Boston has a new planning department which replaces several functions of the Boston Planning & Development Agency. Mayor Michelle Wu signed the ordinance Tuesday, a week after the Boston City Council voted to approve it

Last week, the Boston City Council voted to create the new city planning department in an 8-3 vote with two members abstaining. 

House planning, zoning, development review, urban design and real estate staff, as well as current BPDA support staff, will all transition to the new department led by Boston’s planning chief Arthur Jemison. 

The current BPDA will continue to serve as the city’s planning board and will approve or potentially reject development projects.

Since taking office, Wu has sought to abolish the agency. In 2023, she promised major changes to the BPDA and in her 2024 State of the City Address, she reiterated those plans. She filed the ordinance to move the BPDA to city hall in January. 

Wu signed the ordinance Tuesday morning in Boston’s West End celebrating bringing planning back as a core function of city government, she said. It’s the first time in 70 years Boston has had a planning department.  

She called the decision a “long-overdue new chapter in Boston’s growth — grounded in affordability, resiliency and equity.”

“This ordinance is the biggest step Boston has taken in 70 years to finally begin untangling a system of development rooted in an outdated ideology that left scars in our communities,” she said. “I look forward to the work ahead with all of our residents to engage with this new planning department and shape Boston’s future.”