Can you afford Assembly Square?
By George P. Hassett

Assembly Square is finally generating big revenue – for high-priced Boston lawyers that is.
Somerville has paid the law firm of Palmer and Dodge $834,931.53 or $696,769.39, depending who you believe, for the creation and defense of the Assembly Square zoning laws, which were passed in 2004 and ruled “invalid” by a Land Court judge in March.

  Lawrence Paolella, a member of the Mystic View Task Force, said his records show the city has spent over $800,000 in legal fees for Assembly Square zoning between January of 2004 and November 2005 while Thomas P. Champion, spokesperson for Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone, said his records for the same time period have the city spending a shade under $700,000.
  Paolella‚Äôs records include fees charged to both Strategic Planning and Community Development (SPCD) and the Treasurer‚Äôs office for Palmer and Dodge‚Äôs work, while Champion‚Äôs include only fees charged to SPCD, possibly explaining the difference.
  Whatever the exact number, Paolella said he is outraged at the price of drafting zoning that has since been deemed illegal by a Massachusetts Land Court judge.
  ‚ÄúIt‚Äôs a sad day for Somerville when the mayor uses city resources to pay outside consultants at a rate of $400 an hour to produce work that has been ruled invalid,‚Äù Paolella said. ‚ÄúThis is crazy. What is the city solicitor‚Äôs office doing during all of this?‚Äù
  The legal fees paid to Palmer and Dodge in 2004 and 2005 exceeds the revenue the city will generate from the site this year. The mall will bring the city $531,575 in tax revenue in 2006, according to city assessor Richard Brescia, more than $150,000 less than even Champion‚Äôs lower estimates. And $300,000 less than Paolella‚Äôs.
  Paolella said Curtatone has received over $10,000  in campaign contributions from Palmer and Dodge attorneys.
  Champion said no local tax money has been used to pay the lawyers. The money was drawn from Community Development Block Grants and private donations from Assembly Square landowner Federal Realty Trust, he said.
  Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) are meant to fund programs to help low- and moderate-income families. CDBG, like other block grant programs, are subject to less federal oversight and are largely used at the discretion of state and local governments.
  Champion said when the long-term economic benefit of a fully developed Assembly Square is realized $700,000 will not be an extraordinary amount of money for the necessary legal work. He also said Paolella is a member of a group, the Mystic View Task Force, that has sued the city, over its entire approach to Assembly Square and, thus, should not be criticizing their efforts to defend themselves in court.
  ‚ÄúFor the critics who have opposed the entire proposal to say, ‚Äòyou have spent too much on legal bills,‚Äô when they are the reason for roughly half the costs seems not to be very legitimate,‚Äù he said.
  Paolella said Mystic View‚Äôs lawsuits have not been frivolous.
  ‚ÄúIf they didn‚Äôt keep breaking the law, we wouldn‚Äôt keep going to court,‚Äù he said. ‚ÄúRemember, we‚Äôre winning these lawsuits.‚Äù