Politics & Government

Should the BRA Separate? City Council Candidates Weigh In

Individuals running for Boston's four at-large seats spoke out about the local authority at a July 10 candidates' night in the North End.

By Becca Manning

How would you change the Boston Redevelopment Authority?

Candidates for Boston City Council were asked that question at the July 10 Ward 3 Democratic Committee candidates’ night, held at the Nazzaro Center in Boston’s North End.

Local resident Stephanie Hogue referenced an article in the June issue of Boston Magazine titled “The Authority,” in which the writer suggests that with Mayor Thomas Menino on his way out it may be time for the BRA to go.

Hogue said she has been attending meetings on the Government Center project and potential developments at the end of the Greenway and at Lovejoy Wharf and was concerned about the population these projects would add to the neighborhood, and about the community’s already small ratio of park space to residents.

Find out what's happening in Beacon Hillwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

“We have trouble getting the BRA to plan in the sense of looking at the cumulative impact of these projects on the community,” Hogue said. “The BRA seems to insist on reviewing every project on a case-by-case basis. I don’t think it works.”

At the July 10 event, Hogue asked at-large Boston City Council candidates each to comment on the city’s planning process and the role of the BRA. Fourteen of the 19 candidates were present at the meeting.

Find out what's happening in Beacon Hillwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Below is a look at some of their responses: 

Philip Frattaroli, Candidate for At-Large City Councilor

North End resident Philip Frattaroli said he feels the city should separate planning and development.

“I just got married about four months ago and my wife and I went to New Zealand for our honeymoon, and while we were there we went to the seaport area, and it was amazing. It really made me think. Our seaport is kind of viewed as the crowning achievement of the BRA, but there’s really no pedestrian access to it; you can’t really walk around there. All the restaurants are huge multi-national corporations that were lucky enough to get licenses from whatever connection they had," he said.

Frattaroli also felt the BRA should be treated more like other government agencies, with transparency regarding the way the authority spends and brings in money.

Stephen Murphy, Incumbent Candidate for At-Large City Councilor

Current City Council president Stephen Murphy, a Hyde Park resident, said he would like to see planning and development handled by separate agencies but added that a change in the BRA wouldn’t happen without mayoral support.

“This has been coming up for the last 10 election cycles, and the problem with the BRA is that it was created by state law and no ordinance can change it,” he said. “You’d have to go to the state legislature to change the makeup of the BRA, and you have to do that with a home rule petition. And the only way a home rule petition can go is with the signature of the mayor. So that question is more one of could you get the 12 or 13 people running for mayor to all say that they’d sign something to reform the BRA.”

Michael Flaherty, Candidate for At-Large City Councilor

South Boston resident Michael Flaherty said he feels “there’s an inherent conflict” between the BRA’s planning and economic development sides.

“What happens too often in our city is the economic development arm usurps the planning arm and it becomes more about who you know, who you hire, who your team is and things like that. That’s not how you plan," Flaherty said.

He supports having a standalone planning department that is "respectful of the communities and direct abutters and their quality of life.”

Flaherty said separating the two arms would go a long way toward solving some of the frustrations from people that get invited to meetings intending to have their voices heard only to find that “the cake is already baked and the deal is already done.” 

Chris Conroy, Candidate for At-Large City Councilor

Chris Conroy, a Roxbury resident, said if elected he would work closely with State Rep. Aaron Michlewitz and others to push for a change in the way the BRA is run.

“If we need to get a home rule petition to make sure that economic development does not usurp neighborhood development and planning at the neighborhood level then we’ll get that petition,” he said. “We’re going to get it. And I won’t stop until we do.” 

Jeffrey Ross, Candidate for At-Large City Councilor

Jeffrey Ross, who lives in a historical neighborhood in the South End, said he feels the city needs a master plan that is “neighborhood driven.”

“Some of the plans that people are talking about that have been around for a long time are outdated. Our city has changed, development has changed, the density of our neighborhoods has changed,” Ross said. “Right now, we’ve got to work within the infrastructure of the BRA, so I think it’s got to be community driven … and it’s got to be neighborhood by neighborhood.”

Ayanna Pressley, Incumbent Candidate for At-Large City Councilor

At-Large City Councilor Ayanna Pressley, who is running for re-election, said she too believes that planning and development should be separated.

“We need a master plan, a visioning,” she said.

Pressley, who lives in Dorchester, said the city also needs a “community benefits agreement.”

“We need a benchmark, so although I think development should be customized and specialized and communities should drive that process, I think we need to have a standard community benefits agreement, and then within each neighborhood we can build upon that,” she said. 

Michelle Wu, Candidate for At-Large City Councilor

South End resident Michelle Wu said for her the main issues with the BRA are transparency and accountability.

“I actually believe that planning and economic development are very intimately tied and that for us to just commit to separating the two wouldn’t get at the problem,” Wu said.

She wants to see neighborhood associations empowered not just to say no at the end of the process but to be a part of the planning process from the beginning, with the economic development side coming in later.

“I’m a lawyer and I know that when you go before a judge the judge hears both sides … but at the end of the day they issue a decision and they can’t just say what the decision is, yes or no—they have to write a written opinion that explains how they got to that decision,” Wu said. “I would love to see the BRA have that as a requirement.” 

Martin Keogh, Candidate for At-Large City Councilor

Martin Keogh, a West Roxbury resident, said he might support a separate planning department but that transparency was the biggest issue with the BRA.

“The BRA was and probably still is a necessary department we have to have. This city has been transformed by the BRA,” Keogh said. “[…] There’s got to be transparency at the BRA.” 

Ramon Soto, Candidate for At-Large City Councilor

Ramon Soto, who lives near Jamaica Plain, said the BRA could work on better communication with the public.

“Complete Streets is a partnership between the BRA and the DND where they’ve literally mapped out every single train track—the ones that are active and not active—every lamppost, everywhere, and the potential where new ones can be. But that is a project that lives in its own atmosphere. It’s not actually applied directly to the grassroots; it’s not taken out on the streets and vetted with the community,” Soto said.  “So as a city councilor, I’d like to put their feet to the fire to make sure we get out there, present all these great ideas that we have in some single unified manner that is intelligible for every one of the communities.

Soto encouraged Hogue to rally around her cause and said, “As your city councilor, I’d be happy to act on your behalf, hold hearings and do whatever I need to do to make that a reality.” 

Annissa Essaibi George, Candidate for At-Large City Councilor

Dorchester resident Annissa Essaibi George said she has served on public project task forces and has also “not been allowed” to serve on task forces because of her opinion that “they don’t really count.”

“You participate, you go to meetings over and over again but in the end the BRA really does do what it wants to do, and I think that the community weight needs to be much stronger than it is,” she said. “A lot of candidates are looking for a master plan for the entire city. I think that’s a good place to start, but we as a city need to be able to hold the BRA responsible for what they are doing—or not doing, as the case my be.” 

Gareth Saunders, Candidate for At-Large City Councilor

Gareth Saunders, a Dorchester resident and former city councilor, said that with the BRA what matters is who is in the mayor’s seat.

“If you look at it, the mayor really controls what the BRA does, and I can tell you from my experiences—the BRA would not approve any project without the OK of the city mayor,” Saunders said. “I keep hearing how we need to divide development from planning, and that could work, but you could have a development part and a planning part but you’re still going to have a mayor that’s controlling both.

“The bigger part,” he continued, “is making sure that we elect a new mayor that’s sensitive to community participation and would honor and hold the community wishes as an equal partnership with the developer.”

Catherine O’Neill, Candidate for At-Large City Councilor

Dorchester resident Catherine O’Neill said she agreed with Flaherty, for whom she previously campaigned.

“We need to separate. We need to plan our work and work our plan,” O’Neill said. “Dorchester Avenue is the straightest, longest road in the city of Boston. It should be the main-est Main Street in the city of Boston, the longest. Let’s plan that.” 

Jack Kelly, Candidate for At-Large City Councilor

Charlestown resident Jack Kelly, who previously served as neighborhood liaison in the Mayor’s Office, said the BRA above all needs transparency throughout the development process.

“I’d like to tell you what I would do to change the BRA. As a city councilor, I can’t do that. I can use my bully pulpit,” Kelly said. “But one of the things concretely that I can do—and I will push for—is I want a ceremonial vote to keep people that are appointed within the BRA, so we can ask those questions about how they’re going to lead, and we can go on record as city councilors whether we voted for them or voted against them.”


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here