The following uses are Ground Level Uses, and are allowed uses within the Government Center/Markets District, provided that uses described in Use Item Numbers 34A and 38A of Table of Section 8-3 (Use Regulations) are forbidden. This list is intended to be illustrative of ground level uses and not exclusive.

Antique stores

Appliances, repair shops

Appliances, sales

Artists' supply and music stores

Athletic goods stores

Bakeries or pastry shops

Bank branch offices

Bank machines, limited to 25 linear feet

Barber shops

Beauty parlors

Bicycle stores, rental or repair

Book stores or card stores

Cafes

Candy stores

Carpet, rugs, linoleum, or other floor covering stores

Child care centers

Accessory family child care home

Churches

Cigar stores

Clock or watch stores or repair shops

Clothing stores, (men's, women's, children's apparel)

Clubs, noncommercial

Coffee shops

Coin stores

Community centers

Dance halls, public

Delicatessen stores

Department stores

Diners

Dressmaking shops, custom

Drug stores

Dry-cleaning establishments or laundromats

Dry goods or fabric stores

Fabric or yarn store

Fire stations

Fishing tackle or equipment stores or rental establishments

Florist shops

Food stores, including supermarkets, produce and grocery stores, markets, health foods, delicatessens, prepared food/special food, spices and herbs, coffees, teas, meat, fish, poultry, and cheese stores

Furniture stores

Furrier shops, custom

Gift shops

Hardware stores

Health clubs

Historical exhibits

Hobby shops

Hotels

Housewares

Household appliance repair shops

Ice cream stores

Interior decorating establishments

Jewelry shops

Kitchenware

Lamp shops

Leather goods or luggage stores

Liquor stores

Locksmith shops

Luggage stores

Millinery shops

Newsstands, enclosed

Office or business machine stores, sales or rental

Offices (only lobby space is allowed at grade on streets bounding blocks)

Optician or optometrist establishments

Orthopedic stores

Paint stores

Parish houses

Parks, public or private

Party shops

Perfume shops

Pet shops

Pharmacies

Phonographic repair shops

Photographic developing or printing establishments

Photographic equipment stores

Photographic studios

Photographic supply stores

Photostating establishments

Picture framing stores

Police stations

Post offices

Printing establishments

Radio appliance shop, repair or sales

Record stores

Recreational centers (noncommercial)

Residential uses as described in Section 45-14.3 (only lobby space is permitted at grade of streets bounding blocks)

Restaurants, not including take-out restaurant uses except as allowed in Section 45-14.3(u)

Schools

Sewing machine stores, selling household machines

Shoe repair and shoeshine shops

Shoe stores

Sign painting shops

Skating rinks, outdoor ice

Sporting goods stores

Sports shop

Stamp stores

Stationery stores

Tailor shops, custom

Taxi or limousine service, limited to 25 linear feet

Telegraph offices

Television repair shops

Ticket agency, limited to 25 linear feet

Tobacco stores

Tour operator

Toy stores

Travel agency, limited to 25 linear feet

Typewriter stores

Typewriter or other small business machine repair stores

Variety or convenience stores

Vehicle rental

Video or motion picture store, sale or rentals

Wallpaper stores

(Text Amd. No. 464, §§ 3a., 3f., 11-8-2023; Text Amd. No. 471, § 14g., 4-3-2024)

For the purposes of this Article only, except as provided herein, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings indicated.

Government Center/Markets District Plan means the comprehensive plan, adopted on January 16, 1991, by the Boston Redevelopment Authority pursuant to Chapter 652 of the Acts of 1960, Section 3 of Chapter 4 of the Ordinances of 1952, and Section 27D-18 of the Code, which sets forth the planning policies, development controls, and design guidelines for the Downtown.

Government Center/Markets District means the area depicted in Map 1H of this Code.

Ground Floor Ceiling Height means the height of the building or structure under the floor structure of the second floor.

Ground Level Uses means the uses listed in Appendix A to this Article.

Lot as applied to Proposed Projects in the Custom House Area of the Government Center/Markets District, means a parcel or parcels whether or not platted, in single ownership or multiple ownership if a single person or entity is entitled to use or possess such parcels pursuant to leasehold or easement rights, and including the portion of any street where such person or entity may erect, rehabilitate or maintain any structure, including structures on, over or under such street, and all such area shall be included within the lot for purposes of calculating FAR. No structure lawfully existing shall become unlawful or nonconforming on account of the termination of such leasehold or easement rights. Elsewhere in the Government Center/Markets Districts, "Lot" has the meaning set forth in Article 2 of the Code.

Maximum Aggregate Surface Area means the portion, expressed as a percentage, of the surface area of the specified part of the Street Wall Plane, either above or below the ground floor ceiling height, affected by recesses, subject to the provisions of Section 45-16.2.

Street Wall means the exterior wall or portion of the exterior wall of a Proposed Project that faces a street (excluding public alleys) on which such Proposed Project is located.

Substantial Accord means, with respect to building height, that the vertical distance from grade to the top of the structure of the highest occupied floor of a Proposed Project shall not exceed the specified height limit for the site by more than ten (10) feet.

(Text Amd. No. 463, § 27, 8-16-2023)