The Welcome Home Boston initiative, which received considerable attention during the meeting, involves four new residential buildings located on Geneva Avenue and Younus Street. These buildings will contribute a total of twenty-six affordable home ownership units to the community, with half offered at 80% of the average median income (AMI) and the other half at 100% AMI. The projects were thoroughly reviewed, taking into account the community’s feedback and the necessity to balance the provision of parking spaces with the goal of promoting transit-oriented development.

One of the properties, located on Younus Street, sparked discussion regarding concerns from local residents about potential parking issues, rodent problems, and construction noise. The representative for the project addressed these issues.

In another key discussion, the board reviewed a case involving the reconstruction of a roof deck. The applicant sought approval to rebuild the deck with the same footprint as the previous structure. The board granted conditional approval, requiring the applicant to work with the Boston Planning & Development Agency (BPDA) to ensure the deck’s size and location would not be visible from the public way, thus addressing concerns related to the deck’s visual impact.