Mayor's Proposal to Raise Linkage Fees Faces Opposition

BOSTON-City Mayor Thomas M. Menino’s proposal to raise linkage fees on large-scale developments faces opposition as legislators attack the constitutionality of the process. Menino reportedly tried to raise the fees a year ago, but legislators blocked the increase.

According to Susan Ellsbery, spokesperson for the Boston Redevelopment Authority, Menino’s “home-rule” petition would increase the linkage fees to $7.18 per sf for housing and $1.44 per sf for job training. Linkage fees are the costs a developer must pay for a project built here over 100,000 sf to compensate for the impact the project will have on a community. The money goes to create affordable housing and job training.

“We feel its appropriate for a developer to mitigate these issues,” Ellsbery tells GlobeStcom. Menino recently committed $13 million in funding–most of which is from linkage fees–for nearly 800 units of affordable housing here.