Article 80 Modernization | 2025 YEAR IN REVIEW

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Anthony D'Isidoro

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Dec 24, 2025, 10:54:10 AM12/24/25

to Cleveland Circle Community Google Group, Allston - Brighton Google Group, Brighton Allston Community Coalition

Hello Everyone,

As a member of the Article 80 Modernization Steering Committee appointed by Mayor Wu, I am pleased to see the progress we have made in 2025 as we continue to build on a solid foundation we established for ourselves in 2023 and 2024.

I want to thank my colleagues on the task force and the members of the Planning Department who are vested in streamlining development review, strengthening compliance, ensuring greater consistency and predictability and enhancing the community process.

We are far from done and your continued engagement will be a key critical success factor in our ability to deliver more resilient, affordable, and equitable development across the city.

Tony

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ARTICLE 80 MODERNIZATION

2025 Year In Review

Staff of the Planning Department have begun implementing several recommendations from the Article 80 Modernization Action Plan (released in September 2024) to improve the Article 80 development review process for communities, developers, and staff. This included revising the zoning code, implementing improvements to our community engagement methods, and streamlining internal workstreams for a well organized and predictable development review process.

First substantial changes to Article 80 of the Zoning Code in 30 years

On August 13, 2025, the Boston Zoning Commission approved a set of amendments to the zoning code to improve the predictability and consistency of the development review process and lay the groundwork for future reforms. The amendments:

Raise review thresholds, exempting most housing projects from BCDC review. Changes to Article 81 increased the threshold for review from projects that are 100,000 SF to 200,000 SF, while retaining the trigger for projects of special significance, and updated procedures for Boston Civic Design Commission (BCDC) review. These changes exempt the majority of affordable housing projects from BCDC review, and allows commissioners to focus their expertise on projects with the greatest impact on the urban fabric. Procedural improvements mean that projects reviewed by BCDC will complete review faster and more predictably.
Make sustainability upgrades and conversions easier. Zoning changes made it easier to upgrade and reinvest in existing buildings by exempting renovations from Article 80 review. This will more easily enable rehabilitation and conversion of existing buildings, such as downtown office buildings. This will also enable green energy upgrades for older buildings.
Modernize public communication. The amendment also replaced outdated requirements for physical advertisements with website updates and real-time email notifications, reflecting current best practices.
Improve City coordination. Finally, the new zoning will reassign primary responsibility for reviewing and approving Transportation Access Plan Agreements (TAPAs) from the Transportation Department to the Planning Department.

Earlier and more transparent community engagement

At the October 2025 BPDA Board Meeting, the Planning Department introduced new tools and resources to make community engagement more effective. These include:

Broadening engagement through early outreach. The Planning Department published a new “Early Engagement Toolkit” focused on in-person engagement, encouraging development teams to meet people where they are, early and often. It includes best practices for site walks, community tabling, and workshops.
Public Meeting evaluation. The Planning Department has begun collecting optional demographic information at all public meetings, allowing future engagement efforts to better target stakeholders who are currently underrepresented (i.e. renters). The Planning Department has also improved the actual meeting presentations to improve accessibility and transparency.
Coming in 2026: New early site signage. An 18 x 24 inch yard sign will be placed outside the proposed development site in English as well as any threshold languages for that neighborhood. It serves as a new, accessible form of project notification for the immediate community and directs community members to the project website if they would like to learn more.
Coming in 2026: Advisory Group training. Community members will be able to join new training sessions to learn more about Advisory Groups, what they do, and how to get involved in the review of projects in their neighborhoods. This new educational opportunity will broaden participation and introduce new residents to the Article 80 development review process.
Coming in 2026: Advisory Group transparency. To support increased transparency and clarify expectations, Advisory Group members will be asked to submit a new Interest Disclosure, and a Meeting Norms and Ethics form.

New ways to collaborate, problem-solve, and enable a citywide culture change

In the past year, the Planning Department has been introducing new operational procedures to support development review:

Cross functional “matrix” review teams. The Planning Department has expanded the team involved in Article 80 reviews from just Planning staff to include reviewers from all City departments. The review team uses new tools and shared resources, such as a collaborative project evaluation worksheet, that allow this team to collaborate in real time, produce consistent written documentation, and speak with one voice to project Proponents.
Clear intake process and expectations. For the first time, Planning Department staff have developed a centralized intake portal for Article 80 development projects and now issue a written permitting “roadmap” to ensure that staff, developers, and the community have a shared understanding of the review process. This “roadmap” includes a submission checklist, estimated timelines, list of staff with defined roles, and a list of all applicable City regulations.
Standardized communication methods. We have also introduced new memos and standardized channels of communication to deliver feedback in a consistent and organized manner. This standardization ensures developers receive the same experience and quality of feedback across projects.
Coming in 2026: Single point of contact from “pre-file” to permit. Today, each project receives a dedicated Project Manager. Now that the staff of the BPDA have moved into employment with the City, the Planning Department Project Manager role can be expanded beyond the BPDA Board to oversee the project until it receives its building permit. Beginning in 2026, this person will act as a concierge throughout the permitting process.

2026 Lookahead

In 2026, the Article 80 Modernization team will continue to partner with other City teams and initiatives engaged in similar work like the Mayor’s Permitting Transformation Initiative. We look forward to continuing the hard work of improving the transparency and predictability of this process for community members, developers, and internal stakeholders, and we appreciate your continued interest and support for the Article 80 Modernization reform effort.