Planning amendments for Journal Square and Saint John’s plan draw council pushback; 3000 Kennedy Blvd. boundary change contested
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Summary
City planning presented proposed amendments to the Journal Square 2060 and Saint John’s redevelopment plans — including a public-parking corner bonus, rent-controlled unit replacement rules and a boundary change moving 3000 Kennedy Boulevard into Journal Square — but a councilmember asked staff to pull the items until community stakeholders are consulted.
City planning submitted first-reading ordinances to amend the Journal Square 2060 redevelopment plan and the Saint John’s redevelopment plan. Planning staff described a package of changes the department said had been publicly discussed since 2024 and recommended by the planning board, including a corner-bonus public parking provision, a ‘replacement of dwelling units subject to rent control’ requirement (one-for-one replacement as low-income affordable housing when rent-controlled units are incorporated into a larger development), and a boundary change moving 3000 Kennedy Boulevard into the Journal Square plan.
A councilmember asked that the planning items be pulled until staff hold additional meetings with Saint John’s stakeholders. “I spoke to the people from Saint John's today, and nobody ever sit down with them and explain this. And I'm gonna ask this to be pulled again until September,” the councilmember said, citing a large community meeting with 150–200 participants that raised concerns about the change.
Planning staff said many elements of the package had been discussed for months and that the planning board had given a favorable recommendation in June. Staff offered to meet with councilmembers and neighborhood representatives before the Wednesday meeting and indicated some portions of the amendment could be treated as severable if the council prefers. They also noted the amendment included circulation and corner-lot bonus changes intended to encourage public parking and pedestrian connections, and included a “beneficial uses overlay” to allow senior housing and other uses.
No council vote was recorded at the caucus; councilmembers asked planning to meet with neighborhood representatives and the petitioning parties and requested the planning department return with clarified maps and stakeholder outreach notes before any final reading.
Ending: The caucus closed with a plan for follow-up meetings between planning staff, councilmembers and community representatives; councilmembers asked that the record show they want more stakeholder input before any ordinance adoption for Journal Square or the Saint John’s plan boundary change.