Walsh Warns ZBA Quorum at Risk if Council Delays Nominee Vote

Uncategorized 2026-07-22 clip9043 · Meeting of July 22, 2026

BOSTON — Mayor Walsh warns Boston City Council that ZBA inaction could halt city development. Speaking at a Wednesday press briefing, Mayor Martin J. Walsh said the council has held three or four Zoning Board of Appeal nominations for months and that failure to confirm them could leave the board without a quorum, freezing hundreds of pending applications involving "people's homes, people's livelihood, their investments." The council was scheduled to take up the nominations the following day.

Walsh also reported 24 new Boston COVID-19 cases and no new deaths for the day, with a positive test rate of 2.6 percent for the week ending August 10, down from 2.8 percent the prior week. On schools, Walsh said BPS has asked the state to push the first day back to September 21 and that a final decision between full remote and hybrid learning was days away, with 7,300 school windows being repaired to improve ventilation. The city's election department had processed more than 75,000 mail-in ballot requests, sending out more than 60,000 ballots, with the primary registration deadline falling on August 22.

In the full story:

• COVID-19 Data Briefing
• Boston Public Schools Reopening
• Zoning Board of Appeal Appointments
• Gun Violence
• Elections and Voting Access
• Who Was There
• The complete report — 1,572 words

Source: the Uncategorized 2026-07-22 clip9043 meeting of July 22, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.