In a win for Wu, city council approves a new planning department for Boston

The Boston City Council passed a measure Wednesday to shift planning authority away from the Boston Planning and Development Agency, a body that's reshaped much of the city in the 20th century and has faced criticism for the power it wields over building and urban renewal.

The newly minted Boston Planning Department will assume many of the responsibilities, property and staff currently under the old agency, which will retain oversight of large developments.

The move allows Mayor Michelle Wu to deliver on a promise to reshape the way Boston does urban planning.  As a candidate, Wu called the BPDA "an anachronism plagued by lack of transparency and misguided priorities," and pledged to abolish the agency. The final plan stopped short of abolition, but Wu has said the new department will help the city synchronize development with goals around affordable housing and climate resilience.

Councilor Gabriela Coletta, of East Boston, said the new department represents a first step toward a planning system that prioritizes community.

"The status quo of the current system cannot continue," Coletta told councilors before the vote.

"We have reiterated, time after time, that it is forward-thinking planning that must dictate development, not the other way around.”

Coletta was among eight councilors who voted for the measure; three voted against it and two abstained.

Critics argue the move is a power grab by the mayor that isn't likely to bring substantive change or greater community involvement in planning. Boston's mayor already appoints four of five BPDA board members, while the governor appoints the fifth.

Councilor and former BPDA staffer John Fitzgerald, of Dorchester, called for keeping planning under the current quasi-government agency. He lauded the BPDA for leading Boston through one of the biggest building booms in its history.

“What was wrong with the status quo in the growth ... that this agency shepherded over the last 20 years?" Fitzgerald said. "If there are tools inadequate for today's development, what tools are inadequate, and how?"

Also voting against the measure were councilors Ed Flynn and Erin Murphy. Councilors Julia Mejia and Tania Fernandes Anderson voted "present."

In the coming months, the new city planning office will take over many responsibilities now under the Boston Planning and Development Agency.

Councilor Enrique Pepén, a former Wu staffer, said the city council will now have greater oversight of planning officials, who will work for the city and could be called to testify before the council.

Wednesday's vote sets in motion the creation of the new department and a staff transition beginning in July.

Clarification: this story has been updated to reflect the staffing change process.