In downtown Boston rezoning, let's not repeat mistakes of the past

In downtown Boston rezoning, let's not repeat mistakes of the past

IN JANUARY, Boston planning officials unveiled a new zoning proposal for a large area of the city’s downtown, a proposal that would dramatically alter the size and scale of permissible buildings within one block of Boston Common and the Public Garden. Under this proposed new zoning, luxury residential towers as tall as 500 feet – or about 50 stories – would be allowed, as a matter “of right” with no city review of a blanket increase to that heig…