One more Zoning Board of Appeal seat comes to the council, a week after 10 confirmations
Mayor Wu nominated Mercy Robinson as an alternate member on Monday. Councilors confirmed 10 other ZBA picks without a dissent on Oct. 21, while proposals to change how the board works remain in committee.
When a Boston homeowner wants to add a unit, or a developer wants to build taller than zoning allows, the case usually goes to the Zoning Board of Appeal. The City Council has a say in who sits on it, and another nominee is on today's agenda.
In a letter dated Monday, Oct. 26, Mayor Michelle Wu asked the council to confirm Mercy Robinson as an alternate member of the ZBA for a term ending May 1, 2029 (docket 2031). The letter says Robinson is an at-large appointee of the mayor, made under the 1956 state law that created the board and its later amendments. It does not describe her background. Alternates sit on cases when regular members are absent or recused.
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The Boston Policy Notes newsletter noted that the nomination follows 10 ZBA appointments and reappointments the council approved last week.
What our records show
The Oct. 16 hearing. The Planning, Development and Transportation Committee, chaired by City Councilor Sharon Durkan, held a confirmation hearing on those 10 nominees (meeting page). Durkan, City Councilor Erin Murphy and City Councilor Ed Flynn asked about projects already approved by the planning board, small homeowner cases, language access and climate resilience. One reappointed member told the committee he reviews about a thousand cases a year (watch at 57:20). Durkan pointed to a zoning amendment pending in her committee that would end parking requirements for new residential development, saying it could make accessory dwelling units easier to build (watch at 55:32).
The Oct. 21 votes. Durkan recommended all 10 for confirmation (watch at 23:29). The council took a separate roll call on each, and none drew a no vote: reappointments of Giovanny Valencia (docket 1515), Katie Whewell (1516), Alan E. Langham (1517), Sherry Dong (1518) and Shamaiah Turner (1519) as members; reappointments of Jeanne Pinado (1520) and David Collins (1521) as alternates; and new alternates Carla B. Monteiro (1522), Patrick Walsh (1523) and William Masterson (1524). The nominations had been in committee since Aug. 5.
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Flynn told colleagues that the council has "some limited oversight" of the ZBA, mainly through its meetings with nominees before a vote, and urged councilors to attend those hearings (watch at 26:11).
Changing the board itself. Two proposals from City Councilor Gabriela Coletta Zapata to change how the ZBA works, an ordinance on modernizing the board and increasing its transparency (docket 0388) and a home rule petition on the board (docket 0389), have been in the Government Operations Committee since Feb. 25. Each lists 10 sponsors. Flynn's ordinance to require abutters meetings and a community process for every project seeking zoning relief (docket 1712) has been in the same committee since Sept. 16.
What's next
At today's meeting (agenda), the council can vote on Robinson's confirmation the same day by suspending its rules, or send the nomination to Durkan's committee for a hearing like the one on Oct. 16. The result will appear on the docket page.