Beton Brut
Senior Member
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So much for a slow news day...As I've often stated, I'm no fan of the BRA, but Sam Yoon doesn't seem to have a viable solution on the table.
The Boston Herald said:Sam Yoon seeks to strip BRA power
By Richard Weir
Tuesday, June 16, 2009 - Added 20h ago
Calling the Boston Redevelopment Authority ?dysfunctional,? city councilor and mayoral candidate Sam Yoon is proposing legislation to strip the planning agency of its vast powers and hand them over to a newly created entity accountable to the City Council.
?There is no accountability to the public or the City Council,? Yoon said of the BRA, which he accused of botching the development of Downtown Crossing and the Rose Kennedy Greenway atop the Big Dig. ?The City Council has no review of its budget and no authority over its policies and programs. It?s next to impossible to get information from the BRA.?
Yoon suggested the BRA is controlled by Mayor Thomas M. Menino and the developers whose fees help fund its budget. The agency, created in 1957, has been criticized for sharing conflicting, dual roles as real estate owner and developer and approval agency.
Yoon said he plans to submit a home-rule petition tomorrow asking the Legislature to repeal the BRA?s powers as a planning board and create a city Department of Community Development and Planning for which the council would have some oversight.
BRA spokeswoman Susan Elsbree defended the agency, noting it spends $17 million annually on planning and economic development initiatives.
?The BRA has a long record of creating jobs for Boston residents, growing the tax base and creating economic opportunities for all without taxpayer funding,? Elsbree said. ?There is no reason, other than political rhetoric, to burden the taxpayers with these costs. ?