City of Boston Planning Department Marks Historic Year of Transition

This past year, the City of Boston established a Planning Department for the first time in 70 years, restoring planning as a core function of city government. This was officially established by a City ordinance signed by Mayor Wu in April. In addition to creating the Department and a pathway for the transfer of staff, the ordinance codified the purpose of the Department as creating comprehensive plans for Boston’s built environment, a predictable zoning code and development process, urban design standards, and planning for the best use of publicly-owned land. The majority of Boston Planning & Development Agency (BPDA) staff transitioned into jobs with the City of Boston and became employees of the new Planning Department in July. The City of Boston also made progress to create more housing, including through the Office to Residential Conversion Program, an ADU Guidebook, and approval of projects by the BPDA Board.

The new department took these transformational steps while advancing significant growth and investment in our City. Staff advanced 67 new development proposals and 16 notices of project change amounting to 11.6 million net square feet worth $8.1 billion of investment in our City. This includes 3,575 net residential units, of which 1,210 or approximately 34 percent, will be income-restricted. This year’s approved projects are estimated to generate 10,208 net construction jobs and 15,716 net permanent jobs. Development projects newly approved in 2024 will generate $57.2 million in Linkage fees to support affordable housing, and $10.6 million in Linkage fees to support job training programs.

The transition of staff and the establishment of the Department completes a major piece of Mayor Wu’s vision to transform planning and development in Boston. Having a Planning Department also better positions staff to be able to tackle some of the signature policy goals of the Wu Administration such as citywide zoning reform, including the Squares + Streets initiative to increase the production of housing near transit, and the modernization of the development review process and a design framework for guiding future growth and change. Continuing to elevate planning and design, staff were able to begin a community plan for Allston-Brighton, and advance the PLAN: East Boston neighborhood plan and zoning in 2024, and the first citywide Design Vision to create standards for design that embrace diversity and inclusion, and reshape the design review process. 

In addition to this significant transition of staff and resources, Mayor Wu also appointed Kairos Shen as the new Chief of Planning to the city in October, following the departure of former Chief Arthur Jemison. In this role, Chief Shen is continuing to build on the work done under Jemison to streamline the development review process, reform the zoning code, and create inclusive design standards throughout the city. Shen most recently taught “City Making” at the MIT Center for Real Estate, drawing on knowledge, research, and practice across the fields of planning, design, public policy, finance, and real estate. Prior to his career in academia, Shen worked in City Hall in a number of different roles in planning and design over the course of two decades under Mayor Thomas Menino and Mayor Martin Walsh. Shen had a hand in shaping the City’s most pivotal planning initiatives and development projects from 1993-2015, a period of substantial growth and investment in the City.

This year’s development projects notably included the revitalization of White Stadium for Boston Public School (BPS) athletics through a unique community oriented public-private partnership with Boston Unity Soccer Partners. White Stadium, built in 1949, has been a cornerstone for Boston athletes and community members. However, decades of disinvestment and fire damage have left it in disrepair, not compliant with current safety codes and lacking amenities for BPS athletics. In order to ensure this stadium will be a functional and significant amenity for the public, Boston Unity will rebuild the West Grandstand, as well as add new amenities on site, and the City of Boston will rebuild the East Grandstand. Together, this project will create a world-class stadium for use by BPS students, community members, and a professional women’s soccer team. Boston Unity will maintain the renovated areas, freeing up City funds for other priorities.

The Planning Department also continued to advance development this year on 17.7 acres of underutilized, public land across Boston. These 18 public sites will produce a variety of public benefits and include space for retail, hotel, community gardens, marine industrial activities, public open space, affordable housing, and mixed use development. Notable new project sites in 2024 include the Boston Water and Sewer Commission parking lots in Roxbury to create more than 400 units of income-restricted housing, the Charlestown Peace Park, and the Garrison Trotter parcels in Roxbury which will become open space and community gardens. Nearly 60 percent of all new projects in 2024 were in Roxbury. More than half of these projects will become community gardens or open space. These redevelopment efforts are in direct response to the City’s 2022 land audit to maximize the potential for underutilized sites across Boston.

The sections below provide more detail on major accomplishments and progress of the new Planning Department to help make Boston a home for everyone, and tackle Boston’s greatest challenges today: resilience, affordability, and equity.

Planning Department acts on Mayor Wu’s goal to rezone squares and streets through launch of Squares + Streets Small Area Plans

Squares + Streets zoning districts were adopted into the Boston Zoning Code in April. The zoning districts represent a clear path towards a simpler and more straightforward zoning code for Boston. The first application of these new zoning districts came in May, when the Planning Department implemented PLAN: Mattapan by encoding Squares + Streets zoning into the mixed-use and commercial areas of the neighborhood. This followed the adoption of new residential zoning in Mattapan in February, which aligns dimensional regulations to the neighborhood’s existing character, and supports the production of new two- and three-unit infill housing on vacant lots.

In the last year, the Planning Department has launched three Squares + Streets (S+S) Small Area Plans in Roslindale Square, Cleary Square, and Fields Corner. In that time, staff have worked directly alongside the community to hear how residents would like to see their neighborhood centers improve. 

The draft plan for Roslindale has officially been released as of December 13. It includes recommendations for: safer streets through redesigning intersections and expanding pedestrian spaces on Belgrade Avenue and Washington Street; strategies to leverage public and private land for housing and mixed-use development; cultural activation opportunities in beloved community spaces such as Birch Street Plaza and Adams Park; and targeted City programs and policies that draw foot traffic to support the many independently-owned small businesses in Roslindale Square.

Cleary Square is making significant progress toward finalizing its draft plan, with a release anticipated early this winter. This plan will include a range of strategies and recommendations aimed at fostering economic vitality, enhancing public spaces, and supporting the unique character of the Square. 

Fields Corner is currently wrapping up its visioning sessions, which have been an integral part of gathering ideas and priorities directly from the community. In the new year, the focus will shift to working collaboratively with residents and stakeholders to refine and finalize the recommendations. This next phase will ensure the plan aligns with the shared aspirations for Fields Corner’s growth and development.

Planning for Squares + Streets is one of the first phases of citywide zoning reform and focuses on high-impact, short-term, targeted recommendations that can be implemented through zoning and capital investments. As Boston’s population continues to grow, our Squares + Streets are important places for ensuring every Bostonian has access to affordable, sustainable, and equitable places to live, work, and play. Additional Squares + Streets locations will be announced on a rolling basis.

Article 80 Modernization

Planning Department staff this year released draft recommendations on how to reform Boston’s development review process and make it more responsive to the city’s needs of today,  identifying specific actions to promote inclusive growth. The recommendations include: expanding community participation by creating new ways for engagement besides public meetings, and getting feedback earlier in the process; clearly defining what mitigation and community benefits are, including standard metrics for contribution; and creating a more holistic and coordinated review process among city departments. These recommendations will help to create a new culture around development that is rooted in predictability, consistency, transparency and timeliness. In 2025, staff plan to release final recommendations and zoning changes that incorporate and respond to the public’s comments on the draft recommendations and throughout the engagement process. These recommendations and zoning changes will advance the goal of having planning lead the development review process.

Zoning Reform

Updates to the Boston Zoning Code to increase Linkage fees for lab and commercial uses and to incorporate the Inclusionary Development Policy into zoning went into effect this year. The increase in Linkage became effective in January, meaning all projects which filed after that had to abide by this new zoning. Linkage payments will support the creation and preservation of affordable housing through the Neighborhood Housing Trust, as well as to support the job training and job readiness needs of Boston’s residents through the Neighborhood Jobs Trust. The changes to Linkage include lowering the threshold for exemption from 100,000 square feet to 50,000 square feet, increasing total linkage fees to $30.78 per square foot for lab space, and to $23.09 for other commercial uses, up from $15.39. Inclusionary Zoning went into effect in October, requiring all projects filed with seven or more residential units to increase the portion of income-restricted units from 13 percent to 20 percent. Affordability requirements apply to all projects that meet the new threshold, regardless of whether they will need variances or not.

Enabling Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs)

Building on Mayor Wu’s commitment to remove barriers to building ADUs across Boston’s neighborhoods, the Planning Department launched the ADU Guidebook to provide homeowners with practical guidance and inspiration for adding an ADU to their property, whether it is for additional living space, rental income, or housing family members. The ADU Guidebook features realistic, buildable designs tailored to Boston’s neighborhoods. The designs require permits, and may still need relief granted by the Zoning Board of Appeal, but they offer a clear starting point to help residents more easily move forward with their ADU. A companion zoning initiative, known as Neighborhood Housing, has been launched with the goal of making the illustrations from the Guidebook possible without zoning relief. This zoning will also expand the types of housing allowed to be built in Boston citywide, thereby helping the city more effectively respond to the housing crisis. Mattapan’s residential zoning code was also amended and updated in 2024 to allow for the by-right development of ADUs, including detached ADUs on owner-occupied residential lots, as part of the planning recommendations for residential areas in PLAN: Mattapan.

Neighborhood Planning

East Boston

In January, PLAN: East Boston and its zoning went into effect after five years of engagement with the community. The plan focuses on: expanding access to housing options that are affordable, stable, and that meet households’ needs as they change over time, advancing climate preparedness and promoting a healthy environment, ensuring access to travel choices that better connect East Boston to the rest of the City, supporting local business, and guiding neighborhood growth that is predictable and contextual. 

Allston-Brighton

Current planning in Allston-Brighton includes the Allston-Brighton Community Plan, the Beacon Park Yard Regional Framework Plan and Harvard Enterprise Research Campus District & Greenway Plan. This year the Planning Department launched the Allston-Brighton Community Plan which is a 20-month planning process that will develop a shared vision for future neighborhood growth in close collaboration with the Allston Brighton community. The plan is based on the Allston-Brighton Needs Assessment that identified needs such as more accessible and affordable housing, and convenient public open space, among other things. Engagement has included events across both neighborhoods, an open house, and a survey. In 2025, staff will process the feedback that they will use to create concepts for the Community Advisory Board and Planning Collaborative Core Group to consider.

The Beacon Park Yard Regional Framework Plan, which began in 2023, is currently developing a community vision to explore and refine opportunities that will be unlocked by the replacement and redesign of the Allston Interchange. This community vision will be guided by regional, City, and local perspectives to imagine and create a new neighborhood in Beacon Park Yard. In 2024, staff discussed draft scenarios for the future of this land in collaboration with the community. Various design scenarios have been explored with different orientations of the open spaces and different land use mixes across the site. Over the next few months, the team will work on illustrating the focus areas and finalizing those scenarios.

Office to Residential Conversion Program

The City of Boston extended the application period for the Office to Residential Conversion program through the end of 2025. In addition to the city’s tax abatement, the state is offering $15 million in funding to incentivize larger-scale office buildings to convert to housing, which often can be more costly due to the complexity of the projects. So far, the City has received 14 applications to convert 18 buildings creating 690 units of housing including 139 income-restricted units. This is a total of 620,000 SF of office space being converted. Of those 14 applications, five conversion projects have already received Article 80 approval to move forward with renovations, which amounts to nearly 200,000 SF of office space being converted into 236 units. In 2025, the City hopes to get more of these projects through the Article 80 process and into construction, and to expand the reach of this program with more building typologies.

Boston Design Vision

The Urban Design staff of the Planning Department this year launched a new citywide Design Vision to support a built environment that expresses both the uniqueness and diversity of the neighborhoods of Boston, to provide residents a sense of belonging as the city evolves and grows. This vision will champion the transformative power of sustainable, walkable, and supportive communities. Moreover, it highlights how design can support social, mental, and physical health while improving resiliency, affordability, and equity. The Design Vision builds on the existing work of the City’s many departments currently planning and designing for the future of Boston. These ideas will inform future design guidelines for housing, retail signage in neighborhood centers, and complete streets, as well as ongoing Planning Department initiatives such as Squares + Streets and Article 80 Modernization. As staff work to standardize development regulations and address citywide needs, the Design Vision will help the City to retain what is special and unique about each part of Boston, informed by community input.

Community Benefits

The Planning Department this year presented more than $940,000 in community benefits to 54 nonprofits across the city. This source of funding originated from development projects in Dorchester, South Boston, and the South End. The organizations awarded serve the community in a variety of ways including providing youth services, combating food insecurity, and supporting low-income individuals.