"All trees, and no forest"

Also: Batten down the hatches for Hurricane Lee; Mitt calls it quits [Donate ❤️]( [View in Browser](  September 14, 2023 ☀️ Sunny, with a high near 76. Good Morning Boston, You can take a big sigh of relief that we [don't have to worry about seeing Tom Brady in a New York Jets jersey](. So, what are we worrying about today? Boston's zoning code and Hurricane Lee. Let's get to it: - Bloated. Outdated. Inconsistent. Inequitable. Those are four of the words most commonly used in [a new report]( to describe Boston's zoning code. And it's not just any report. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu announced plans yesterday to overhaul the city's enormously complex zoning code for the first time in nearly 60 years, based on a city-commissioned report by Cornell University professor Sarah Bronin. The zoning code contains the rules for nearly everything that gets built within Boston's city limits. But our current code is, well, a little unwieldy. For starters, it's long — 3,791 pages, to be exact. That's five times longer than the average for similarly sized cities, and over 1,000 pages longer than New York City's code. Put another way, Boston has 79 pages for each square mile of land, 27 times the average of its peers. - Why is it a problem? According to Bronin, "the Boston Zoning Code is all trees, and no forest." Rather than one coherent strategy, the code's length is due to "hundreds of piecemeal revisions" made over the last few decades. It divides Boston up into 429 different zoning districts; the overlapping and often inconsistent rules are "nearly impossible" to follow, Bronin said. Even small projects have to go through multiple rounds of reviews and hearings to get "variances" (i.e. permission to deviate from the rules). They're [usually approved]( but the length of the process drives up the cost of construction at a time when there's already a shortage of housing in the region. - What is the report recommending? Ditch the neighborhood-specific zoning approach and start with broadly applicable rules that promote the city's affordable housing, climate resilience and quality of life goals. Bronin believes this "whole city approach" can make the process more equitable and streamlined. - What's next? Bronin and Wu agree a "complete overhaul" is in order, which will likely take several years. While that gets off the ground, the city is launching a narrower "Squares & Streets" rezoning initiative to show what citywide zoning reform could look like in the short term. The initiative will develop "Small Area Plans" for neighborhood squares and main streets with the hopes of promoting small businesses and creating denser housing near public transit. Have thoughts? The Boston Planning and Development Agency is hosting [pop-up chats to get public input starting this weekend](. - Bring a raincoat to those pop-up chats. The entirety of the Massachusetts coast is under a Tropical Storm Watch because of Hurricane Lee. The storm is still south of Bermuda, but it's expected to pass hundreds of miles off the coast of New England. While it's not expected to directly hit the region, forecasters are still [warning about storm surge flooding]( for the South Shore, Cape and Nantucket. - Lee's path: [Click here]( for the National Hurricane Center's latest forecast for the storm, its timeline and the "cone of uncertainty." - PSA: Harbormasters from Ipswich to Fall River are warning local residents to pull their boats from the water ahead of Lee's arrival. - The latest COVID vaccines are on the way to Massachusetts. WBUR's Priyanka Dayal McCluskey reports Bay Staters will be able to start getting the shots — designed to offer [better protection against the latest variants of the virus]( — in a matter of days, after federal officials [gave the new formula the green light this week](. In some cases, the updated COVID vaccine may be available at local clinics and pharmacies "as early as the end of this week," Dr. Robbie Goldstein, the state's public health commissioner, said at a meeting yesterday. - The details: When it comes to booking an appointment, check with your local pharmacy first. CVS says the new vaccine will be at all of its locations by [early next week](. Walgreens is also [scheduling appointments for next week](. Everyone who is 6 months and older is eligible. - Heads up, Springfield residents: You can stop boiling your water. The city [lifted its precautionary boil water notice for all residents this morning]( after additional testing for bacteria came up negative in the aftermath of [a massive water main break Tuesday](. P.S.— Don't miss tonight's exclusive sneak peek of WBUR and The Trace's new podcast The Gun Machine at CitySpace. The special preview will be shown ahead of our CitySpace live discussion with Jason Moon, the host of NHPR's hit podcast "Bear Brook," about the science of false confessions. You can still [get tickets here](. Nik DeCosta-Klipa Editor, Newsletters [Follow](  Support the news  The Rundown [Mitt Romney won't seek re-election in Utah Senate race]( Romney, former governor of Massachusetts and erstwhile presidential candidate, made the announcement in a video statement. The 76-year-old said the country is ready for new leadership. [Read more.]( [Mitt Romney won't seek re-election in Utah Senate race]( Romney, former governor of Massachusetts and erstwhile presidential candidate, made the announcement in a video statement. The 76-year-old said the country is ready for new leadership. [Read more.]( [Fentanyl mixed with cocaine or meth is driving the '4th wave' of the overdose crisis]( A new study finds a 50-fold growth in deaths from combined use of stimulants and opioids. The toxic and contaminated drug supply is to blame. [Read more.]( [Fentanyl mixed with cocaine or meth is driving the '4th wave' of the overdose crisis]( A new study finds a 50-fold growth in deaths from combined use of stimulants and opioids. The toxic and contaminated drug supply is to blame. [Read more.]( [Online gambling activity spikes in Mass. during first week of NFL season]( People in Massachusetts interacted with online sports gambling companies more than 9 million times during the first week of NFL action, though not every transaction was necessarily a bet. This was the first week where Bay State residents could legally place a bet on NFL games. [Read more.]( [Online gambling activity spikes in Mass. during first week of NFL season]( People in Massachusetts interacted with online sports gambling companies more than 9 million times during the first week of NFL action, though not every transaction was necessarily a bet. This was the first week where Bay State residents could legally place a bet on NFL games. [Read more.]( [Report shows state agencies are increasing home loans to people of color]( In 2012, only 11% of MassHousing loans went to Black, Latino and Asian borrowers. As of August this year, it was more than half, according to a new report from Boston Indicators. [Read more.]( [Report shows state agencies are increasing home loans to people of color]( In 2012, only 11% of MassHousing loans went to Black, Latino and Asian borrowers. As of August this year, it was more than half, according to a new report from Boston Indicators. [Read more.]( [Sky-high CEO pay is in focus as workers everywhere are demanding higher wages]( As autoworkers' real wages fall, top executives at the Big Three carmakers continue to earn tens of millions of dollars each year — hundreds of times more than the median employee. [Read more.]( [Sky-high CEO pay is in focus as workers everywhere are demanding higher wages]( As autoworkers' real wages fall, top executives at the Big Three carmakers continue to earn tens of millions of dollars each year — hundreds of times more than the median employee. [Read more.]( Anything Else? - Over 75 vendors will be at the Rose Kennedy Greenway on Sunday for the annual Boston Local Food Festival. For more details on the fest and other ways to get out this weekend, head to our arts and culture team's [list of five things to do](. - There's a lot to look forward to on the dance floor this fall, with both Boston-based companies and troupes from overseas scheduled to perform locally. Dance critic Iris Fanger has [the deets on the events she's most excited about here](. - “A Haunting in Venice” is actor Kenneth Branagh’s third take on the Agatha Christie detective Hercule Poirot, following 2017’s surprisingly successful “Murder on the Orient Express.” But with Branagh’s Poirot a good deal sadder and more svelte than earlier interpretations, film critic Sean Burns writes the "fleet pleasures of Christie’s mysteries get lost in all the downbeat bombast." Read [the full review here](. - Sara Schreur discovered the band Death Cab for Cutie when she was 13 — on the cusp of major changes in her social life. Watching them perform the same album 20 years later in Boston this week in a sea of 5,000 swaying and singing bodies, [Schreur writes in this commentary]( she doubts she was the only one navigating a complex nostalgia.  What We're Reading 📚 - I ordered a large coffee and a condo. I got both. ([The Boston Globe]( - America’s Largest Newspaper Chain Is Hiring a Taylor Swift Reporter ([The New York Times]( - The bizarre Bruce Arena-New England Revolution saga, explained ([Yahoo Sports](  🔎 Field Guide [Dorchester: A Boston neighborhood guide]( Dot is by far Boston’s largest and most populous community. But it is hard to define as a singular neighborhood: rather, it's a cluster of villages covering six square miles that’s home to a fifth of Bostonians. [Read more.]( [Dorchester: A Boston neighborhood guide]( Dot is by far Boston’s largest and most populous community. But it is hard to define as a singular neighborhood: rather, it's a cluster of villages covering six square miles that’s home to a fifth of Bostonians. [Read more.]( Listen: The Common [breaks down the two Boston City Council upsets and what they mean]( going into the November election. Play: [WBUR's daily mini crossword.]( Can you keep your streak going? Before you go: ["Boy dinner."]( 😎 Forward to a friend. 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