Liberty Place Settlement: Chinatown Wins Housing and Resident Role (2 of 3)

Political Victory for Residents
Establishment of a City-recognized Chinatown Resident Council is a major political victory for Chinatown residents. In the past, the Chinatown Neighborhood Council has served as the City's primary community advisory body on development issues, a role repeatedly challenged by Chinatown residents and organizations dissatisfied with the CNC's support of projects like the Parcel C parking garage, the new Tufts biomedical building, Millenium Place, and the Liberty Place project. They charge that the CNC cannot be held accountable to residents' wishes because only 5 out of 21 seats are designated for Chinatown residents and the voters who select the council include any Chinatown resident as well as any Asian American in Massachusetts.

"Chinatown residents are the most affected by development," said Chinatown Resident Association Cochair Marie Moy. "It is only right that residents should have a voice in neighborhood affairs." Chinatown has been the only Boston neighborhood where the City-recognized neighborhood council was made up predominantly of non-residents.

Under the terms of the settlement agreement, the City of Boston will recognize the Chinatown Resident Association, or a council set up by this body, as a "neighborhood council" as described in Article 80 of the Boston Zoning Code. This role will include early notification of development projects, early involvement in discussions with developers and the City, and a meaningful role in the review and approval of development and land use planning matters in Chinatown or in Chinatown's vicinity.
The Boston Redevelopment Authority also agreed to continue meeting with the Chinese Progressive Association and the Chinatown Resident Association to discuss other development issues and the implementation of the Chinatown Master Plan. Residents and community leaders have long called for a more comprehensive approach to planning.

More Affordable Housing
In nearly three years, the Liberty Place project has gone through many changes, gradually increasing the affordable housing component as resident opposition escalated. Initially proposed as an office tower, the project was later reconfigured as a market-rate housing development with affordable units representing only five percent. As resident opposition grew, through letters, then protests, and finally a community referendum, developers increased the affordable housing package to ten and then 15 percent of total units.

Project opponents also charged that the mostly moderate-income "affordable units" proposed by the developer were out of reach for most Chinatown residents. According to the 2000 census, median income for Asian residents in Chinatown is $14,670. Immediately following the community referendum, ten moderate-income units were changed to subsidized Section 8 units for low-income renters.

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