Bill to give developers municipal powers

Shirley Kressel from the Alliance of Boston Neighborhoods writes about a bill currently in the state senate to allow cities to designate "Local Improvement Zone" and give real estate developers sweeping powers in those districts to act like a government

• Shirley's post: Developers will soon become city governments
• Full text of the bill: Senate, 146

IANAL and may be misunderstanding it, but as I read it, if a developer, or a group of developers, buys 80% of a district, they could apply to be a "Local Improvement Zone" and be given many of the powers the city government has including issueing tax-free bonds, creating and enforcing by-laws, and even assessing neighbors to pay for infrastructure. In other words, if you own a home, developers could buy up the land around it, declare it a Local Improvement Zone, and then send you a bill to pay for the infrastructure improvements they want to do. You would not be able to appeal to the city or have any vote in the process; it would be controlled entirely by a "prudential committee" setup by the developers.

Show Me the Money! Thurs, 1/25, 7:30pm, 369 Congress

Next Thursday night, ABN (www.abnboston.org) is giving their "Show Me the Money" on the BRA and how development projects in Boston are financed and work. 

369 Congress St.
(above Seaport Hardware, half a block from A St.)
Thursday, January 25th
7:30 PM

More details of what's in the talk here:
http://www.abnboston.org//files/category-5.html

Tonight: ABN Talk on the BRA and Property Taxes

The Alliance of Boston Neighborhoods (ABN) is giving their Show Me the Money presentation tonight at 7:00 pm in the South End at the Tubman House/United South End Settlement, 566 Columbus Ave (near Mass Ave). The talk will discuss how development in Boston is funded and works, focusing on the BRA, property tax structure, and the budget.

More information is available on their website: www.abnboston.org