The planning approvals process took a black eye in Boston last year, when a bribery scandal sent a Boston Planning and Development Agency staffer to jail.
Tim Logan and Milton J. Valencia report: "Six months after a bribery scandal rocked Boston’s Zoning Board of Appeal, Mayor Martin J. Walsh on Monday detailed changes that he hopes will prevent such an incident from happening again."
The changes, implemented by way of executive order, "strengthen conflict-of-interest and financial disclosure rules for the seven-member board, which governs small and midsize development projects across the city," according to Logan and Valencia. The mayor promised continue to push for additional reforms that will require state approval.
"The move comes following the revelation in August that a veteran City Hall aide — then-Planning & Development Agency staffer John Lynch — took bribes from a developer to influence a project before the ZBA. Lynch pleaded guilty and was sentenced in January to 40 months in federal prison."
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