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By Sam Drysdale, Ella Adams & Keith Regan
Would a reformed Boston Planning & Development Agency uphold a pattern of widespread displacement?
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Political analyst Jon Keller discusses how Gov. Healey looks to 'empower' cities and towns to squeeze out more local tax revenue. — MASSterList | |
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Boston Mayor Michelle Wu's plan to "abolish" the city's urban planning agency was met with mixed reactions during its hearing on Beacon Hill on Monday — though most opponents were not against the idea, but argued that it went about it the wrong way.
Wu has long opposed the Boston Planning & Development Agency, first calling for the city to get rid of the quasi-government body as a city councilor in 2019. The agency, which is responsible for overseeing the capital's real estate projects, has little-to-no city oversight.
"It was created more than 70 years ago, and the primary purpose in many cities was to try to clear away blight and to make way for new developments. But in doing so, as we know too well in the city's own stories, the West End and so many other largely immigrant, working class, poor and very diverse communities were displaced, tens of thousands of residents torn apart," Wu told the Joint Committee on Community Development and Small Business during their hearing on her home rule petition to dissolve the agency and restructure it under city government.
A handful of city residents spoke out in favor of Wu's idea, though more opposed it in its current form.
Most of those who testified agreed the BPDA needs to be reformed, pointing to "luxury apartments" that have been built in once-low-income neighborhoods, and a financial structure where the agency is largely funded by rental income on property it owns, which advocates said could create perverse incentives.
But speakers also said Wu's home rule petition would recreate the BPDA as a city department without fixing the root of the problem, and that the process did not have enough community input.
"In today’s development environment, where Boston residents have grown increasingly skeptical of the status-quo, much recent emphasis by the City has been placed on full-throated zoning reform... The proposed 'New BPDA,' the desired outcome of the [home rule petition], would augment — not eliminate — this outdated set of 'zoning on demand' powers," says a letter from the Alliance of Downtown Civic Organizations.
And for once, the community groups and developers agreed.
"The bill’s language concentrates the new Boston Planning and Development Agency’s (BPDA) power in the Office of the Mayor, which goes against the reason redevelopment authorities were created," says NAIOP Massachusetts, a commercial real estate development association.
"NAIOP urges the Committee to strongly consider whether the proposed concentration of power, which is subject to shifts as demonstrated in 2022 where the City had three mayors in one year, will serve Boston’s residents and businesses." — Sam Drysdale
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8:30 | MASSterList holds an event focused on achieving health equity in Massachusetts | MCLE New England, 10 Winter Place, Downtown Crossing, Boston | Register
9:00 | The Board of Elementary and Secondary Education meets | 135 Santilli Highway, 3rd Floor, Everett | Agenda and Access
10:00 | The 21st Century Agriculture Commission holds its sixth hearing, focused on federal and state programs that protect farms from climate change impacts | Agenda and Livestream
1:00 | The Joint Committee on Veterans and Federal Affairs holds a hybrid public hearing on five bills. Healey testifies in support of the HERO Act | Room B-2 | Agenda and Livestream
1:00 | The Joint Committee on Public Service holds hybrid public hearing on three proposals | Room A-1 | Agenda and Livestream
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MONDAY in the House and Senate (informally)
In about 10 minutes, the House took care of local bills. Reps advanced legislation of importance to North Andover, Lynnfield, Wenham, Reading, Middleborough, Bernardston, Haverhill, Weston and Lanesborough.
The Senate sent three bills to the governor about matters in Wenham, Reading and Middleborough. It approved three other local bills, including a measure to allow Revere to give money to the estate of a deceased politician. New petitions were admitted dealing with court-ordered evaluations and "fraudulent deepfakes" in campaign messaging.
— State House News Service | State House News Service
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Healey’s Monday housing announcement
Gov. Healey announced Monday that 26 housing projects across Mass. will receive financial assistance from the state — over 1,900 housing units in 19 municipalities will be built or preserved through funding from subsidies and the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program, the expansion of which was a reason as to why the state was able to award funding to all applicants this year. Over 90 percent of the units Healey announced will be “income-restricted, affordable units,” reports Alison Kuznitz for the News Service. — State House News Service
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Trump Mass. ballot challenge tossed
The State Ballot Law Commission determined that it did not have jurisdiction over the matters regarding whether former President Donald Trump’s name could appear on the Republican primary ballot in Mass., unanimously denying an effort to remove his name.
— State House News Service
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In the midst of Harvard controversy, profs fear partisanship seeping into higher ed
Harvard professors who supported former president Claudine Gay are concerned that “Gay’s resignation signals a dangerous intrusion of partisan politics into American higher education” in the context of globally-declining democratic freedoms, reports GBH’s Kirk Carapezza. When discussing attacks on America’s system of higher education, Carapezza investigates, how could we learn from places like Ukraine and Hungary where academic freedom is declining and academics are facing both physical and ideological attacks? — GBH
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‘No cell from bell to bell’: Lee Middle and High School bans cell use
Lee Middle and High School’s cell phone ban went into effect Monday, meaning students must have their phones — and smartwatches, headphones and other mobile devices — turned off and not in use from the first bell until the last bell at 2:30 p.m. The policy was implemented based on staff feedback that phone use was disruptive and finding a “balance” of usage was not possible. Now, what happens if a student is caught with a phone? The first time, they can pick it up at the end of the day. The following times, a parent or guardian must come retrieve it.
— Berkshire Eagle
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Liquor license reform announced, not filed by guv
At the end of last week, Gov. Healey announced a push to give cities and towns increased control over the number of liquor licenses they issue — a premise she did not include in a bill filed Monday despite large support. The licensing reform, a piece of the Municipal Empowerment Act rolled out on Friday, was initially pitched as a way to remove the currently necessary state approval towns need for licensing. — State House News Service
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~ $200K approved to aid Methuen mental health crisis
In the midst of a shortage of EMTs nationwide, Methuen wants to “add to its first responders to assist with the mental health and addiction crises.” Using the Opioid Settlement Stabilization Fund, the Methuen City Council endorsed four resolutions to help alleviate the mental health crisis in the city — $60K for two patrol officers, $60K for two EMTs, $25K in support of the Merrimack Valley Prevention and Substance Abuse Project, and $50K to expand Methuen’s health and human services department’s substance abuse and mental health services.
— Eagle-Tribune
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Newton schools still closed as teachers rack up fines for striking
Teachers in Newton continue to defy a Superior Court judge’s order to return to work as their strike closed schools for a third time on Tuesday. The two sides are expected to be at the bargaining table again and Bryan McGonigle of the Newton Beacon reports the Newton Teachers Association faces a $50K fine for being out of work today and will be docked $100K if they don’t return to the classroom on Wednesday. — Newton Beacon
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Nikki Haley's campaign gets a boost from Mass. Republican women
Katie Lannan of GBH spends time on the New Hampshire Republican primary campaign trail with a group of Bay State women who are hoping to help NIkki Haley defy the polling and defeat former President Donald Trump in today’s vote. Women for Nikki Massachusetts leaders include state Rep. Hannah Kane and former Bay State GOP chief Jennifer Nassour, who compared the vibe around Haley now to the last days of the 2010 special U.S. Senate election here that saw Republican Scott Brown pull off a shocking upset.
Haley certainly got the best of the earliest of the early returns from the granite state, taking all six votes cast in Dixville Notch just seconds after midnight. — GBH | AP News
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Potential Salem Election Commission
Salem City Council’s government services committee will meet soon to discuss creating an Elections Commission, moving the job of running elections from the City Clerk’s office to a new city department. The idea for the proposal, introduced to the council on Jan. 11, was born from the town of Revere, which started using an Elections Commission and found the separate department was able to strictly focus on elections, prioritizing things like working toward better voter engagement. — Salem News
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Healey among 9 governors calling on feds to fix immigration
Gov. Maura Healey has joined eight other Democratic governors to implore federal leaders to immediately make fixes to the country’s immigration system and help local leaders solve what they called a ‘humanitarian crisis’ being created by the latest surge of migrants. The group of governors urged Congress to pass a supplemental funding request from President Biden that includes billions in new spending on immigration, some of which would find its way to states and localities. — Boston Globe
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How can we remedy pandemic learning loss?
Students continue to struggle to regain the learning lost during the pandemic, and in Mass., math and English achievement levels continue to be well-below pre-pandemic levels. Tutoring could be the solution, reports the Beacon’s Michael Jonas — programs like Match Corps, a fellowship tutoring program that began in 2002, could help those proficiencies increase, though the track record of many tutoring efforts is not promising. — Commonwealth Beacon
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At Public Safety Committee hearing, another push for Safe Communities Act
Immigration reform activists and allies in the Legislature have been pushing since 2017 for action on the “Safe Communities Act,” though have yet to get the amount of votes they need to get to the governor’s desk. The latest version of the immigration enforcement reform bill emerged on Monday for a hearing before the Public Safety Committee, though the main point of the bill has remained unchanged, banning Mass. police and courts from asking about a person's immigration status, which supporters say would empower undocumented immigrants to participate in the justice system “without fear of inadvertently incurring deportation,” Chris Lisinski reports for the News Service. — State House News Service
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North Attleboro town council member steps away to protest book ban
North Attleboro Town Council member Darius Gregory says he will step away from his seat until a book banned from school libraries is back on the shelf and the community has made “real change,” Stephen Peterson of the Sun-Chronicle reports. Gregory was one of two councilors who blasted school leaders for taking the “Woke: A Young Poet’s Call to Justice” out of school libraries. — Sun Chronicle
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Reach MASSterList and the State House News Service’s connected audience in the political and public policy worlds in Massachusetts with your job postings. Click here to post a job. Need help? Contact Dylan Rossiter: Publisher@MASSterList.com
President & CEO, Clarke Schools for Hearing & Speech
Youth Development Manager, More Than Words
Supervising Attorney, Disability Law Center
State Solicitor, Office of the Massachusetts Attorney General
Bar Counsel, Massachusetts Board of Bar Overseers
Revenue Coordinator, Office of the Massachusetts Attorney General
Director of Data Services, Metropolitan Area Planning Council
Director of Veterans Services, City of Somerville
Zoning and Code Enforcement Agent, City of Newton
Director of Policy/Director of Constituent Services, Office of Boston City Councilor Sharon Durkan
Deputy General Counsel – Construction, Division of Capital Asset Management & Maintenance
Chief Operating Officer, FamilyAid Boston
Manager of Media Relations and Public Affairs, Keolis Commuter Services
Director of Education, Massachusetts Assisted Living Association
Coordinator, Boston Desegregation and Busing Initiative
Executive Director, Massachusetts Workforce Association
Senior Staff Counsel – Labor & Employment, Massachusetts Water Resources Authority
Public Policy & Government Relations Manager, Charles River Regional Chamber
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