Boston Zoning Board Denies South Boston Roof Deck Bid, Approves Dozens of Projects

BOSTON — April 28, 2026 — Boston's Zoning Board of Appeal denied a South Boston roof deck application and approved more than a dozen development projects at its April 28 remote hearing. The board voted 5-1 to deny a conditional use permit sought by owners at 142 P Street in City Point who proposed five individual roof decks — one per unit — on an existing five-unit residential building, with board member Ms. Betta-Berraza the lone dissent; Councilor Flynn's office cited an eight-year policy against new roof decks and a 2021 neighbor agreement that had specifically excluded them, while the City Point Neighborhood Association voted in formal opposition and 46 letters of opposition arrived from immediate abutters. The board also approved a 26-unit residential condominium at 1954 Commonwealth Avenue in Brighton — including four affordable units under the city's inclusionary development policy — that will preserve and relocate a circa-1910 mission-style historic structure. A legal dispute over whether the Landmarks Commission's Article 85 preliminary determination of significance could force a deferral at 744 East 4th Street in South Boston was resolved in the applicant's favor, with the board approving a new six-unit building over the planning department's deferral recommendation, as attorneys argued the two review processes operate on entirely separate legal tracks.