June 1, 2006
The Plaza redesign process has been seriously flawed by many unresolved legal and financial questions. City Council has not been given proper opportunity to oversee procedures that were, or should have been, under its review. Further, we feel that citizens' rights and interests have not been properly protected in the process conducted by the Trust/BRA. Before redesign of the Plaza goes further, we ask Council for the following 5 actions:
1. REVIEW THE LEGAL RIGHT OF THE BRA TO TAKE THE
PLAZA FROM THE CITY OF BOSTON.
In l996, the BRA took the Plaza from the
City by eminent domain, without any compensation for its
value. The BRA says it has the right to take the Plaza a
second time under the same Urban Renewal Plan, without even
the normally required proof that the land is "blighted." By
using eminent domain to transfer the land, City Council's
review was circumvented; a normal City land disposal
requires a 2/3 Council approval vote. Further, the citizens
of Boston, who owned the Plaza, were given no effective
opportunity to comment at the time. We ask for an
independent legal review of the taking, to see if the legal
standards for taking were met.
2. ESTABLISH WHAT WILL HAPPEN WHEN THE URBAN
RENEWAL PLAN EXPIRES IN APRIL 2004.
Upon expiration of the Plan, the BRA/Trust
will still be in control of the Plaza. We need to know what
protective regulations will continue and which will expire,
and the jurisdictions of various State, City, and BRA
entities. We need to assure our citizens that our civic
open space will be protected from private development in
the future.
3. DEMAND THAT CITY COUNCIL APPROVAL OF A FULL
PLAZA PLAN BE A PREREQUISITE TO COMMENCEMENT OF ANY PHASE.
City Council has power to review Major
Modifications to the Urban Renewal Plan. The Trust has
always intended to put commercial development, which
qualifies as a Major Modification, on the Plaza. The
proposed arcade is only Phase I of a plan that, per the May
1999 BRA Report to the Trust, includes a hotel in Phase II.
The arcade plan itself indicates a restored "Hanover
Street," which shows on the Phase II plan as the service
lane for the hotel. The City Council should state, as did
the Boston Civic Design Commission and members of the
Trust's own community "Board of Advisors," that the arcade
cannot be judged in isolation. City Council should demand
that no phase be permitted until all phases are approved by
the Council.
4. REQUIRE A COMPLETE FINANCIAL AUDIT OF PUBLIC
FUNDS GIVEN TO THE TRUST.
Recently, the Trust has been awarded over
$2.7 million for the arcade (which when first announced was
to cost $1 million of City money). The BRA has committed to
funding the arcade with BRA funds, but in turn is asking,
in the proposed City budget, for a new stream of City
funding for BRA operations. This channels City money
through the BRA while eliminating City Council and public
oversight. In the past, the Trust for City Hall Plaza,
Inc., has received at least $1,370,400 in public funds,
with no public record of use. We ask that a full accounting
be required showing Trust disposition of all previous
public funds and specific projected uses of the arcade
award, for which no detailed cost breakdown has yet been
provided.
5. REQUIRE THE CITY TO RETAIN A PLAZA DESIGNER
WITH NO ECONOMIC CONFLICTS.
Remove control of the Plaza from the Trust,
which is a group of private development interests
conducting decision-making for public space and public
funding in private, closed meetings. The City should retain
a disinterested firm to program and design Plaza
improvements, with genuine open public process. The
designer should collaborate in good faith with the GSA,
which is producing a design for the area around the JFK
building.
These actions are necessary to respect the authority of the Council and protect the interests of the citizens.