Boston Zoning Appeals Board denies "green" renovations

Well, the Jan 22, 2008 Boston Zoning Appeals Board meeting did not go as I had planned. In fact, it was a surprising outcome. With support from the Mayor's Office (Department of Neighborhood Development) and City Councilor's Ciommo's office both supporting, the BRA and the BZA denied the request for relief.

Does this mean the BRA and BZA consider Boston's existing housing stock can't be saved and made more "planet friendly"?

Or does it mean I didn't pay the right people off? (e.g. since large developers can do what I'm doing and get away with some God aweful designs that really put the zoning laws to shame)

Or does it mean the design of my project is all wrong? My abutters all approved and thought it quite simple. Afterall, the solar roofing tiles look just like roofing tiles (not those large ugly panels you see in California, etc.).

Why is this process so hard? I would think the normal homeowner just doesn't have the right resources to lobby for these renovations ... so does that mean if it even possible, the everyday homeowner can't possible win ... in fact, there is a disincentive to even try?

See the Brighton/Allston blog on this here
http://allston02134.blogspot.com/2008/01/one-homeowners-failed-attempt-for.html

See the online file submission (abutter letters were removed from the PDF since I didn't have permission from the letter signers for this purpose): http://chinsomboon.com/omac/home/36shepard.pdf.

I'm a home owner in the Brighton neighborhood of the city of Boston and I’m vested to see that my community grows, innovates, and is socially responsible. One such resposibility is it's (our) need to practice energy conservation, implement clean/renewable energy solutions, and recycle. This is easier said than done. Sure, some recycling is something we can all do on an individual basis and I hope all of you readers out there are doing exactly that. But, there are other things that are not so simple, like searching/vetting for the best and most cost effective technology to implement in one's homes and businesses, plus it's not cheap.

I've created this blog in the hopes to create an online venue for other homeowners (and business owners) in Brighton, Boston and elsewhere, that are interested in sharing their experiences in the above as well as a place for technology reviews, links to products, success stories, horror stories, recommendations, etc.

NOTE: This is all still experimental as I'm trying to figure out how to get the word out. I'm a relatively new member of the Brighton community (3 years) and so I'm still feeling my way around how things are "done" here. Please pardon my learning process (and mis-steps), thanks!