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State Representative Denise Provost submitting comments re: #201843, Union Sq zoning.
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To the Honorable Board:
With respect to the proposed Union Square zoning, I write in support of more robust requirements not just for "open space," beyond the 15% "pedestrian circulation space." There should be explicit minimums for live plantings, particularly trees. There should also be maximums placed on the percentage of "nonliving materials" in landscaping, especially hardscape, even if permeable. Open space does not all have to be at street level. If you're at google headquarters in Kendall Square, you're on a fifth floor, but also looking out at a garden of at least an acre - on a roof. The Planning Department slide show is filled with false dichotomies - open space "or" jobs and tax revenue. We can do better than these tired false choices. Also, "Site Development Review" seems to me to be an overreach of permitting.
Denise Provost