Boston Planning Department Faces Scrutiny Over $29.4 Million FY27 Budget

BOSTON — May 5, 2026 — Boston City Council budget panel scrutinizes Planning Department's $29.4 million FY27 spending plan. The Committee on Ways and Means, chaired by District 6 Councillor Ben Weber, heard from Chief of Planning Kairos Shen, Deputy Chief Devin Quirk, and Executive Director Teresa Polimus in a hearing that ran nearly three hours. Quirk reported the department approved 63 development projects last fiscal year representing 3,809 housing units — 35 percent income-restricted — totaling $4.8 billion in investment and 6.3 million square feet. The office-to-residential conversion program has grown to 29 buildings and 1,730 units, far exceeding its original five-building target, and the $110 million Housing Accelerator Fund is expected to announce first investments this summer. Public commenter Gregory Maynard, executive director of the Boston Policy Institute, called the department "a set of half-done reforms" and noted that ADUs are now legal as of right statewide except in Boston, more than two years after Mayor Michelle Wu pledged citywide ADU legalization. The department carries 44 staff vacancies and generated $16 million in housing linkage fees and $1.4 million in jobs training linkage from FY26 approvals.