Applicants Sought for Vacant Somerville Redevelopment Authority Position

The Somerville Redevelopment Authority (SRA), which is tasked with implementation of the city’s urban renewal plans, is seeking applicants to fill a current vacancy on the five-member board.

In recent years, the SRA has been instrumental in the success of the transit-oriented redevelopment of Assembly Row as well as progress on the Union Square Revitalization Plan. Among other duties, as provided under Massachusetts General Law, Chapter 121B, the SRA is vested with the legal authority to declare that an area is substandard, decadent, and/or blighted and thus eligible for urban renewal. The law further grants the SRA the authority to prepare an urban renewal plan for the redevelopment of designated areas and to implement the goals of that plan.

Ideal candidates must be Somerville residents and will have experience in any or all of the following fields: community planning, public transportation, transit-oriented development, real estate development, housing or financial services, and design and architecture. Members meet monthly and serve staggered terms of five years each or may serve a shorter period if the appointment is for the balance of an unfulfilled term of a prior member. This position will complete an existing term that runs through Sept. 12, 2019.

Four of the SRA’s five members are appointed by the mayor and one is appointed by the governor. The current vacancy is for a mayoral appointment. Interested applicants are invited to send a statement of interest and resume to planning@somervillema.gov by close of business on Thursday, December 22.