The city’s contentious Squares + Streets re-zoning program for Codman Square and Four Corners has been put on pause until 2026, Planning Department officials confirmed this week.

The reason: to do more study in partnership with neighbors.

A high-priority project of Mayor Wu, the Squares + Streets process will continue in other areas. In Fields Corner, the goal is to get final recommendations approved this year – much to the chagrin of some in that neighborhood. The Roslindale program was approved by the Boston Planning and Development Agency (BPDA) board last week.

“During our extensive pre-engagement work, we built strong relationships and received helpful feedback about how best to commence a successful, collaborative, and equitable planning process in these communities,” read a memorandum sent out from the Planning Department on Tuesday. “We are looking forward to launching a Squares + Streets planning process in Codman Square + Four Corners in 2026 and will continue engagement at that time.”

Initiated by former Planning Director Arthur Jemison, the effort proposes a “toolbox” of new codes to build density and reform business regulations in business districts and main corridors like Washington Street in Codman Square. Areas in the plan would be upzoned using five new zones (S0-S4) so that larger buildings and business uses could be pursued by right without the usual community processes.

The efforts in Codman Square and Fields Corner were announced in early 2024 and kicked off late last spring – with meetings, workshops, pop-ups and other engagement going through the year. However, neighbors in the Square were hesitant from the get-go, and things only got spicier last summer when the Planning Department looped in Four Corners with little outreach.

Since that time, skeptical neighbors along the Washington Street corridor have formed the grass-roots Codman United and have run meetings that stress the need to consider affordability and anti-displacement measures.

The “pause” announcement came first at the Codman Square Neighborhood Council (CSNC) on Feb. 5 when Dorchester’s Mike Prokosch surprised some in relaying that new Planning Director Kairos Shen had agreed to hold up the plan in Codman/Four Corners.

“In a meeting with the new head of the Planning Department,” said Prokosch, “we got a commitment to pause the process in Codman Square…and talk about an affordability plan and do a study about displacement and use a community-approved federal law – the Affirmatively Further Fair Housing Act. This is supposed to be a time to work things out with the community. It could hardly be more confusing but we hope for a process to figure it all out.”

Justin-Jabari Gichuru, a BOLD Teen member, said he has been working with neighbors and felt this was something that needed more thought.

“We don’t want to be re-developed into another Seaport, which is a place that if you go to it, there aren’t many people there that look like those of us in this community,” he said. “We don’t want that here. There is a blended community in Codman Square and Four Corners… [The planners] aren’t from here, but they think they know what’s best for the people and they want really drastic changes to the community without public input.”

Prokosch noted that Codman United supports more building and the plan’s frameworks, but “we want to also make sure we’re around to enjoy it.”

Added CSNC President Cynthia Loesch-Johnson, “When we started, we were on our own trying to navigate this blindly. It seems like we’re going to move in the right direction now.”

But with the well-received news in Codman Square, some in Fields Corner are left confused, given that they worked with Codman United.

The Planning Department confirmed with The Reporter that there will be no pause in Fields Corner’s process. Officials are now moving toward planning for how to best use Dorchester Avenue. They have hosted pop-in meetings about how to best use the street the avenue this month and are using an online application called ‘StreetMix’ to gather input.

“Building on recent Main Street and civic association meetings, as well as the StreetMix pop-ups, the Planning team will soon be scheduling workshops and forums to refine ideas and finalize recommendations together with community members and other City departments this spring,” a spokesperson noted, “followed by further engagement with the community and a future comment period on the draft plan.”

Members of the Asian American Resource Workshop (AARW) and Dorchester Not for Sale said they would like to slow their process down so they can get protections in place from unfettered development caused by upzoning the neighborhood – focusing on affordability and anti-displacement regulations.

“We are wanting to make sure that the voices of neighborhood residents, working-class tenants/renters, our immigrant and refugee community members, and others, are heard and valued in any planning process for development/redevelopment that happens in the neighborhood,” said Kevin Lam, co-director of AARW.

Lori Hurlebaus, of Dorchester Not for Sale, said they are not opposed to Squares + Streets in Fields Corner, but they won’t consent to it without protections in place.

“I definitely don’t think that we’re in a different place than they are,” she said, adding, “we’ve been organizing with Codman United. Fields Corner, Four Corners, and Codman Square all share the same concerns, which are putting protections in place before upzoning and having meaningful engagement…I’m concerned our process seems to be moving ahead and not really slowing down.”

She said they aren’t being “obstructionist,” but notes they haven’t gotten answers. She also said that Wu had said she would meet with them in the fall, but that didn’t happen.

“It’s now stop and pause and let’s really address what we need to have in the community,” she said.