Dotted with rusted industrial buildings and vacant parking lots, nearly 100 acres along East Boston’s waterfront have long been limited to water-dependent industrial use, barring the development of housing or commercial buildings along the harbor. The port-area sites that were historically home to shipbuilding companies have sat vacant for decades — some for more than a century — leading some community members to call for changes in the state’s regulations that have prevented any new nonindustrial development along the waterfront. “My father worked on the shipyards for all his life, and these were things that were important to East Boston,” said Al Caldarelli, whose nonprofit is looking to develop affordable housing on the waterfront. “Times have changed. The Navy no longer brings ships to Boston. There's nothing happening on these sites.” 
The sites are restricted because they are part of a Designated Port Area, a state protection enacted in 1866 to preserve land for industrial uses that rely on deep water access and waterfront infrastructure. The DPA protections prevent any residential, hospitality, office or other commercial uses that aren’t directly related…  Read the full story here. | 
