[{"_1":2,"_87":-5,"_88":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6108014,"mediaKeyId","2772346-eba6bf963ade8c59fd3c1601397ada50","parentId",2772346,"title","Residents and councilors press pause, stronger outreach for Squares & Streets rezoning in Roslindale","audioSeconds",9501,"startMs",1004000,"endMs",10505000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2772346-eba6bf963ade8c59fd3c1601397ada50&start=1004&end=10505","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2772346-eba6bf963ade8c59fd3c1601397ada50/thumbnail_1004000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6108014/Boston-City/Suffolk-County/Massachusetts/Residents-and-councilors-press-pause-stronger-outreach-for-Squares-Streets-rezoning-in-Roslindale","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6108014-72c8eb95df85e7802e492702c49bf45a/orig.mp4?Expires=1775353507&Signature=X-XBPMe7QyE1Kf8dKYnydri8YMEwiyysSBz7xvy4UKUzEIm3iikrasZhXDpdMIY6QgOfBiKi7yaqJ-8c91~89vqfubPXvZioBDIJ97hkTgRWcBMdAfOhQz26AGgQyBkPP4MJ8UCzlYXHZ31bTeOo5~DpAtq5q8mYFWeKWUuoUOc~bR1fYt7Ge69TstvmX7BmkKYPVP-sUUqq3rKEUF-fuIjhbsHMlWgeRJO4qier18n9gkZ-4HQ3YoDzQk8C3XnnDaEyFDB2PvMgAqYrDQvix2thdsx~oYuJs4jwcyUkyVNQzYdDM2awZDsA7ZTcjm1iVHCnXYndqUYyLMpEaFPwRg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Boston City, MA","date","2025-03-25T00:00:00Z","article","Several councilors and multiple residents testified on March 25 that the planning department’s Squares & Streets rezoning work in Roslindale has not achieved representative community engagement and risks displacing longtime residents and small businesses.

Why it matters: Squares & Streets aims to direct growth to neighborhood centers near transit, but councilors and public commenters said the department must ensure engagement is proportionate to neighborhood demographics and that anti-displacement safeguards are in place before zoning changes advance.

Public testimony and petitions. Multiple residents and community organizers asked the committee to pause the Roslindale rezoning pending better, more inclusive outreach. Lori Raven of the Roslindale Coalition told the committee: “Proportion engagement is not measured by event types or number of events held no matter how enthusiastically conducted.” Raven said nearly 200 residents had signed a petition asking the council to hold a hearing examining equity in the planning department’s execution of Squares & Streets, and she said the department had not provided a written response to a four‑page submission the coalition delivered in February.

Councilor Julia Mejía (cosponsor) framed the issue as central to restoring trust: she asked how the department will move beyond “pop ups and surveys” to give residents “veto and approval power” or other binding influence over major development decisions. Chief of Planning Cairo Shen and Deputy Chief Devin Quirk said the department has created a community engagement team with multilingual capacity, is tracking who participates and is piloting new outreach methods (door‑to‑door surveys, Spanish‑language walking tours) to broaden participation. Shen acknowledged that better resourcing is needed to reach working residents who hold multiple jobs and cannot attend day‑time meetings.

Anti-displacement audit and implementation timetable. Shen said the department intends to issue a request for proposals to hire a consultant to conduct a fair‑housing compliance audit and to publish an anti‑displacement action plan; department staff told the committee that budget timing means the audit work would be funded in FY26. Devin Quirk said the department is developing a “displacement disclosure” form to identify on‑site tenants and impacts, and to create a record planners and negotiators can use when setting mitigation or community‑benefit conditions for projects. Quirk said stronger documentation of tenant impacts could make it easier to hold developers accountable when mitigation promises are negotiated.

Calls for a pause and for demographic tracking. Public speakers and several councilors asked the department to delay rezoning votes so neighborhoods facing rapid changes can be surveyed more deeply and participants counted by race, language and tenure status. Multiple speakers said Roslindale public meeting rosters showed an 80% white participation rate in a neighborhood whose population is substantially more diverse, a disparity residents said undermined the legitimacy of the draft rezoning.

Ending: Councilors asked the department to return with concrete plans for proportional outreach, a timeline for the fair‑housing audit and clearer public reporting of who is being reached by the Squares & Streets engagement methods. Several residents said they would continue to press for a formal pause of the Roslindale rezoning until those items are resolved.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Boston City Council | Government Operations on March 25, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","Councilors and residents urged the planning department to slow the Squares & Streets rezoning process in Roslindale, citing disproportionate participation by white residents, insufficient outreach to non-English speakers and requests for a pause until an anti-displacement audit is completed.","taxTitle","Boston City, Suffolk County, Massachusetts","taxId",3381,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6108020,"Council committee questions City Planning Department transition, pensions and budget transparency",12213,34000,12247000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2772346-eba6bf963ade8c59fd3c1601397ada50&start=34&end=12247","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2772346-eba6bf963ade8c59fd3c1601397ada50/thumbnail_34000.jpg","/articles/6108020/Boston-City/Suffolk-County/Massachusetts/Council-committee-questions-City-Planning-Department-transition-pensions-and-budget-transparency","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6108020-79813acbbea77190ccc40680494efe88/orig.mp4?Expires=1775353507&Signature=FLfcH1qKa2MSFdf5DEr6VpjalbtiZQtLBaOPvcXjOn19UWJWqNiWoCJxZvw~2PpMmYVYFFoOe7oL3CG5pqTgeAwFLuNYHq5RdpPsQ-f9PIj987VOukVrBgRE9oEN3LxnP4dBPXFY3sJm10YnfkIQBHDPcKLg~wgNBJPtbb27BSIw0dcQypaCHnyKqaDChO5JSehhhCPFl5PltsiNXoY4KM8sL5TPBj0BcuLMF1EXdad01khD0H1FPJBtHIRnAa9xmeLU2xUlXUXUdTF4EIILIQrP~ke4yH2sn7gvFZCaLx0AHKMEMT8xVhawBOpzFVaCphQoCVsjdiiHjB7ITNMFQQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Boston City Council members and the newly named chief of planning, Cairo Shen, spent more than three hours on March 25 examining the transition of planning functions from the Boston Redevelopment Authority/BPDA to the City Planning Department and pressing officials about staff retirement benefits, financial transfers and public access to documents.

Committee Chair Gabriela Claudia Zapata opened the Government Operations hearing on docket 0337 and called lead sponsors and planning staff forward to discuss how the transition has worked since last year.

Why it matters: The shift of planning from an independent redevelopment agency into city government changes who the department reports to, who votes on budgets and how public oversight can be exercised. Councilors repeatedly said they want clearer lines of fiscal accountability, faster public access to reports and a resolution for EDIC staff who moved to the city with differing retirement arrangements.

City staff described operational changes and outstanding issues. Chief of Planning Cairo Shen said the move aims to make planning “transparent and predictable” and described three guiding principles for the new department: planning-led decision making, broader inclusion, and predictable, accountable procedures. He told the committee the department will produce a modernized, citywide zoning code through inclusive planning, and identified a forthcoming citywide needs assessment and an annual report as near-term deliverables.

Deputy Chief Devin Quirk and planning executive Theresa Paljamas answered technical questions about budget transfers and employee benefits. Quirk initially told the panel that approximately $22,000,000 had been transferred from the redevelopment agency to cover department expenses to date. Paljamas later corrected that figure, saying the current total transferred is $26,000,000 and that one final quarterly payment remained to be made.

On employee retirement benefits, Paljamas said the “number one concern that remains is the change in retirement benefits.” She explained EDIC employees had participated in defined-contribution plans (a 401(a)-type arrangement) while BRA employees generally participated in the city’s pension, and moving EDIC staff to city employment changed available retirement options. Paljamas said roughly 160 EDIC employees moved into city positions and described ongoing efforts, including a Home Rule petition to the state legislature, to allow EDIC service to be recognized for pension buyback. That petition passed the state House but did not pass the Senate last year, she said.

Councilors pressed the department on the timing and visibility of materials. Shen acknowledged the department’s annual report had not yet been posted publicly but said staff would post it after the hearing. Quirk and Paljamas said the finance memorandum of agreement (the Section 8‑14.5 MOA referenced in the ordinance) is completed, has board approval and that copies would be provided to council offices.

Staff directions and next steps. Committee members and planning staff identified several short-term steps: the BPDA/BPD board will approve the estimated transfer amount for FY26 at an April board meeting and (if adjusted after the council budget process) will reapprove any amended figure; staff said they will post the annual report and make the finance MOA available to the council; and the department is pursuing the Home Rule petition path and exploring faster legislative vehicles to address pension buybacks for EDIC-era service.

What councilors pressed that remains unresolved: a legislative fix for pension recognition, why audited financial detail for FY24 capital expenses was not accessible to council staff (the department said it would update website permissions and provide PDFs), and a more consistent public accounting of community-benefit and mitigation funds tied to developer escrow accounts.

Ending: The hearing produced more requests than decisions; councilors asked planning staff to return with written materials and promised follow‑up hearings. No formal votes were taken during the session.","Boston City Council committee probed the transition of planning functions from the BPDA to the new City Planning Department, pressing officials on employee retirement changes, fiscal transfers from the redevelopment agency and how quickly the department will post public reports.","actionData","errors"]

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Residents and councilors press pause, stronger outreach for Squares & Streets rezoning in Roslindale

Council committee questions City Planning Department transition, pensions and budget transparency