The Massachusetts Public Waterfront Act guarantees public access to the land around Boston’s waterfront and other waterways across the state. One way it does this is by requiring anyone building along the waterfront to get a “Chapter 91” license, which includes any actions the developer must take to make the site more welcoming to the public.
Among the required actions might be for a developer to make it possible for the public to use a site for recreational boating. We looked at how well sites with this Chapter 91 requirement are complying with it – and detail our findings in this report.