This page models a legal/regulatory process for teaching and reference. It is not legal advice.
boston article80 development-review bpmn draft
The path a large development project follows through Boston's Article 80 review: classification, filing, scoping and public engagement, the impact report and its adequacy determination, Boston Civic Design Commission review (now Article 81), the board vote, and — on approval — the development agreement and mitigation.
This models the Large Project Review track. The threshold decision that routes a project here (vs. Small, PDA/IMP, notification, or no review) lives on its own page, per the one-diagram-per-page rule. Boston's review process is mid-modernization (fully in effect 2026), so several steps are flagged for review below.
(Start_ProjectProposed).(Task_DeterminePath) — business-rule step; calls boston-article80-threshold.(GW_Path) — routes to no-review / rehab notification / PDA-IMP / Small / Large.(Task_LOI) → Project Notification Form (Task_PNF).(Task_Scoping) → Public comment period (Task_PublicComment).(Task_DPIR).(GW_Adequacy) — if not, Revise & refile (Task_Revise).(GW_BCDC) — if so, BCDC review (Art. 81) (Task_BCDC).(Task_BoardVote) → Board approves? (GW_Decision).(Task_Agreement) → Large project approved (End_Approved); else Project denied (End_Denied).
Classification into this track is delegated to the DMN at
boston-article80-threshold (called at Task_DeterminePath). The
in-process gateways are GW_Adequacy (Adequacy Determination, § 80B-5),
GW_BCDC (Article 81 design-review trigger), and GW_Decision (board
approval).
| Element | Authority | Note |
|---|---|---|
Task_DeterminePath | Art. 80 § 80-3 | applicability / classification |
Task_LOI, Task_PNF | Art. 80B | large-project filings |
Task_Scoping | Art. 80B | scoping determination; advisory group |
Task_DPIR | Art. 80B | draft project impact report |
GW_Adequacy | Art. 80B-5 | adequacy determination |
GW_BCDC, Task_BCDC | Art. 81 | Boston Civic Design Commission |
Task_Agreement | Art. 80B-7 | development agreement; DIP exactions |
Transition note: The old BPDA has been replaced by the City Planning Department, and the Article 80 modernization is the most substantial change since 1996, fully in effect in 2026. Body names and thresholds are in flux — see gaps.
Task_Scoping) — modernization introduces Community Advisory Teams and an early-engagement toolkit; confirm the current body and timeline.GW_Adequacy/Task_Revise) — the real process iterates with supplemental filings; modeled here as a single revise step, not a loop.GW_BCDC) — a 200,000 SF threshold surfaced in modernization comments; confirm the current trigger and the “Projects of Special Significance” discretionary triggers.Task_BoardVote) — confirm the current name/authority post-BPDA-to-Planning-Department transition.| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Draft author | Anson Parker (with Claude) |
| Proposed steward | Al Lee |
| Status | draft — awaiting first review |
| Changelog | 2026-06-27 — created; Large Project Review track; 4 gateways / 6 outcomes |