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The City of Boston released a 41-part Anti-Displacement Action Plan last week after Mayor Michelle Wu ’07 first announced the plan at her State of the City address last Wednesday.

The 68-page list of proposals marked, in part, a major attempt by Wu to assuage growing anxiety by some neighborhood leaders that city efforts to undo some zoning regulations in order to encourage housing and other development will displace longtime residents and businesses.

“We recognize that no document, program, person, or even the best intentions of an entire administration can fully redress past harms,” Wu wrote in the document, recognizing the distrust many longtime activists have for the city’s planning agency and its role in urban growth. “But by publicly sharing our intentions and swiftly following through on our commitments, we will act with the urgency we know our constituents feel,” she continued.

That distrust has surfaced within some neighborhoods over the ongoing Squares and Streets initiative, which last year updated the city’s zoning laws to allow higher and denser development in main neighborhood squares around Boston.

The 2-year Anti-Displacement Action Plan promises to support residents and small businesses threatened with displacement in the face of rising rents and significant new development nearby. It includes a mix of some policies that can be launched by the mayor’s administration immediately, and others that will require passage by the city council or even the state legislature.

Initiatives ready for immediate implementation include relocation payments to support tenants living in buildings to be converted into condominiums, a pilot program to provide free legal representation to families at risk of eviction, and tax relief for landlords renting units at affordable rates to income-eligible households.

Others are already ongoing. Reforms to the Section 80 development review process to include relocation plans for residents impacted or displaced by major developments were recommended last fall. A fund that provides loans to developers who build affordable housing was launched in December.

Planning tools include a Displacement Risk Map, which identifies communities most at risk of being impacted by rising prices in the housing market.

In a marker of the limits of the city’s power to pass the housing policy its progressive mayor has endorsed, the plan also specifically called on the State Legislature to expand tax relief, approve real estate transfer fees, and pass the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Legislation as well as ensure tenants’ access to counsel in eviction proceedings.

Wu has previously run into obstacles passing the real estate transfer fee and rent control measures, which require approval from the State Legislature — neither of which succeeded in the last session.

The second part of the plan focuses on policies for preserving small businesses and organizations deemed to be culturally or architecturally significant to the city, including arts-focused businesses or nonprofits.

The document announces the intent to rezone parts of the city to legalize arts and entertainment facilities, explore the legalization of more small businesses attached to residential properties, and expand Boston’s Commercial Acquisition Assistance Program, which subsidizes loans and offers down payment assistance for small businesses.

Legislation outlined by the Anti-Displacement Plan is estimated to double the number of small businesses in Boston available for residential tax exemptions and provide city assistance and funding for small businesses looking to move into new commercial buildings.

One part of the plan will specifically focus on identifying arts-focused organizations and buildings in the Allston-Brighton neighborhood and exploring financial policies to boost their business. Allston-Brighton has long been defined by young residents and artists that give the area a lively reputation, but that population has steadily declined in recent years as housing costs continue to increase.

The city of Boston will establish a working group to monitor progress made by the Anti-Displacement plan and assemble an annual progress report. The group will also audit the city government’s current resource page and begin assembling a new list of resources for residents at risk of displacement.

Wu’s plan will remain open for public comment until May 3. Until then, the city will hold several open meetings with residents to further modify the plan. Once launched, the plan will be carried out over the course of two years.

—Staff writer Angelina J. Parker can be reached at angelina.parker@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @angelinajparker.

—Staff writer Emily T. Schwartz can be reached at emily.schwartz@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @EmilySchwartz37.