Boston Mayor Michelle Wu defended a Suffolk Superior Court judge’s ruling to deny an injunction against the proposed White Stadium renovation.
The city is moving ahead with plans for traffic, parking and building designs in collaboration with community members and the Franklin Park Coalition. The lawsuit was filed by Emerald Necklace Conservancy and nearby residents, claiming that the project would privatize a public space under a deal with the owners of a new National Women’s Soccer League team. Some residents have expressed concern that high school teams that currently use the stadium would lose their access.
“It's really important to make sure we're clear about what the situation is with football and with other sports in terms of the scheduling right now, because there are some misconceptions,” Wu said on Boston Public Radio on Tuesday during “Ask the Mayor.”
Only two of the school district’s seven varsity football teams currently use White Stadium, Wu said, with each playing five home games there. The city is establishing alternative fields for these teams to both practice and play on when White Stadium is closed to schools.
Wu said the renovations will make it possible for sports from all district schools to play there, “exponentially” increasing the hours that Boston Public School students can use the stadium.
“Then White Stadium really will be everyone's kind of marquee championship showcase stadium,” she said. However, there will be limits to how often teams can use the grass field to prevent overuse, Wu said.
During the Boston Public Radio segment, Wu also took questions about the city’s budget.
In March, Wu said she would file a home-rule petition to give the city the option to shift more of the tax burden to commercial and industrial owners, instead of residential.
“If we do nothing and if there is a dramatic decrease in the valuations of commercial properties in the downtown area, then residents will see a significant increase. And that is what we are trying to avoid,” Wu said.
Massachusetts’ Proposition 2 ½ allows cities to take a 2.5% increase in their total tax collection every year to sustain growth. This gets proportioned between residents and commercial taxpayers.
Boston is in a five-year cycle to re-evaluate property tax values. If commercial property values decrease, the tax burden will be shifted to residential owners, which Wu said would only add to the housing crisis. This petition will avoid that shift if, and only if, commercial property values are lower.
“We are asking for this tool to be ready, just in case,” she said.
