Yoon Calls for Eliminating the BRA
Announces Plan for New Department of Community Developing & Planning
June, 16, 2009
BOSTON – City Councilor-at-Large and mayoral candidate Sam Yoon is filing legislation tomorrow to eliminate the Boston Redevelopment Authority and establish a Community Development & Planning agency.
Yoon’s legislation is part of a 4-point plan to overhaul the City’s current development and planning processes.
“We have an outdated system that favors developers over communities, that lacks coordination, and that consumes a large amount of revenue with no oversight,” said Yoon. “But worst of all, there is no vision. What we need is a new approach to planning and development that meets our current needs.”
The Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) was established in 1957 as a quasi-public agency – governed independently from the City but run by a mayor-appointed board. The BRA has the power to buy and sell property, issue tax exemptions to developers, and manage the City’s planning. Certain aspects of City planning also belong to the Department of Neighborhood Development and the Department of Transportation.
In 1960, Boston became the only U.S city without a planning department separate from its redevelopment authority. Since then, comprehensive planning has been diminished in favor of promoting individual development projects.
Yoon’s plan would replace the BRA with a new Department of Community Development and Planning; a centralized planning entity with a staff trained in neighborhood outreach and stakeholder-driven planning. The City’s development powers would be transferred to the new department, which would be publicly accountable like any other city agency like the School Department or Police Department.
Yoon says the new department would create long-term plans to avoid stalled and mismanaged projects like the Massachusetts Avenue redesign and the idled construction in Downtown Crossing.
“The Department of Community Development and Planning would create a guiding vision for Boston,” said Yoon. “We need to get serious about green design, walk-able and bike-able streets, and, above all, making the planning process more inclusive and less political.”
Prior to serving on the City Council, Yoon spent ten years working as a community organizer and affordable housing developer at community-based non-profits.
