BC Expansion approved despite "no"

BC's expansion plan gets OK despite neighbors' opposition
Zoning board allows it, 9-1
By Matt Byrne
Globe Correspondent / May 7, 2009
Commission voted last night to approve a controversial Boston College expansion plan after a marathon, 5 1/2-hour meeting.

More than 200 people packed the public hearing to argue the merits of BC's sweeping, $1 billion construction master plan, which was passed by a 9-to-1 vote.

Public discussion, at some points heated, lasted for more than four hours, with Zoning Commissioner chairman Robert Fondren gaveling the room back to order numerous times.

The college proposes to build new baseball and softball stadiums on open space that used to belong to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston.

Also included is a proposal to house students in university-controlled dormitories.

Residents vehemently opposed the construction of the 1,000-seat baseball stadium, which they said would generate excessive noise, light, and generally disturb the neighborhood. Some also contended that the university would build the stadium first and delay construction of the dorms.

A group of Brighton neighbors, along with an environmental group, had raised concerns about the impact of the construction on aqueducts beneath the campus that carry the water supply for Boston and many surrounding communities.

In the brief business meeting that followed, the commission recommended that language be added to the master plan that requires the college to commence building a residential dormitory concurrently with construction of the playing fields on the Brighton campus.

Placing students in on-campus housing has long been a priority of Mayor Thomas M. Menino, whose office sent a representative to voice support for the proposal.

Members of Brighton Neighbors United, a group that focuses on preserving green space and limiting institutional expansion, came out in force and vocally opposed BC's plans, arguing that the university had steam-rolled its proposal through the process.

Also in attendance were Councilors at Large Sam Yoon and Michael Flaherty, who both came out to oppose the master plan, in addition to a handful of other elected officials.

"My opposition has something to do with the process," Yoon said, adding that he believed that the community-involvement procedure was flawed and ignored hundreds of stakeholders.

One resident, Jay Allen, whose house is close to the proposed ball field, said the size of the field "just didn't fit."

"Just because you can get the top button buttoned, it doesn't mean you should wear the pants," Allen said.

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