Boston Council Scrutinizes City's First Anti-Displacement Plan Amid Rezoning Pressure

BOSTON -- March 31, 2025, Boston City Council hears the administration's first comprehensive anti-displacement action plan, pressing for concrete protections for renters, small businesses, and communities of color. The Committee on Planning, Development, and Transportation, chaired by Councilor Sharon Durkan, reviewed Docket 0311 in a session that drew eight councilors and four public testifiers, all from District 5's Hyde Park. Catherine Lusk, Executive Director of the Planning Advisory Council, presented the 63-page plan, released March 19 and in a 45-day public comment period, which proposes 26 new or improved tools organized around protecting, preserving, producing, and prospering alongside the city's $110 million housing accelerator fund. Lead sponsor Enrique J. Pepén asked how residents in rapidly developing squares like Cleary Square are protected without state rent stabilization, and Chief of Housing Sheila Dillon acknowledged the absence of rent control leaves legal representation and lottery preferences as the city's primary near-term tools. Councilor Julia M. Mejia demanded accountability for the displacement of low-income residents of color, asking, "Somebody has to assume responsibility for the displacement of the people who live here." Hyde Park resident Marlon Salomon told the panel that the city's new displacement risk map is nearly identical to 1938 redlining maps, warning that historically disinvested communities are "hypersensitive" to even small investments and that current housing production targets the wrong unit types for long-time residents.