Trane threatens planning department with “butt chewing”
By George P. Hassett

An angry ward alderman unleashed his fury on the city’s planning department at last week’s Board of Aldermen meeting.
  ‚ÄúI have had enough, somebody up there [in the office of Strategic Planning and Community Development (SPCD)] better get their act together or I‚Äôm going to bring someone down here and give them a good butt chewing because they need it,‚Äù said Ward 7 Alderman Robert C. Trane.
  City officials failed to comment before The Somerville News presstime.

  Trane said he was angry with SPCD Director James G. Kostaras for two reasons. He said Kostaras changed the plans for a new housing development at the Conwell School site without notifying neighbors and that Kostaras had also given MBTA officials permission to remove bus shelters and put up a billboard.
  ‚ÄúI don‚Äôt understand what‚Äôs going on in the planning department,‚Äù Trane said Tuesday. ‚ÄúThey think they are the last stop on every decision that needs to be made and can just ignore the wishes of the neighborhood.‚Äù
  Trane said Kostaras changed the plans for a new housing development at the old Conwell School site. Kostaras altered the arrangement from 90 assisted living units for seniors to 60 assisted living units for seniors and 30 for low income tenants without notifying the neighborhood, Trane said.
  ‚ÄúWe had numerous meetings with neighbors and we have not even broken ground and they are already making changes without notifying the direct abutters,‚Äù he said.
  The second decision made by the planning department to raise the ire of Trane concerned a move by the MBTA in Ward 7. Trane said he was never contacted before MBTA officials tore out bus shelters and added a large billboard the neighborhood had not approved, but the planning department was.
   ‚ÄúI asked the planning department what was going, who had given the MBTA permission to do this and they said, ‚Äòwe don‚Äôt know,‚Äô I did some checking on my own and the MBTA said the planning department had approved it, so this is the type of stuff going on down there,‚Äù he said.
   ‚ÄúIt is totally wrong what is going on in planning, I want Mr. Kostaras to come down here and explain to me what‚Äôs happening in his department,‚Äù Trane said.
   Trane had an additional order at Tuesday‚Äôs aldermen meeting concerning the planning department. He asked that Kostaras instruct the owner of the property at the corner of Conwell and North streets to remove the graffiti from the building immediately. On this matter, Trane had a much brighter view of the besieged department. He said they had already taken care of the problem earlier in the day.
   ‚ÄúWe got a speedy response and I thank them for that,‚Äù he said.