Boston Climate Action Network’s Executive Director Hessann Farooqi offered testimony to Boston City Council’s hearing on February 9 on “An Ordinance creating the Planning Department in the City of Boston.” This ordinance would codify the transition of staff from the Boston Planning and Development Agency (BPDA) to a City Planning Department.
The budget-neutral measure is a long overdue step for comprehensive city planning reform centered around equitable and affordable development which meaningfully engages residents, especially in underserved communities, to participate in the planning process.
“We know that so many of the key questions around what our cities look like, what we build, where we build, and how we build, so often don’t have all of our community members present in that discussion. So, it’s no surprise then that we see developments that don’t always meet the needs of all our residents.”
– Hessann Farooqi
What is the BPDA?
Boston is the only major city in the United States without a centralized planning department. The BPDA handles urban planning and serves a role as a real estate owner and developer as well as the principal approval authority over private development projects, which many deem to be a glaring conflict of interest. The quasi-private nature of the BPDA has posed challenges to coordinating internal and external planning, especially on studies and goals relating to transit-oriented development, resilience and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and the production and preservation of affordable housing. As a City Councilor in 2019, Mayor Michelle Wu first introduced an initiative to abolish the BPDA by returning planning to City Council and ending the complicated legacy of urban renewal.
What Will the Ordinance in City Hall Change?
If adopted by Boston City Council, the ordinance would serve three primary purposes:
- Codify citywide planning.
The Memorandum of Agreement created by the passage of the ordinance would shift the functions of the BPDA to the City Planning Department and grant City Council the power to create a budget and appropriate funds. Hosting a centralized development agency will empower lawmakers to revitalize our downtown, reenergize neighborhoods and main streets, connect communities and undo decades of harmful development policies. Mayor Wu and her colleagues in City Hall hope to restore the trust of the public by fostering greater community engagement and addressing concerns of residents at all levels, especially in low-income and BIPOC communities. These residents have historically been the victims of disruptive urban renewal projects that have wiped out entire neighborhoods. Although skeptics argue dual oversight from the Mayor’s office and a Board of Directors will stifle development rather than streamline it, BPDA Chief Arthur Jemison expressed confidence in the transformation.
“It’s always the right time to do the right thing,” answered Jemison in response to a question from City Councilor John FitzGerald on the timing of the ordinance.
- Enable financial transfers and transparency
A citywide planning agency under the purview of the mayor’s office will also promote improved public disclosures of financial assets and transfers. Nearly 100% of the BPDA’s $60 million revenue derives from its real estate assets. Personnel comprises over half of its expenditures, followed by contracts/services and project management. Land that generates money for the BPDA will be passed to the newly-created City Planning Department in a funded transfer that will cover initial budgeted expenses. As a new department, City Council and Mayor Wu will determine its budgetary needs and identify revenue streams for the FY25 budget. Once under the umbrella of city control, the Planning Department would be able to cut costs on previously budgeted expenses for many external third-party consultants and contracts since there will be greater coordination with existing city agencies and stakeholders. The BPDA also currently has no fiduciary responsibility to Boston residents nor a need to justify its fiscal decisions to policymakers. Shifting its functions to a city agency will add a refreshing level of oversight to a monumentally important organization. The City Planning Department will also maintain operational control over Land Disposition Agreements (LDAs) and low-income housing units which protect land use for the benefit of the city and preserve its affordable housing stock. The current deal for LDAs expires in 2025 and will need to be re-negotiated by leaders in the City Planning Department.
- Ensure continuity of employment
Currently, the BPDA is overseen by a Board of Directors with five members and Chief Jemison who would all transition to the City Planning Department to handle zoning and development approval. Four members are appointed by the mayor while one member is a governor’s appointee. Jemison listed the continuity of benefits and employees’ well-being as the most important facets of the transition. The BPDA conducted months of listening sessions, meetings, workshops with employees to guarantee a stable transition, benefits, and pension parity. 164 of the BPDA’s 224 employees would move to the City Planning Department upon passage of the ordinance while retaining their existing job titles and functions. The remaining 60 would be free to stay and maintain their pensions and benefits as a result of serving over five years with the agency or being over the age of 50.There is no sunset clause in the ordinance so the BPDA can continue to exist as a legal entity able to provide benefits. In addition, current employees only will be entitled to phase out of residency requirements after 10 years of service.
What’s Next?
Following additional hearings in City Council, committee members will vote to move the ordinance for consideration of the entire body. If it passes a vote and is signed by Mayor Wu, the transition between the BPDA and City Planning Department will take place by July 1, 2024. It should be noted that Article 80 modernization, guidelines for the development review process relating to development projects that include at least 15 units of housing or are larger than 20,000 square feet, is being considered in a separate ordinance.
City Council sent a home rule petition to the legislature in March to dissolve the Boston Redevelopment Authority and Economic Development and Industrial Corp. of Boston – two agencies technically overseeing the BPDA – and roll them into the existing BPDA. It would also remove dated terminology from its mission statement, including “urban renewal,” and shift its mission to “resilience, affordability and equity” in the development sphere. Further, it offers a provision allowing all BPDA employees to buy into the City of Boston’s pension system. The legislature extended the petition to May 1 to either advance or shelf the bill. Essentially, it brings the law in line with how the organization already operates, modernizes its mission, and protects employees’ benefits.The home rule petition’s passage and any ensuing amendments are distinctly different from the ordinance. As long as the ordinance passes, the BPDA will still become the City Planning Department.
Boston Climate Action Network looks forward to further public participation in this transformational process and hopes to see citywide planning and development that builds a strong and equitable future for our city.
BCAN 