Boston City Council Looks At Uber & Lyft, 2020 Budget, Tree Coverage, Affordable Housing & More

City Councilor-At-Large Michelle Wu publishes notes from Boston City Council meetings. The Boston City Council considered the following items and many more at their June 12 through July 10, 2019 meetings:

Appointments:
Ryan Woods as Commissioner of the Parks and Recreation Department, effective July 1, 2019

Grants:

• $171,242 Title III-Ombudsman grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, passed through the MA Executive Office of Elder Affairs, to be administered by the Elderly Commission (Passed)
• $124,263 State Elder Lunch Program grant, awarded by the MA Executive Office of Elder Affairs, to be administered by the Elderly Commission (Passed) $20,000 Cultural Districts Initiative Program grant, awarded by the Massachusetts Cultural Council to be administered by the Department of Arts and Culture (Passed)
• $260,000 grant from the Boston Redevelopment Authority d/b/a the Boston Planning and Development Agency, pursuant to the Winthrop Square Cooperation Agreement, One Post Office Square Cooperation Agreement and the 15-19 Congress Street Cooperation Agreement in order to facilitate planning and design for the Seaport to North Station Rapid Bus Corridor (Assigned to the Planning, Development & Transportation Committee)
• $36,400,000 from the Parking Meter Fund through the City's Capital Grant Fund in order to provide funding for various transportation and public realm improvements (Assigned to the Ways & Means Committee)

Transportation Network Companies: Councilor Flynn called for a hearing to discuss transportation network companies operating in Boston. Transportation Network Companies (TNCs), or ride-hailing apps, such as Uber and Lyft, provide ride-sharing services that are convenient and used by many to commute in Boston, and they are now a ubiquitous sight on our streets as recent reports indicate an average of over 115,000 trips per day in the city. As TNCs become a significant part of our transportation network, they belong in the discussion of our current traffic issues, as well as their impact on the environment and our overall quality of life, and the City should discuss measures that can alleviate congestion and safety issues such as designated pickup and drop off spots and geofencing, as well as how we can leverage the demand for TNCs to improve our transportation infrastructure. The matter was assigned to the Committee on Planning, Development and Transportation for a hearing.

Fiscal Year 2020 Budget Vote: The Council took several votes to pass the City of Boston’s budget for the next fiscal year, which runs from July 1, 2019 through June 30, 2020. The Operating Budget and Capital Budget passed unanimously, and the Schools Budget passed with a 10-3 vote (Councilors Campbell, Edwards, and Wu opposing). Colleagues thanked Councilor Mark Ciommo, longtime Chair of the Ways & Means Committee who is not running for reelection and thus oversaw his last city budget. The Council also voted to approve a $12M appropriation to fund the recently settled Boston Teachers Union contract, which includes 2% annual wage increases and a provision for a full-time nurse in every school.

Faneuil Hall Memorial: Councilors Baker and Flynn filed an order for a hearing to understand and discuss the proposed “auction block memorial” at Faneuil Hall. The sponsors noted that public spaces, art installations, landmarks, memorials, and historic structures should reflect the true history of the City and the building of Faneuil Hall was financed by slave labor and trafficking. Boston’s Artist-in-residence Steve Locke has planned a memorial dedicated to those enslaved Africans and African  Americans. The matter was assigned to the Committee on Arts, Culture, and Special Events for a hearing.

Tree Preservation: Councilors McCarthy and O’Malley refiled an order for a hearing to discuss expanding city development requirements with a focus on achieving baseline tree preservation and total tree capacity on a development site. The sponsors described the need to incorporate more stringent tree canopy requirements into Climate Ready Boston. Boston had set a goal of planting 100,000 street trees by 2020, and since then 10,000 trees have been planted and 6,000 trees removed (not counting trees removed from development sites). The matter was assigned to the Committee on Planning, Development & Transportation for a hearing.

Education Report: City Council President Andrea Campbell filed a report from her office with recommendations for Boston Public Schools called "Action for Boston Children." Read it here.

Inclusionary Development Policy: Councilors Edwards, Flaherty & Flynn reported back on the hearing to discuss Boston’s inclusionary development policy (IDP) that took place on June 10, 2019. The IDP was created in 2000 to promote the production of affordable housing in Boston, which requires medium and large scale developments to set aside 13% of the units as affordable units. Councilors mentioned the need for better accountability for the program. The matter remains in the Housing and Community Development Committee for a hearing.

Upcoming Hearings: Next City Council meeting will be on Wednesday, July 31st.

For complete notes on Boston City Council meetings, visit MichelleForBoston.com or sign up to receive these notes automatically.