Boston Rodent Action Plan Hearing Set for Oct. 23 at City Hall

The Boston City Council’s Committee on City Services will hold a hearing on the Boston Rodent Action Plan at 10 a.m. Friday, Oct. 23, in the Iannella Chamber on the fifth floor of City Hall. The hearing, on Docket #1804, will review how the city’s 2024 rat-control strategy is being carried out, according to the city’s public notice. Councilor Ed Flynn of District 2 chairs the committee.

What the Hearing Will Cover

The hearing order, sponsored by Council President Liz Breadon and Flynn, was filed Sept. 23 and referred to committee the same day. Ten other councilors are listed on the filed order as co-sponsors, according to the text of Docket #1804. It asks the administration, the Inspectional Services Department and other city departments to discuss:

• Progress to date and challenges encountered under the plan.
• Coordination between city departments.
• Neighborhood-level data, with attention to the hardest-hit areas.
• Opportunities for community engagement, improved enforcement and cross-agency work.

The order states that there “has not been a substantive BRAP update since 2024” and that residents and council offices continue to ask for timelines, metrics, departmental responsibilities and neighborhood-specific steps.

Priority Neighborhoods Named in the Order

According to the docket, Allston-Brighton and Ward 3, which covers Downtown, Chinatown, the North End, the South End and Haymarket, were identified as the plan’s two highest “Priority Action Neighborhoods.” That ranking was based on 311 and inspection data, input from inspectors and surveys by the BRAP team. The order attributes continued rodent activity in those areas to high residential density, ongoing construction, large numbers of rental units and waste-management problems.

What the City’s Plan Says

The city launched the Boston Rodent Action Plan in 2024 as a coordinated, data-driven effort led by Inspectional Services, according to the docket. On its BRAP page, the city lists five recommendations from the plan’s report:

• Strengthening its integrated pest management approach by addressing root causes first.
• Shifting from reacting to 311 complaints to a proactive citywide model run through a BRAP working group.
• Using data to track rodent populations and guide investments in new technology.
• Adding controls specific to parks, sewers, alleys and construction zones.
• Adopting environmentally safe alternatives to second-generation rodenticides.

The city says trash is the number one food source for rats and that teams respond to rodent reports made through 311 within 24 to 48 hours. Boston also hosted the 2026 National Urban Rat Summit, which the docket describes as a chance to evaluate progress on the plan.

Flynn’s Stated Position

Ahead of the hearing, Flynn’s office said that while the plan includes positive steps, it falls short of a recommendation by Flynn and by the plan’s report author, urban rodent expert Dr. Bobby Corrigan, that the city revisit creating a “rat czar” position like New York City’s, Caught in Southie reported. Flynn introduced an ordinance in January 2025 to create an Office of Pest Control and held a hearing on it, according to the statement.

Flynn also said he disagrees with an analysis by the Boston Public Health Commission that rats do not currently pose a high public health threat to residents. “We should not be downplaying the impacts that this significant quality of life issue is having on neighbors across the City of Boston,” Flynn said in the statement. His office cited a 2025 Tufts University study that found rats in Boston carrying leptospirosis. Flynn thanked Corrigan and city departments for work on trash containerization, community walkthroughs and targeting commercial areas and sewers. The administration’s response is expected at the hearing.

How to Testify or Watch

Members of the public can testify in person by arriving five minutes before the hearing to sign up, or virtually by emailing committee staff contact Meagan Corugedo Martin at meagan.corugedomartin@boston.gov for a link. Written comments can be sent to ccc.csit@boston.gov and will be shared with all councilors. The hearing will stream at boston.gov/city-council-tv and air on Xfinity 8, RCN 82 and Fios 964, according to the notice.

For background, see our coverage of the 2026 National Urban Rat Summit in Boston and the council’s recent private ways pothole ordinance.

Featured image: A brown rat, also called a Norway rat, beside a discarded food container. Photo by Chuck Homler (Focus On Wildlife) via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Sources

• City of Boston: City Council Committee on City Services Hearing on Docket #1804
• Boston City Council: Docket #1804, Order for a hearing on the Boston Rodent Action Plan (filed Sept. 23, 2026)
• City of Boston: Boston Rodent Action Plan (BRAP)
• Caught in Southie: Councilor Flynn to Hold Hearing to Discuss Boston’s Rodent Action Plan (Oct. 19, 2026)