BOSTON—A report issued by the Metropolitan Area Planning Council and two other smart growth and transportation organizations calls for the Commonwealth to form and fund a separate Olympic Planning Commission to coordinate necessary municipal approvals and identify merited public sector investments connected with the city's bid to host the 2024 Olympics and Paralympic Games.

The report entitled “Putting Legacy First: Planning for the Boston 2024 Olympics was issued by the Metropolitan Area Planning Council, the Massachusetts Smart Growth Alliance and Transportation for Massachusetts.

The 54-page report not only called for the formation of the state commission, but also stressed that win or lose the preparations and the infrastructure built in connection with the bid should benefit the City of Boston far into the future.

“The project will require a myriad of public approvals, but no public entity exists to coordinate the review process,” the report states. “A regional conversation about venues, impacts, infrastructure, and mitigation has no clear home, leaving no real way for neighboring municipal officials or state legislators to be involved in the process. There are many good reasons to adopt a much more proactive and comprehensive approach to Olympic-related planning, and to do so quickly.”

The three organizations recommend the newly formed Massachusetts commission should "coordinate the public planning process across jurisdictions, oversee the input and approvals of state and regional agencies, recommend amendments to the bid; identify public sector investments that are merited based on their broad and long-term benefits; and work with Boston and other municipalities to develop legacy plans for the venue sites. The commission should also coordinate communication among Boston 2024, the City of Boston, surrounding municipalities, the Governor, and the Legislature; and take the lead in responding to concerns and mediating differences.” The report states that while the commission should work with the state, city of Boston and other municipalities, “it should not supersede municipal authority for permitting and approvals, either in Boston or elsewhere.”

The report also calls for transparency in the bid process and the need to maximize public input in the process. It also stresses that the bid should focus on legacy. Among its legacy-related recommendations, the report calls for building Olympic facilities and infrastructure that will serve the city, Greater Boston, and the Commonwealth for decades to come and for maximizing private funding for the games and limiting public funding to infrastructure projects with long-term benefits.

Marc Draisen, executive director of the Metropolitan Area Planning Council, stresses that if the state does form a planning commission, it would not supersede the work of Boston 2024, which is currently spearheading the city's Olympic bid on behalf of the private sector. The state commission would coordinate the state permitting effort, coordinate municipal approvals and prioritize needed infrastructure investments and their future benefit to the City of Boston, the region and the Commonwealth.

Draisen says that representatives of the three organizations that issued the report plan to meet with the Governor, Mayor of Boston, legislative leaders and Boston 2024 to discuss their recommendations.

“Boston 2024 is entirely a private sector entity, but they need a lot of public approval,” Draisen says. “The (state) commission will be there to defend and monitor the public interest. So it is entirely appropriate. We need the public sector and private sector engaged in a coordinated fashion in order to pull off such a complicated and extensive process.

Boston 2024 COO Erin Murphy released a statement that praised the report. “We welcome MAPC's thoughtful and constructive report, and agree that hosting the Olympics and Paralympic Games represents an historic opportunity for Boston and the Commonwealth to make transformative progress in improving our infrastructure and expanding affordable housing opportunities,” she stated. “We fully support a robust and transparent public debate, and look forward to learning more about MAPC's specific ideas.”

The Massachusetts Smart Growth Alliance in a statement on its website states its goal for the Boston 2024 Olympic bid “is to create infrastructure and thriving neighborhoods that will strengthen Greater Boston and the Commonwealth for decades to come. In other words, put legacy first.”

The alliance notes that among the report's recommendations is the development of affordable housing at venue sites after the games are concluded.

“With the Boston 2024 Committee planning to issue a significantly more detailed bid proposal on June 30, it is time to have a robust public conversation that defines the legacy we want—and how to create a public process that ensures that legacy remains our focus,” the alliance states.