BOSTON- This week, Boston City Councilor Ed Flynn filed a resolution against the approval and construction of additional roof decks in residential areas of South Boston. At the City Council this week, a vote on this non-binding resolution against the construction of additional roof decks in residential areas of South Boston was subsequently blocked by a City Council colleague and sent to Committee for a hearing.

In the last couple of decades, with a changing town and South Boston having become a destination for young people to visit each weekend, the proliferation of roof decks in residential areas of South Boston has raised significant concerns among residents – including our seniors, veterans, persons with disabilities, young families with children – related to noise at all hours of the night, public safety, smoking, privacy, trash removal impacting our existing pest control crisis, and other quality of life issues.

Residents continue to express concerns that additional roof decks in residential areas of South Boston do not in any way help to address our housing and affordable housing crisis, their opinion that there is no hardship that should be granted zoning relief, and that individual property owners should not continue to benefit over the objections of many concerns abutters, neighbors and civic organizations.

For years during the pandemic, dozens of proposals for new roof decks were opposed by Councilor Flynn, local civic groups and neighbors, and dozens of those proposals were subsequently denied at the Zoning Board of Appeal (ZBA). However,in recent years, despite having no impact on the housing crisis, nearly every case is approved regardless of opposition testimony from local elected officials, civic groups and neighbors.

Moreover, there have also been cases in recent years where neighbors and civic organizations have supported new developments specifically due to good-faith compromises with owners on removal of roof decks during the community process. However, years later, these same roof decks were proposed again and approved by the ZBA, despite this history with the community, and leaving residents feeling their objections have gone unheard or disregarded altogether.

“The construction of additional roof decks has no bearing on the housing and affordable housing crisis. Residents of the neighborhood – including our seniors, veterans, persons with disabilities, and young families -should not have to deal with parties at all hours and trash removal issues coming from additional roof decks. The quality of life for neighbors must be respected, and residents of a neighborhood deserve a say in what takes place and gets built in their community,” said Councilor Flynn.

For more information, please contact Councilor Flynn’s office at 617-635-3203 or [email protected].