this
gentleman
at
one
of
those
two
podiums
behind
me
and
if
you
could
just
join
us
and
then
say
your
name
and
affiliation,
this
panel
can
leave
if
you're
welcome,
to
sit
and
listen
to
the
public
testimony
from
those
chairs,
but
you're
welcome
to
sit
and
the
more
comfortable
off
the
hot
seat
as
well.
Thank
you
all
excellent.
K
K
First
of
all,
I
just
want
to
express,
in
general
our
support
for
Boston
two
paths
of
local
wetlands
ordinance
as
many
folks
have
brought
up.
It
is
become
the
norm
for
communities,
and
that
is
true
for
communities
across
the
watershed.
So
we're
happy
to
see
Boston
pursuing
this
and
hope
that
it
can
come
to
fruition
sooner
rather
than
later.
K
I,
particularly
like
the
word
cumulative
that
I
read
throughout
this
draft
ordinance,
because
that
is
that
does
tend
to
be
how
we
see
impacts
occur
to
our
natural
systems.
It's
not
just
one
project
or
one-off.
It
is
definitely
the
cumulative
nature
of
projects
one
after
the
other.
There's
been
a
lot
of
discussion
about
the
land
subject
to
flooding.
I
would
just
like
to
add
freshwater
flooding
to
that
discussion.
K
So
that
is
something
to
keep
in
mind
that
it's
not
just
coastal
flooding.
It
is
also
stormwater
flooding
and
storm
water
flooding
can
occur
outside
of
the
resource
area,
as
typically
mapped
and
again
support
for
the
mention
of
migration
zones.
Those
are
great
that
those
have
been
acknowledged
and
those
are
certainly
critical.
K
The
muddy
river
is
our
most
visible
tributary
in
the
Lower
Charles
and
it's
a
great
spot,
wonderful
spot
beautiful
spot,
but
it
does
have
a
major
problem
with
Phragmites
and
other
invasives,
and
so
the
part
that
it
was
recently
daylight
now
looks
beautiful,
we'd
love
for
the
rest
of
the
muddy
river.
To
look
that
beautiful,
so
just
keeping
in
mind
that
the
resource
area
important
to
protect
it
also
important
to
allow
for
enhancements
to
it.
So
that's
great
to
see
that
this
doesn't
intend
to
prevent,
provide
a
barrier.
There
I
think
the
dam.
K
The
buffer
zones
are,
are
good,
200
feet,
as
well
as
the
500-year
use
of
the
500-year
flood
standard.
Many
communities
do
use
local
wetlands
ordinance
to
actually
have
these
requirements
apply
to
the
entire
community.
I
understand
that
maybe
overload
in
a
density
like
Boston,
but
but
there
are,
there
are
towns
and
cities
who
have
decided
to
do
that
and
then
a
point
that
was
made
on
the
previous
panel.
K
That
I
would
like
to
echo
is
encouraging
redevelopment
or
infill
development,
especially
with
the
limited
nature
of
green
space,
open
space,
undeveloped
land
in
Boston,
to
the
extent
that
we
can
preserve
what
we
have
and
infill
in
other
neighborhoods
that
need
development,
I,
think
that
can
be
a
win-win
for
the
environment
and
for
the
economy.
So
thank
you
very
much
happy
to
be
here
today
to
support
this
Thank.
M
Hello,
my
name
is
Tony
Lacasse
I
live
in
Rosendale
I'm,
a
member
of
the
Friends
of
Allendale,
woods
and
I
want
to
number
one
just
thank
counselor,
sue
and
O'malley
for
bringing
up
the
consideration
of
having
in
an
ordinance.
This
is
really
critical
because,
as
we've
seen
in
terms
of
the
testimony
here
so
far,
Boston
is
way
behind
the
curve
in
terms
of
wetlands
protection
and
in
what
we
are
seeing
as
well
is.
Is
that
not
only
in
respect
to
the
development
boom?
M
One
of
the
things
that
I
think
is
critical
in
terms
of
being
able
to
put
this
in
an
ordinance
versus
putting
it
into
the
zoning
act
is,
is
that
the
culture
of
development
has
been
so
overwhelming.
In
terms
of
city
government
that
we're
just
seeing
proposals
that
are
outrageous,
would
that
would
be
in
any
other
municipality?
M
And
what
happens
is
that
developers,
even
in
their
comments
in
terms
of
public
hearings,
talk
about
just
going
through
the
process,
with
an
expectation
that
whatever
they
propose
in
terms
of
building
out
90%
of
a
wetlands
buffer
zone,
would
be
normal
and
would
be
accepted?
And
so
one
of
the
things
that
I
think
will
be
important
is
that
the
ordinance
will
have
extra
teeth.
The
kinds
of
proposals
that
have
happened
at
12:25,
Center
Street,
which
is
on
basically
that
is
immediately
adjacent
to
one
of
Boston's.
M
Last
two
vernal
pools
in
Allendale
woods,
64
Allendale,
a
proposal
to
build
18,
multi-million
dollar
condominiums
immediately
upslope,
with
about
a
75
permeability
coverage
on
a
steep
slope
that
was
granted
55
variances
by
the
CBA
on
a
2
acre
parcel
pretty
hard
to
do.
I
could
probably
give
some
of
the
grad
students
here
the
challenge
of
trying
to
be
able
to
do
that
and
they'd
have
a
hard
time
doing
that
in
both
cases
there
illustrative
of
the
fact
that
there's
not
any
serious
consideration
outside
of
the
conservation
commission
and
looking
at
these
wetlands
issues.
M
These
are
proposals
that
should
not
even
be
coming
forward
because
they
wouldn't
come
forward
in
terms
of
any
other
development
culture
and
any
other
municipality
in
the
Commonwealth.
But
they
come
forward
because
they
are
one
of
the
things
that
happens
with.
Wetlands
is
they're
attractive
spaces.
They
are
places
that
people
want
to
live
because
they're,
usually
near
natural
environments,
and
in
this
cases
we
see
that
we
literally
are
have
willingness
to
love
them
to
death
for
profit
and
then
to
be
able
to
leave
the
Friends
of
Allendale
woods
in
the
Roslindale.
M
But
another
key
aspect
put's
unfortunate
that
Paul
Sutton
with
Boston
Parks
is
not
here
today,
but
Paul
actually
is
very
knowledgeable
on
what
are
the
best
practices
around
vernal
pools
throughout
in
terms
of
planning
organizations
both
in
the
Commonwealth
and
around
the
country,
one
of
the
key
aspects
of
that
in
terms
of
the
vitality
of
maintaining
an
ecosystem
like
a
vernal
pool,
which
is
a
seasonal
freshwater.
You
know
pond
that
is
going
to
support
an
inordinate
amount
of
amphibian
and
in
phibian
and
bird
in
a
lot
of
other
life.
M
In
fact,
it's
biomass
often
exceed
an
area
of.
Let's
say
we
have
a
1
acre
pond.
The
biomass
in
that
vernal
pool
will
usually
exceed
the
biomass
in
terms
of
weight
of
the
four
surrounding
acres.
It's
incredibly
important
in
terms
of
that,
so
one
of
the
things
that
we
need
to
do-
and
we
need
to
embed
into
the
ordinance-
is
the
protection
of
the
upland
habitats
around
there.
M
The
particular
guidelines
that
Paul
has
made
reference
to
in
the
past
and
neighborhood
meetings
show
that,
if
you
don't
protect
the
upland
habitat
your
protections
for
the
vernal
pool
will
probably
go
for,
not
that
the
over
time
the
vernal
pool
will
decline.
If
you
don't
protect
the
upland
habitats
around
it.
So
that
would
be
another
thing
that
we'd
like
to
be
able
to
see
happen
around
that.
M
The
other
thing
that
we'd
like
to
do
is
there
is
immense
confusion
and
actually
there's
a
lot
of
legal
play
on
the
part
of
attorneys
for
developers
to
be
able
to
bypass
or
to
create
confusion
around
wetlands
enforcement,
particularly
in
the
case
of
12:25
Center
Street.
This
past
year,
we've
been
told
historically
that
that
developers,
in
terms
of
looking
for
wetlands
exceptions,
needed
to
go
needed
to
move
through
the
neighborhood
process
before
they
could
go
to
Conservation
Commission.
M
They
actually
began
at
Conservation,
Commission
and
and
actually
Conservation
Commission
to
their
to
the
you
know
to
be
lauded
for
it.
They
gave
a
lot
of
tough
questioning
in
those
first
steps,
but
the
response
on
the
part
of
the
attorneys
there
was
to
always
seek
the
technical
fix
to
be
able
to
look
for
them
to
approve
the
exception,
to
be
able
to
then
go
with
the
technically
to
the
technical
fix
problem
with.
M
That
is
that,
when
we're
talking
about
one
of
the
last
two
vernal
pools
in
Boston,
it
makes
no
sense
to
be
putting
that
at
risk.
For
what
is
not
a
very
significant
development
yeah,
and
the
other
aspect
of
that
is,
is
that
these
technical
fixes
they're
easy
for
the
developer
to
put
in,
but
they
require
that
the
condo
associations
often
be
able
to
keep
up
really
expensive
maintenance
issues.
M
So,
whether
if
that's
permeable
pavement
in
terms
of
the
ability
to
be
able
to
not
only
vacuum
and
clean
that,
though,
in
terms
of
bio
swells
being
able
to
bring
in
freshwater,
ecologist
and
landscapers
who
are
qualified
to
be
able
to
maintain
those
or
in
the
cases
of
like
1225
Center,
we
were
looking
at
very
sophisticated
runoff
mitigation
efforts
and
all
of
those
are
going
to
be
taking
dollars.
From
a
condo,
it's
a
condo
association
for
those
who've
ever
lived
with
an
inn
in
the
setting
of
a
condo
association.
M
My
last
point
that
I
just
wanted
to
be
able
to
make
was
I
also
think
that
it's
really
important
that
we
just
really
make
a
statement
about
the
importance
of
freshwater
wetlands
in
the
upland
neighborhoods
in
Boston
and
I.
Think
the
ordinance
is
going
to
be
able
to
do
that.
But
we
really
have
to
be
able
to
get
out
of
the
game
of
relying
on
citizen
groups
to
do
the
work
of
what
city
agencies
should
be
doing.
M
The
feeling
is
is
that
developers
in
the
current
culture
have
now
moved
where
they
know
they
can
get
whatever
the
variances
are
granted
so
liberally
that
now,
we've
stepped
back
to
the
1970s,
where
wetlands
laws
were
just
being
introduced
and
educated
and
and
at
this
point
they're
doing
at
that
in
practice.
They're
going
after
the
wetlands
laws
as
well
in
terms
of
in
respect
to
Boston,
and
we
don't
have
a
lot
of
wetlands
to
begin
with,
we
should
be
protecting
what
we
have
in
there
significance
and
thank
you
for
listening.
A
Anybody
else
like
to
testify
who
signed
up
speak
now
or
forever
hold
your
peace.
Well,
I
wanted
to
thank
thank
everyone
for
testifying
for
coming
down
today.
Thank
you,
Carl
Specter,
Amelia
croto.
Thank
you
to
our
second
panelist
pamela
harvey
Deanna,
Maran,
David
Morgan.
Thank
you,
julie,
wood
and
tony
Lacasse
for
your
public
testimony
and
Thank
You
counselor
wolf
for
your
leadership
on
this
issue.
It
goes
without
saying,
I'm,
enormous
ly,
supportive,
continued
efforts
and
whatever
the
next
step
will
be,
which
I
have
a
pretty
good
feeling
of
what
it
will
be.
A
From
your
perspective,
it's
high
time
that
we
and
I've
been
proud
to
partner
with
you
on
so
many
effective
environmental
initiatives,
and
this
is
just
another
one.
That's
going
to
go
to
that
goal
and
agree
with
so
much
that
has
been
said
by
our
experts
by
our
panelists
the
importance
of
protecting
these
both
freshwater
and
saltwater.
Wetlands
every
aspect
of
it,
our
natural
bodies
of
water,
particularly
those
in
the
outside
neighborhoods
hello
cards,
we're
just
wrapping
up,
but
you
can
say
hello.
A
Thank
you
for
being
here
again
just
to
appreciate
the
efforts
and
know
we
have
a
lot
of
work
to
do
and
looking
forward
to
rolling
up
our
sleeves
and
getting
it
done.
So
that
is
all
I
have
constable
any
concluding
remarks.
Thank
you.
Thank
You
councillor,
Flynn
Thank
You,
councillor
Edwards.
Thank
you
all
enjoy
the
day.
It
looks
like
the
weather
may
be
cooperating
now
so
stay
dry
and
this
herring
is
hereby
adjourned.