Boston City Council unanimously passes affordable housing surplus property ordinance

BOSTON -- October 8, 2025, Boston City Council unanimously passes ordinance requiring affordable housing review of surplus city-owned property. The 12-0 vote on Docket 1276 directs the Mayor's Office of Housing to evaluate former schools, police stations, and other surplus municipal buildings for affordable housing potential before any other redevelopment process begins, with a 180-day exception-determination window and mandatory public reporting. Council President Ruthzee Louijeune, a co-sponsor with Councillor Gabriela Coletta Zapata, called the measure "a right of first refusal" for the housing office, saying it creates predictability "so that everybody knows when public buildings come offline." The council also suspended rules to pass all six federal Title III elder-care grants totaling $4,656,979 on unanimous voice votes, supported by Councillor Erin J. Murphy's assertion that the funds needed to reach seniors without delay. Four Boston Police Department age-waiver petitions for individual applicants, Elijah Osborne, Domingos Rosa, Tiana Taylor Rosene, and Edney Joseph, each passed 11-0.