Boston Planning Department FY27 Budget Cut by $500,000 as Housing Slowdown Pressures City Coffers

BOSTON — May 5, 2026 — Boston's Planning Department defended a $29.4 million FY27 budget while fielding sharp questions about housing production, zoning flexibility, and ADU delays during a May 5 Ways and Means hearing chaired by District 6 Councillor Ben Weber. Chief of Planning Kairos Shen, Deputy Chief Devin Quirk, and Budget Director Teresa Polimus reported that the BPDA board approved 63 development projects last year — 3,809 housing units and 6.3 million square feet of new construction valued at $4.8 billion — and that the city's office-to-residential conversion program has enrolled 29 buildings set to yield 1,730 units. The $500,000 budget cut, roughly 2 percent, was applied to contractual services to protect staff levels. Public commenter Gregory Maynard of the Boston Policy Institute called the department "a set of half-done reforms," noting Boston remains the only city or town in Massachusetts where ADUs are not yet permitted as of right despite state legislation signed in August 2024. The afternoon session drew more than 60 youth speakers — representing Teen Empowerment, Pierce Park Sailing Center, the Boston Student Advisory Council, and other organizations — demanding the council restore a proposed $6 million cut to the SuccessLink school-year youth jobs program, which would reduce school-year positions from roughly 1,700 to zero. The council is scheduled to vote on the FY27 budget June 3.