This is an open letter to the Boston Planning Department (BPD).

A request was recently made to the Planning Department to post the public comments received so far on the Neighborhood Housing Zoning (NHZ) initiative. The Department responded that the comments would be posted after the comment period closes on October 31—over five weeks from now.

Making comments available while the process is still underway would allow residents to see the range of community views and better understand the issues being raised. That transparency is especially important given the scope of the proposed zoning changes and the limited time remaining for public discussion.

A rolling release would also appear more consistent with the approach used during the Roslindale Squares + Streets (S+S) process. While the exact posting dates for S+S may vary slightly, comments were made available in stages while process was still underway.

Based on currently available online records, S+S public comments appear to have been posted in several batches:

Around December 20, 2024: an early group of written comments was made available.

Around January 8, 2025: additional neighborhood letters and comment forms were posted.

Around January 23, 2025: another group of public comments was added.

By January 31, 2025: remaining comments received through the deadline were posted.

The simple refined request remains: Would the BPD please post the NHZ comments received so far, followed by periodic updates as additional comments are submitted? This would give residents access to community feedback before the process is complete, rather than several weeks later.

Thank you to the Planning Department for considering this request.

Laurel E. Radwin,

RN, Ph.D.

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