Councilor Louijeune called Docket # 0321, Petition for a Special Law re: Securing Environmental Justice in the City of Boston, from the Committee on Government Operation. No objection being heard, the matter was before the body. Councilor Edwards motioned to amend language. Second Councilor Breadon. On motion of Councilor Louijeune, the Petition was passed as amended.
Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Clarke. Docket zero to Tokyo has passed. Motions, orders and resolutions. Mr. Quiroga, please. We talk at zero 3 to 1. Ducking number zero 3 to 1. Councilor Edwards offered the following petition for a special law re securing environmental justice in the city of Boston. Thank you, Mr. Clark. I know Councilor Edwards will move to substitute the updated draft in central staff already distributed the new draft. At this time, I call on City Councilor Edwards. Do you have the floor? Thank you very much, Mr. President. Am very excited to bring this to the floor for us to to introduce this new home rule petition at the end of the day. It is dealing with our constitutional rights, our recent defined rights as for environmental justice and also making sure that our zoning is in line with those rights. I want to be I don't know if anyone else has read the Constitution and our constitutional rights in Massachusetts, but Article 97 states, very clearly the people should have the right to clean air and water freedom from excessive, unnecessary noise, the natural, scenic, historic and esthetic qualities of their environment, and the protection of the people in their right to conservation, development and utilization of the agricultural, mineral, forest, water, air and other natural resources is hereby declared to be a public purpose. So in our own Constitution, we have the right to clean air and water. Moreover, and part of that conversation continued as of last year, when we defined environmental justice principles and our general laws . Those principles meaning that the people. That people in the Commonwealth. Shall have protection from environmental pollution and the ability to live and enjoy a clean, healthy environment regardless of race, color, income, class, handicap, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, ethnicity or ancestry, religious belief or English language proficiency. And those principles include the meaningful involvement of all people with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations and policies, including climate change policies, and, of course, the equitable distribution of energy and environmental benefits and environmental burdens. Our laws are very clear about our rights and the procedures that are to protect us. We are moving towards a more environmentally just state. But what isn't moving towards that is our zoning. And as many of you will know and some of you new councilors will soon learn. Boston is unique when it comes to zoning. When we want to change how we do business and how we build in the city of Boston, what we want to change is on the zoning board of Appeals. We and only the city of Boston must go to the state house. That is why this is in the form of a federal petition. Other cities and towns could easily inject and move environmental justice principles in their zoning with the snap of a finger. We must go to the State House because our system is broken. Article six, Section six of our zoning code currently allows the following. A building structure early on used to be land used or to be used by a public service corporation. Utility company may be exempted from the operation of zoning, regulation or amendment. If a competition of the corporation, the State Department of Public Utility shall, after public notice and hearing decide at the present or proposed situation of the building structure, land in question is reasonably necessary for the convenience of public welfare. In short, public utilities can simply petition the department or the public utilities to forego rezoning. And as long as the State Department of Public Utilities decides that it's best for Boston and our public welfare, that they forego and go through any process or zoning they can. Which brings me to this reason why I'm presenting this today. The East Boston substation is a perfect example of what happens when you can petition the state to determine what is better for a neighborhood and not actually have to face the individuals who will live with that permanent structure by their park, by their homes. When the city of Boston essentially abdicated their role because the utility company could simply ask to foreclose. So I'm asking you to support this homework petition because it corrects that system. That system we've been asking for and we saw it was broken. We had a five hour hearing at East Boston in many languages. We watched how the Dpu and the state agencies literally didn't include people who didn't speak English in the process for the substation. We, as you all know, have a mandate as public officials. That mandate on November 2nd made clear in every single one of our districts and of course, at the city at large, that that substation does not belong where it currently is situated and needs to go to another location. More importantly, the process that got it there was a failure. And as you know, question two is the most popular referendum we've ever had in the city of Boston getting more votes in the mayor. And of course, any individual, one of us in our districts. The time to act is now. And what I propose is this homo petition that would do three things. One for the first time if it allow for us at the city of Boston to take from the state this power that they have over us. And allows for us at the city of Boston to come up with a process. For for public utilities. If they want to be sited in our neighborhood, it then tells them, tells us or tells the city of Boston that the passing zoning commission will come up with that alternative process. We will not be going to the state House anymore to regard zoning. We will create it ourselves for public utilities and to make sure that they can move as fast as they need to. But according to our terms. And then ultimately it injects environmental justice as one of the enforcement powers of our building commission. Mission pursues me. That person already can stop a project because it's not safe, because it's not sanitary, and now because it's environmentally unjust. I want the Building Commissioner to be able to walk into a project and determine, based off of certain standards, that the environmental justice is being so violated that it cannot continue to operate and cannot continue to build. Basically, adding to the police powers of the city of Boston for our safety and for our loans that are guaranteed to us under our Constitution. As I mentioned, when I opened the right to clean air, the right to clean water, and essentially the right to live in a healthy environment. I'm hoping that you will join me. Sign on today to this Homo petition. I look forward to an expedited or close to hearing before I leave this body, and I look forward to catching this home rule on the other side. Beacon Hill. You have to know that environmental advocates are excited about this conversation and the amended version. I just wanted to note the only amendment was put in to make sure that our waterfront was also part of the enforcement protection from the building commissioner. Ultimately, this is where we need to go. This is where we are going as a state, as a country. We need our zoning to be updated, to include environmental justice standards and to protect our neighborhoods. And I hope you'll join me in doing that. Thank you. Thank you, Councilor Edwards. Would anyone else like to speak on this matter? Would anyone else like to ask? That she recognizes counsel, clarity, counsel, clarity of the focus. Should obviously commend their colleague for her work on this and through the chance for her want to see whether or not there's an opportunity with existing sites that are not good neighbors and have been polluting. Is there a way through this legislation to maybe kind of hook back on to those and work with, you know, some city officials, etc., to maybe talk about either moving them or in finding more appropriate locations? Or are they, I guess, technically grandfathered? Right. I would because obviously I'm supportive of calling in for efforts in East Boston. But we can go across the city and you sit there and you say, how did that happen and why is that there ? And I heard about this. So. Is there a way through this legislation that will be able to kind of go back in time and identify sites that are inappropriate in those particular locations and then work with those entities to maybe move them to more appropriate locations? Again, just a question for the chair to make it count. Councilor Edwards. Thank you very much. As the standards for sanitation grow, as the standards and enforcement standards grow, and any other aspect of which the building commissioner can enforce our zoning laws, then they would have the same standards and the ability to grow and stop works on existing environmental injustices. So it isn't just that we don't like something. And I want to be very clear, this isn't a NIMBY move to stop infrastructure. We do need and need to talk about how we are building for our electrical grid. There is no doubt at some point we will need versions of substations in all neighborhoods. The issue with this one was the process that there wasn't an actual open assessment of the data used by Eversource. The fact that we weren't allowed to question it and moreover the fact that they didn't even think of green alternatives. And that would have happened, I believe. And we can zoned that and require that to happen going forward. But with the building commissioners, police enforcement powers, if there's an active environmental injustice, they should be under this law able to stop it, to move it. Well, that might be something you might want to put in a friendly amendment in the future. Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you. Thank you. Counsel. I would think. Counsel. Clarity. Anyone else like to speak on this or your name? Mr. Clarke, please add Counselor Arroyo. Counselor Bach. Counselor Braden. Counsel Fernandez Andersen. Counsel. Clarity Counsel. Laura Counsel. Illusion Counsel. Murphy Counsel. Overall, please add the chair. Dawkins zero 3 to 1 will be referred to the Committee on Government Operations. Mr. Clerk, please read docket 032 to please.