Esplanade Landmark Petition Preliminary Hearing

At their meeting on Tuesday November 27th, the Boston Landmarks Commission was formally presented with a petition endorsed by over 800 supporters, to designate the Charles River Esplanade as a Boston Landmark.

The meeting included a formal presentation on the Esplanade’s history by Linda Cox. After Linda’s presentation the commissioner’s accepted testimony by elected officials, public agencies, organizations and the general public.

A representative of DCR read the following comments:

DCR recognizes the Charles River Esplanade as an important cultural asset that contributes to the beauty and the overall quality of life for the citizens of Boston and the entire Commonwealth. The community’s efforts to designate the property as a Landmark reflect a broad public interest in raising awareness of the Esplanade’s history and significance.

DCR has long enjoyed a positive and productive working relationship with the Commission by consulting regularly on projects affecting DCR’s historic properties within Boston. We at DCR understand the process for designation and will continue to work with the Boston Landmarks Commission staff to adequately address both the on-going preservation of the Esplanade and the practical challenges of managing a complex, actively used facility.

Highlights from other testimony included:

A request from City Councilor Michael Ross that because of the urgency of the situation
the Commissioner’s expedite the land marking process. An unprecedented ten city
councilor’s signed the petition supporting designation.

Representative Walz focusing on interim tunnel repairs and the need to have regulatory oversight on what happens during the next eight months as DCR competes that work. For example, where is the staging area going? Will there be impacts on the functional use of the park?

Sandy Steele highlighting TEA’s contribution to the park and its value to city residents and people from the greater city and region. Who uses the park was of great interest to the Commissioner’s and they requested follow up information about this topic which TEA is formulating from our user survey..

The Commission agreed to proceed to the next step in the process, which is the development of a study report, with a second hearing to be scheduled when that review is completed. They were very supportive of the Esplanade.

You should consider writing an individual letter to the commission in support of them expediting the land marking process.