Boston City Hall and downtown Boston office buildings seen from City Hall Plaza. Photo by James Sanna | Banker & Tradesman Staff / file

Today’s start of the new fiscal year brings a planning department formally under city control to Boston City Hall for the first time in 70 years.

The new division of powers separates the planning functions of city government from the permitting role of the Boston Planning & Development Agency, and transferrs a majority of the BPDA’s employees to the newly-created planning department.

The Boston City Council in March approved Mayor Michelle Wu’s proposal for the new Planning Department. As a city councilor and candidate for mayor, Wu criticized the combined permitting and planning powers of the BPDA as resulting in developer-driven growth at the expense of long-range planning.

The department is overseeing the implementation of the “Squares and Streets” initiative which rezones neighborhood centers near public transit for higher-density housing. It includes divisions that focus on planning and zoning, development review, urban design and real estate.

The reorganization prompted a union organizing campaign last summer. The Department of Labor Relations has scheduled a hearing on the union petition this month, Politico recently reported.