Last Thursday, July 9, the Hyde Park Neighborhood Association (HPNA) met.

Its main news concerned the proposed Squares+Streets (S+S) planning and rezoning package for Cleary Square, and its Boston Planning & Development Agency (BPDA) Board meeting appointment date – which had originally been slated by the Planning Department for July 16.

The proposed S+S rezoning has been contentious, primarily because it allows for greatly increased residential development in neighborhood business districts in the form of bigger and taller buildings, and because it also allows for a commercial/retail/business footprint reduction on smaller multi-family residential development.

The S+S process for Cleary Square began in early 2024, and the Planning Department released its draft plan and zoning map in March – proposing bigger than expected zoning districts. This, as well as other longstanding concerns, led to community pushback during the public review/comment period, and the proposed zoning was generally downsized and pulled back.

However, the Planning Department did not release its new map until shortly before its in-person updates/ closeout meeting on June 18 – providing the community with little time to review it beforehand. Nevertheless, the S+S package was still scheduled to go to the BPDA Board for approval in July, with the S+S zoning map set to continue on to the BZC for adoption in August.

This led to requests during the meeting to postpone those dates, and District 5 City Councilor Enrique Pepén also advocated for that. Since then, however, the Planning Department has given no timetable update, and The Bulletin’s request for one – made last week – received no reply.

With the July BPDA Board date looming, Eddie Conley – Pepén’s constituent services & policy coordinator – was asked about it on Thursday. “I haven’t spoken with anyone from Planning since the last meeting we had, but the vibe that I got is that the message was heard,” he offered.

Zoë Petty, Hyde Park liaison for the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Services, followed with something more definitive. “They’re not going in July,” she said of the Planning Department’s schedule to bring the Cleary Square S+S package to the BPDA Board. “The message was heard.”

Despite that, HPNA Vice President Brian Putnam still sounded wary regarding its transparency moving forward, while also alluding to the S+S community process over the past two-plus years.

“Maybe I’m a little less trusting than I was before,” he said.

On Tuesday, the BPDA Board meeting agenda for July 16 was released, and Petty’s announcement was confirmed. The next BPDA Board meeting will be on Thursday, Aug. 13.

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Separate from that, as part of its Neighborhood Housing/ADU (Accessory Dwelling Unit) zoning initiative, the Planning Department has scheduled its latest round of meetings for Hyde Park, Roslindale, and West Roxbury. In-person sessions will be held in each neighborhood starting on Thursday, July 23 at the Hyde Park Library (35 Harvard Ave.), followed by one on July 30 at the Roslindale Library (4246 Washington St.), and a third on Aug. 6 at the West Roxbury/Roslindale E-5 police station (1708 Centre St.). All run from 5:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m. and virtual meetings and office hours are also scheduled. For details, visit www.bostonplans.org/neighborhood-housing.

During her update, Petty was also asked about the sporadic operation of the spray pool in the Municipal Building Park. She noted that BCYF Hyde Park Director Johnnie Kindell had informed her that – because of a plumbing/flooding issue – the spray fountain is not always running, but that visitors can go to the front desk in the Munie to request that it be turned on. Conley added that Pepén would be meeting with the City’s Chief of Operations to discuss existing funding for repairs/renovations to both the spray pool and to the park as a whole.

In other summer recreation news:

The Boston After Dark summer youth engagement initiative is underway, during which activities are scheduled for teens between the ages of 14 and 18 on Friday evenings at BCYFs and YMCAs across the city. For more information and the full schedule, visit www.boston.gov/after-dark.

In Hyde Park news:

The BridgeFest live music series is happening on Fridays in July from 7 p.m.-9 p.m. at Postage Stamp Park, next to the post office (1269 Hyde Park Ave.). NUDORE will be playing on July 17, followed by Neon Lighthouse on July 24, and Tony Wilson “Young James Brown” on July 31.

The next HPNA meeting will be on Thursday, Aug. 6 at 6:30 p.m. at the Hyde Park E-18 police station (1249 Hyde Park Ave.). For information, email hydeparkneighbors@gmail.com.