Session Laws

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

Chapter 121 of the acts of 1990 is hereby amended by striking out section 94 in its entirety and inserting in place thereof the following section:-

Section 94. The secretary of the executive office of transportation and construction is hereby authorized, subject to appropriation, to establish a grant program to provide assistance to neighborhoods in the cities of Boston, Cambridge and Somerville impacted by the construction of central artery and the third harbor tunnel from any funds made available to the executive office of transportation and construction.

The impacted neighborhoods of the city of Boston shall include, but not be limited to, the North End, South End, Chinatown, East Boston, South Boston, Charlestown, West End, and Beacon Hill neighborhoods of the city of Boston as defined by the Boston Redevelopment Authority. The impacted neighborhoods of the city of Cambridge shall include, but not be limited to, East Cambridge as defined by the Cambridge redevelopment authority. The impacted neighborhoods in the city of Somerville shall include, but not be limited to, Northeast Somerville as defined by the Somerville department of communities and development.

The funds for said grants and programs may be expended for the following purposes:-

(a) To establish a citizen's advisory committee to oversee the project as it impacts the said neighborhoods. The committee established herein shall consist of seventeen members, five of whom shall be residents of the impacted neighborhoods of the city of Boston, one of whom shall be a resident of the impacted neighborhood in the city of Cambridge, and one of whom shall be a resident of the impacted neighborhood in the city of Somerville, two of whom shall be businessmen of the impacted neighborhoods, three of whom shall be appointed by the governor and three of whom shall be appointed by the mayor of the city of Boston, one appointed by the city manager of the city of Cambridge, and one appointed by the mayor of Somerville. No less than two shall be experts in engineering, no less than two shall be experts in urban planning and no less than two shall be experts in transportation.

The committee shall sit throughout the entire project period. It shall meet monthly without compensation to prepare a report made available to the public on the progress of the project and any and all adverse impacts arising from the project during that period.

The committee shall be concerned with, but not limited to, the following:

(1) continued easy access into and out of the impacted neighborhoods by both pedestrians and vehicles;

(2) continued unimpaired ability for sale or rental of available property;

(3) effective and efficient noise and air pollution control measures;

(4) prevention of and restitution for any and all damages caused by the project to property in the impacted neighborhoods;

(5) hours of operation work can be performed to complete the project;

(6) appropriate routes for heavy equipment vehicles and/or other vehicles removing excavated land from the project site and/or any vehicle related to the project;

(7) traffic and parking alternatives in reaction to problems stemming from project;

(8) prevention of and restitution for any and all harm caused by the project to businesses of the impacted neighborhoods;

(9) securing any and all land made available by the project and its use to stabilize and improve the residential areas of the impacted neighborhoods;

(10) assured citizen participation in the siting of vent shafts necessary for the project.

In the event that these or any concerns are raised by the committee, the secretary shall be notified and, thereby, authorized to expend the necessary funds from monies authorized to assist impacted neighborhoods. The committee shall monitor the project in order to protect the rights, privileges and quality of life of the residents and businessmen of the neighborhoods;

(b) To establish a grant program to support community property owners whose property is damaged as a result of the project;

(c) To provide any additional funds needed to the cities of Boston, Cambridge, and Somerville environmental department to monitor levels of both noise and air pollution resulting from the project;

(d) To establish a grant program to assist and subsidize property owners of seven unit dwellings or less who lose existing rental tenants, the ability to let to new rental tenants, or any property owner of a seven unit dwelling or less whose property is sold at a value that has been reduced by the impact of the project. Said property owner shall be compensated for the difference between the property's fair market value and the selling price devalued by the project;

(e) To provide monies to the cities of Boston, Cambridge, and Somerville to study, analyze and implement traffic plans and improvements for the impacted neighborhoods, provided that all such projects, except those which involve only state roads, shall be planned in consultation with and subject to the approval of the city of Boston's transportation department which projects shall include but not be limited to: (1) the planning, design, construction, renovation, repair or other work necessary to service traffic flow in the neighborhoods; and, (2) the controlling of traffic to, from and through the neighborhoods to reduce at the maximum extent possible the number of vehicles traveling through the neighborhoods' residential areas, especially any and all vehicles related to the project; provided, however, that any projects related to the traffic planning and improvements which involve state roads shall be planned in consultation with and subject to the approval of the state department of public works; provided, further, that the costs of any such projects which are approved by the state department of public works shall be funded by said department from new or existing state transportation funding sources;

(f) To provide monies to the cities of Boston, Cambridge, and Somerville for any addition public safety personnel needed to protect the communities, or to expedite any plan of the cities of Boston, Cambridge, and Somerville to mitigate adverse effects the project may have on the impacted neighborhoods;

(g) To establish a neighborhood business assistance plan for all small businesses in the impacted neighborhoods because of economic loss or opportunity, including, but not limited to, grants, loans, legal assistance, technical assistance or relocation grants or preferences;

(h) To provide for the acquisition of parking spaces to replace any parking spaces that are lost to the impacted neighborhoods because of the project. In addition to the acquisition of replacement parking spaces, the Secretary of Transportation shall establish a subsidized resident parking program for all residents of the impacted neighborhoods.

The secretary of transportation shall do all things necessary to mitigate or protect impacted neighborhoods from any and all adverse effects of the project. Further, it shall, in conjunction with the secretary and the cities of Boston, Cambridge, and Somerville, do whatever possible to retain and expand employment opportunities for the residents of the cities of Boston, Cambridge and Somerville, improve private and public transportation access to the impacted neighborhoods; upgrade public services in the impacted neighborhoods, facilitate additional affordable housing opportunities for low and moderate income families; and promote the sound economic growth within the impacted neighborhoods and the cities of Boston, Cambridge, and Somerville in a manner which recognizes and protects the integrity of residential neighborhoods.

The grant recommendations of the secretary of the executive office of transportation and construction shall be subject to the approval of the house and senate committees on ways and means.