November 9, 2001
Mr. Alexander Whiteside, Senior Attorney
Department of Housing and Community Development
One Congress Street, 10th fl
Boston, MA
Re: DHCD review of BRA Urban Renewal Plan modifications
Dear Mr. Whiteside:
In follow-up to our letter of August 6, 2001, regarding DHCD review of Boston Redevelopment Authority Urban Renewal Plans, we enclose a copy of the BRA's comprehensive list of Urban Renewal Plan modifications. We hope this list will assist you in your review of this matter.
The list includes some 280 modifications of 13 Urban Renewal Plans; many of these modifications involved multiple parcels of land. The modifications involve many basic elements of the Plans, including project dimensions, land uses, and boundaries, and BRA eminent domain taking power over specific parcels in the Plan areas. To our knowledge, the BRA has submitted only four of these modifications for review by DHCD: three for the Park Plaza Plan, relating to the Hotel on Piano Row and the Royal Hotel building, and one for the South End Plan, relating to the Crosstown Development.
According to the 1996 regulations of 760 CMR Section 12.03 and the earlier Section 13.04 (printed below), the BRA is required to submit all proposed plan modifications, major or minor, to the Department for approval. This State review is an important part of the Urban Renewal program. The powers of the Boston Redevelopment Authority are great, and further enhanced by its assumption of Boston Planning Board functions in l960. Therefore, State oversight, and, as required if DHCD declares modifications "major," City Council oversight, are extremely important. Department review is an instrument of comprehensive quality control on the public process and on the conformity of modifications with the general plan for the community as a whole, and thus is an important safeguard for the public interest.
The number of Plan modifications (an average of over 21 modifications per Plan, including several hundred specific changes) indicates that cumulative effects may have substantially modified the basic intent of some or all of these Plans. While changing City plans to meet changing conditions may certainly be reasonable, the BRA's special urban renewal powers rely on these particular Plans, which were specifically created for certain public purposes under the local economic conditions at the time of their creation. At some point, we may have lost the intent and applicability of the original Plans, while the BRA retained its special governmental powers. As the various Urban Renewal Plans will soon begin to reach their termination dates, and efforts may be made to extend them, it is especially important to consider their integrity and continued relevance in the Boston we face now, some forty years after Urban Renewal began.
We ask that the Department conduct a review of this issue, to confirm the modification approval record, and to document project implementation actions taken based on unapproved modifications. We trust that the Department will take all appropriate actions in this matter.
Please feel free to contact me if we can be helpful in anyway. We look forward to your response.
Shirley Kressel
President
Alliance of Boston Neighborhoods
cc w/o enclosure, via e-mail:
Carol Wolfe, Urban Renewal Plan Coordinator, DHCD
Boston City Councilors
Mark Maloney, Director, BRA
Kevin Morrison, General Counsel, BRA
760 CMR 12.03: Plan Changes
The operating agency shall submit all proposed minor and major plan changes to the Department for approval. The application for a plan change shall include a detailed description of the change, the purpose and effect of the plan change on project activities, and pertinent revisions of the original application to reflect the change.
(1) A minor plan change is a plan change that does not significantly affect any of the basic elements of a previously approved Urban Renewal Plan. An application for a minor plan change shall include a resolution of the operating agency adopting the plan change. If deemed necessary for its decision, the Department may request additional local approvals or information.
(2) A major plan change is a significant change in any of the basic elements of a previously approved Urban Renewal Plan. The request for a major plan change shall be accompanied by evidence of a public hearing, a Planning Board determination that the proposed change is in conformance with the general plan for the community as a whole, City Council or Town Selectmen approval, and evidence that all affected redevelopers have been notified of the plan change, have been given an opportunity to comment, and that any such comments have been considered. If deemed necessary for its decision, the Department may request additional local approvals or information.
760 CMR 13.04: Amendatory Applications
(1) An amendatory application is required when a change in the Urban Renewal Plan is sought or an increase in the amount of state financial assistance is sought.
The amendatory application submitted to the Department should explain the proposed revision, revise all the documentation submitted in the original Urban Renewal Plan that is affected by or relates to the proposed revision, and include new local approvals where necessary.
(2) Urban Renewal Plan Changes. The operating agency shall submit all proposed plan changes to the Department for a determination as to whether the plan change is a major or minor change. A major plan change is a significant change in any of the basic elements of the Urban Renewal Plan. A minor plan change is a plan change that does not significantly affect any of the basic elements of the Urban Renewal Plan.
(a) Major Plan Change. If the plan change is determined by the Department to be a major plan change, local approvals shall be obtained and the Department shall review the request to approve the plan change as required by Section 48 of Chapter 121B. Local approvals include: Resolution of the operating agency amending the plan, evidence of a public hearing, planning board determination that the proposed plan change is in conformance with a general plan for the community as a whole, City Council or Town Selectmen approval, and consent of affected redevelopers.
The application to the Department for formal approval of the plan change shall include a detailed description of the plan change and the effect of the plan changes on project activities, including a revised summary of project data, if necessary.
(b) Minor Plan Change. If the plan change is determined to be a minor plan change, the operating agency shall submit a request for Department approval of the plan change. The request shall include the resolution of the authority adopting the plan change, a planning board determination that the amended plan conforms to the general plan of the locality, an opinion of the operating agency's counsel that no redeveloper is affected by the plan change, a description of the effect of the plan change on project activities, and an explanation of the purpose for the plan change. In certain cases, the Department may also request City Council approval.
REGULATORY AUTHORITY:
760 CMR 13.00: M.G.L. c. 121B,s. 45-57