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BOSTON
- Friday, February 3, 2023 - Mayor Michelle Wu announced today the members
of a steering committee of real estate and civic leaders to advise on
reforms to Article 80 of the Boston Zoning Code being undertaken
by the Mayor’s Office and the Boston Planning & Development Agency
(BPDA). She announced her intention to create the committee during her State of the City speech last week as one piece
of a comprehensive set of reforms to improve the planning and development
process so Boston can meet its housing and economic growth needs.
Article
80 refers to a section of the Boston Zoning Code adopted in 1996 to
establish a more extensive review process for development proposals of more
than 20,000 square feet or more than 15 dwelling units. Mayor Wu is
undertaking the first comprehensive review of the process after nearly
three decades to ensure greater predictability and consistency.
“I’m
grateful to these leaders for lending their expertise and working with us
to improve our processes,” said Mayor Michelle Wu. “From reforming
planning and updating our zoning code, to streamlining development review
and strengthening compliance, we are taking action to set Boston on a
course for sustainable growth so all our communities are included in the
city’s opportunities.”
“Working
with this group will be integral to comprehensively reforming planning and
development in our communities,” said Chief of Planning Arthur Jemison.
“I am confident that those selected will bring a unique perspective and
help the BPDA reform this process in a way that improves the process and
delivers more resilient, affordable, and equitable development across the
city.”
The
steering committee will include:
·
Joseph
Bonfiglio, Business Manager
of the Massachusetts and Northern New England District Council since 2009.
The Council comprises more than 25,000 represented workers, including
laborers working in numerous aspects of the general construction
trade.
·
Anthony
D'Isidoro, President of the
Allston Civic Association. Among many other community roles, Tony also
serves as Board President of the Veronica B Smith Multi-Service Senior
Center, Inc., a member of the Allston Multimodal Project task force and
Harvard Allston task force, and has served on a number of Impact Advisory
Groups. He is a product of the Boston Public Schools both as a student and
teacher, a small business owner, and author of a weekly community
newsletter. As a community leader, organizer and activist, D’Isidoro
advocates with the belief that empowering people can achieve great things
to ensure a community that works for everyone.
·
Fernando
J. Domenech, Jr., President of DHK
Architects, where he has worked on community-based urban housing. Domenech
has focused primarily on affordable housing for over thirty years,
specifically on the revitalization of inner city neighborhoods through
creative planning, imaginative urban design and architecture.
·
Colleen
Fonseca, Executive Director
of the Builders of Color Coalition, where she is responsible for leading
the development and expansion of programming to increase access and
diversity in Boston's commercial real estate sector. Prior to her role with
BCC, she served as a Senior Advisor to Mayor Jorge Elorza on COVID Recovery
and as the Director of Workforce Development and Economic Opportunity for
the City of Providence. She currently sits on the Real Estate Finance
Association (REFA) Board of Directors.
·
Beyazmin
Jimenez, Director of
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Culture for the Planning and Real Estate
Department at Northeastern University. Jimenez is an urban planner and
pro-housing organizer, formerly the Board President for Abundant Housing
MA, an organization she co-founded in 2018. Her experience in housing
policy and community development has led her to support resident engagement
efforts at Madison Park Development Corporation in Roxbury, and lead
statewide housing programs at CHAPA. She holds a Master’s in Urban Planning
from Boston University.
·
Matthew
Kiefer, land use attorney
at Goulston & Storrs. Kiefer’s practice focuses on obtaining site
control and development approvals from public agencies for complex urban
projects. He co-chairs the firm’s Climate Change Resilience Task Force.
Kiefer serves on the Advisory Board and Management Committee of ULI Boston;
he is the immediate past Chair of the Boston Municipal Research Bureau,
which supports best practices in municipal governance; and he co-chairs the
Council of Advisors of Historic Boston, a non-profit redeveloper of
historic buildings.
·
Steve
Samuels, Founder and
Chairman of Samuels & Associates, a Boston commercial real estate
developer, property manager, and leasing company. Samuels serves on the
Board of Trustees at The Park School on Building & Grounds Committee in
addition to his Board of Trustees role at Emerson College.
·
Kairos
Shen, Executive Director
of the Center for Real Estate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Prior to joining MIT, Shen worked at the then-BRA for 22 years, first as
Boston’s Chief City Planner, and then as the Director of Planning. He
worked on the development guidelines for the Rose Kennedy Greenway, the
planning for the South Boston Waterfront Innovation District, the
refurbishment of Fenway Park, and the revitalization of Nubian Square.
·
Kirk
Sykes, Managing Director
of Accordia Partners, LLC, a Boston based real estate investment and
development company. He also serves on the Boston Civic Design Commission
and is the Real Estate Executive Council Chairman for the Initiative for a
Competitive Inner City. Sykes was formerly the head of an urban real estate
investment fund called Urban Strategy America Fund, L.P. He was the
Chairman of The Federal Reserve Bank of Boston Board. | 
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