Whether the Taj Hotel has to go back to the city’s Board of Appeal over its loading dock is still unclear.

On Tuesday, Superior Court Judge Margot Botsford took under advisement the Taj lawyer’s request to have the matter dismissed, mostly because the case is old. “The matter has been dormant for over a year,” said Mitchell Ross.

But Tim Mitchell, who has led the fight against the Ritz-Carlton and now the Taj Boston hotel, said the reason the matter has been dormant is that the hotel has engaged in delaying tactics. He wants the matter returned to the Board of Appeal.

Botsford’s clerk said he expected the judge would make a decision relatively quickly.

The story of the loading dock began in the early ‘80s.
When the Ritz built Carlton House, the adjacent hotel and condominium building at the corner of Commonwealth and Arlington Street, Boston’s Inspectional Services Department required them to include a loading dock, according to zoning regulations. So it was built with an indented loading platform facility, about 10 x 25 feet.

But over time the space became filled with a dumpster, then a wooden walkway, a security office, and at times, even a parking spot, leaving no space for the delivery trucks.

It turned out, said Mitchell, that the Ritz had no active building permit for making those changes.

Without a dock into which trucks could pull to unload, residents and businesses that used the alley found trucks parked in the alley itself, blocking their access, or the trucks would park and double park on Arlington Street, blocking traffic there.

Mitchell complained to ISD and the Board of Appeal in 2002, and in 2003 the Board of Appeal ordered ISD to enforce the zoning code.

At that point, Millennium Partners, which then owned the Ritz-Carlton, filed suit against the city of Boston to block that directive by the Board of Appeal.

But for three and a half years the case lingered, mostly because Ritz lawyers filed an appeal and every six months pled in Superior Court that they needed more time, according to Mitchell.

In January, 2007, Millennium sold the hotel to the Taj Boston Associates. At that time Taj Boston asked for neighborhood support for a liquor license transfer from the Ritz. At first NABB balked, saying it wanted to see how the Taj resolved the mismanagement of the loading zone. But when David Gibbons, the hotel’s general manager, pledged to work to solve the problems, the committee voted not to oppose the application, and the hotel was granted an all-alcohol beverage license by the city’s Licensing Board.

Gibbons said on Wednesday that he would rather not comment on why his company was now asking for the case to be dismissed. “It’s a complex legal case,” he said. “We took it over. It’s disingenuous not to respect the complexity of it.”

He also said the matter needs to play itself out in the courts. “I was denied some of my legal process,” he said.

Retail signage was the key issue as the Back Bay Architectural Commission held its monthly meeting on Wednesday night at city hall. Four separate retailers came before the commission to pitch design proposals for their storefronts, with varying degrees of acceptance from the body.

Gina Fraone, the assistant director of DTR Modern Galleries at 167 Newbury Street, hoped to receive approval for a new awning and signage. The proposed changes, she said, would be an effort to “project a clean, sophisticated gallery that appeals to a high net-worth clientele,” as well as to improve the store’s visibility on Newbury Street.

But commission members balked at the idea of the awning, with several members, including Anthony Casendino, finding the proposal aesthetically unappealing. In the end, Fraone received an approval with the proviso that there be no new awning, and that the signage be on the building itself.

Also seeking a redesign of its storefront was Sleepy’s on Boylston Street. The proposal shown to the committee included a new sign, as well as a new entrance of glass and brass, designed to give the store a more upscale appearance. The proposal itself, according to an architect representing the company, was inspired in part by the look of Sleepy’ Manhattan store on Fifth Avenue. A new sign would also incorporate the name of the neighborhood: “Sleepy’s of Back Bay.”

However, due to concerns from the commission that the redesign did not complement the design of the early 20th century building, as well as concerns for how the new look would mesh with the soon-arriving Apple Store, the petition was denied without prejudice. The commission asked the architect to return with a new proposal.

Also denied was a petition by Safar Coiffure at 235 Newbury Street to modify the nearby pavement and entry conditions, and to install a marquee and signage. The commission was concerned, among other things, by the unsightly appearance of the building’s vestibule, which serves as the entrance for adjacent Scoozi.

The b. good restaurant had a bit more luck with its proposal for a sign incorporating the company’s logo at its new location at 272 Newbury Street. Although there was a brief discussion between board members about whether the sign, which includes the words “real.food.fast,” was in compliance with a neighborhood regulation against signs listing available products, in the end it was decided to approve the petition as presented, as the words are part of a trademarked logo.

Housed in a 130-year-old Victorian brownstone that blends in seamlessly with its residential neighbors, L’Espalier has always been regarded by Boston gourmands as the quintessential Back Bay restaurant. Both inside and out, the oft-lauded house of haute cuisine evokes its neighborhood like almost no other fine dining establishment in the city, betrayed as a restaurant (and not, say, the home of a wealthy socialite who throws fabulous dinner parties) only by its wrought iron gate and the small, finely lettered sign that bears its name.

It is within that space that Chef Frank McClelland has garnered his almost endless list of accolades, fashioning a restaurant success story that rivals any other in Boston.

However, in spite of everything he has accomplished at that location, come June of 2008, McClelland and L’Espalier will have a new space to call home. After 30 years, L’Espalier is bidding farewell to its historic 30 Gloucester Street setting to take up residence in plush new digs at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel development on Boylston St.

While the move is not without risks, McClelland said he is excited by the possibilities that will come with a new, state-of-the-art facility.

“It’s a chance for us to do what we do even better,” said McClelland, who explained that diners at the current L’Espalier usually don’t realize the difficulties inherent in operating a restaurant in a space designed for a Victorian-era family.

“We’re continually patching it up on a daily basis to keep things going,” he said. “The whole building shakes when a bus goes down the street. The infrastructure is simply not sufficient for our plans moving forward.”

Currently, the chefs and kitchen staff have to deal with precious little room in which to work their craft, and servers have to navigate an almost labyrinthine route to run food. Such space and layout issues should not be a problem at the new venue. “The kitchen will be three times as large as it is now,” said McClelland “The kitchen we have now is miniscule for what we have to put out.”

In addition to being larger, L’Espalier’s new kitchen will feature state-of-the-art equipment, including a top-of-the-line Bonnet cooking suite shipped from France.

But what of the front of the house? According to McClelland, while the new space will hold a similar number of tables, those tables will be in a larger total area, giving diners more breathing room. Like the current L’Espalier, there will be three separate and distinct dining areas; there will also be an extensive lounge for pre- and post-dinner libations.

“It will evoke the old L’Espalier, but we aren’t trying to duplicate 30 Gloucester Street,” he said.

Perhaps the most welcome change for diners will be the inclusion of luxury restroom suites. Currently, L’Espalier has only one restroom, for which there is often a line.

Despite the undeniable practical upgrade of the move, there remains a risk — that L’Espalier, in leaving its famous townhouse, a space voted the “Most Romantic,” — will sacrifice the charm and ambiance that make meals there feel so special in exchange for a space that is luxurious but sterile. A recent thread on chowhound.com about the move racked up 29 posts, with many posters expressing doubts about what might be lost in the transition. McClelland acknowledges the fact that not everyone is thrilled with the idea.

“In general the feedback has been about 50/50,” said McClelland. “Some people have come up to me and said ‘how could you?’ They don’t understand how we could leave this magnificent spot.”

And then there is the risk of overextension. In addition to the new, larger L’Espalier, McClelland will open up a third outpost of L’Espalier’s sister restaurant, Sel De La Terre, next door.

But McClelland remains confident he can win over the doubters and insists that the expansion of his properties won’t be accompanied by any dip in quality. And while the new space will doubtless bring in a new crop of clients, particularly wealthy out-of-towners staying at the Mandarin Oriental, McClelland said he believes that L’Espalier will continue to be indelibly connected to the neighborhood and the local diners who have frequented it since its opening.

“L’Espalier is my baby and my passion, and it’s my job to prove to people I can deliver the same product in the new space,” he said. “I’ll be there pretty much 24/7. The people in the back of the house aren’t changing. The people in the front of the house aren’t changing. We will continue to welcome with open arms the Back Bayers who have supported us over the years.”

Change comes slowly

With the announcement that the Boston Center for Adult Education will sell its beautiful building — to have been approved officially by its board of directors after The Back Bay Sun went to press — comes another change to incorporate.

The BCAE’s action follows a trend: institutions are gradually leaving the Back Bay and being replaced by housing. Emerson College left. A health center and an upmarket old folks’ home left Commonwealth Avenue within the past ten years. With the city once again desirable, institutions can cash in on their real estate, leaving us with what we think we want, which is more housing.

The change reminds us that any transformation takes a long time. Consider how long — about 50 years — it took to fill in the Back Bay, first with the land and then with the buildings. The trend in the Back Bay from institutional use to housing has been going on gradually for about 30 years.

Right now four downtown areas need transforming. These areas do not contribute as many goods and services or places to live as they should. They are eyesores. Some split neighborhoods. They are not good for walking, and if Boston means anything, it means being walkable, not just for tourists who are surprised at visiting such a city, but for the inhabitants who depend on the city’s walkability for health, convenience and happiness.

The Seaport District has made steady progress during the past decade, but it looks as if at least another decade will pass before it will be a pleasure to walk around down there.

Downtown Crossing could make faster progress than the Seaport. We hope the new Filene’s mixed-use project, Suffolk University’s dorm and the Abbey Group’s condominiums at 45 Province Street will rouse recalcitrant owners in that area to fix up their buildings or sell them to someone who will.

The Greenway, as nice as its promise is, is basically a boulevard, not a park. That was predictable from the plans that were developed for it 20 years ago, but seeing it planted with trees and grass, it becomes obvious how far we have to go before the area is pleasant.

Finally, there is the empty space over the Mass Pike. The controversy over Columbus Center and the previous Millennium Partners’ proposal at Mass. Ave. show how difficult it will be to work out the problems confronted by building on air rights. Covering the Mass Pike could take a long time.

But by then, other areas will have come into focus as needing attention. It reminds us that even in old, historic Boston, the city is a changing creature, even if it takes years to make that change.