Summary of the February 4 Land Use & Development Advisory Committee Meeting
February 5, 2025
The Land Use and Development Advisory Committee met on February 4, 2025 to review the goals of the 2025 Policy Agenda. As an introduction to the goal of Downtown Revitalization, John Weil, Senior Program Manager for the Boston Planning Department, presented an overview of the City’s Downtown Conversion Program that incentivizes office to residential adaptive reuse. John reviewed the evolution of the conversion program from origins in the PLAN: Downtown process in 2020 to a pilot for post pandemic revitalization of downtown, filling vacant space in Class B and C office buildings. The program offers a 29 year, 75% residential property tax abatement and a streamlined permitting process in return for adaptive reuse that includes 17% affordable units that comply with stretch code green energy standards. To date,14 applications for the program have been submitted, that when completed will produce 690 units of new housing, with 139 affordable units. The Downtown Conversions Program projects are eligible to take part in an expedited Article 80 review process that includes an interagency joint review. The program still faces several challenges, including market conditions, physical attributes of buildings, construction cost for conversions, building performance characteristics, and regulatory requirements that can slow the advancement of the program. Members of the Advisory Committee suggested doing a case study of a leading project to better understand how the process works. This presentation serves as a model for future discussion of topics included in the Policy Agenda.
The committee reviewed the goals of the Policy Agenda and topics for future sessions.
Goal 1 is “Support improvements to the process of planning and development in Boston” which includes continuing examination of the Article 80 development review process. A next step is follow up to review how our comments on the Action Plan are being incorporated and to discuss the next actions in the modernization process. The Squares and Streets initiative offers a model for reform of the city-wide zoning process. In future meetings, the Advisory Committee’s can include review of lessons from the initial focus areas in Cleary and Roslindale Squares.
Goal 2 is “Support measures that will enhance the post-pandemic revitalization of Downtown and other commercial areas.” In addition to further review of the residential conversion program, we will ask City officials to brief the group on the status of other programs to support Downtown vitality. A suggestion was to connect with Main Streets organizations as A Better City has done supporting placemaking projects in the neighborhoods.
Goal 3 has the potentially broad scope of “Support economic development and competitiveness for the city and the region” including workforce issues, retaining talent, stemming outmigration, and promoting polices to increase housing supply and reduce housing costs.
Goal 4 seeks to “Support reshaping the regulatory framework to address changing conditions” to balance growth and development with objectives of sustainability, resilience, and equity. As we have in the past, our comments on proposed legislation and regulations will aim for that balance as opportunities for comment arise.
Finally, we asked Advisory Committee members for suggestions for other goals or topics that should receive attention. The question of the status of Municipal Harbor Plans was raised. Kate Dineen said that she will meet with Kairos Shen in March to discuss the status of resuming planning in East Boston first and later in the Downtown Waterfront.
