After 30 Years, Somerville Has A New Zoning Code

SOMERVILLE, MA — The City Council on Thursday voted to approve the mayor's new zoning ordinance, marking the first major zoning overhaul in Somerville since 1990. The new code came after seven years of community meetings, public hearings, research and analysis and review by the former Board of Aldermen and current City Council.

The city also approved updates of some regulatory elements that have existed since zoning was first adopted in 1924.

"For years we have steadfastly worked, as a community, to ensure that we have the best possible zoning ordinance that meets the goals and expectations of our residents and businesses, that enables us to expand affordable housing, jobs, development, and so much more to move our community forward while ensuring residents of all backgrounds can afford to stay, and build their homes and businesses here," Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone said in a statement.

According to a city press release, Somerville is the first and largest municipality in the metro Boston area to adopt a citywide form-based code that incorporates practices from performance-based and use-based zoning to accomplish more than 180 objectives of its master plan, SomerVision 2030.

The new Somerville Zoning Ordinance and Zoning Atlas go into effect immediately. More information is available at www.somervillezoning.com.

The new 552-page ordinance:

· Regulates development through standards for 23 different building types.
· Permits common home improvements such as dormers, bay windows, rear additions, porches, and other "building components" by-right.
· Permits backyard cottages, including tiny houses.
· Provides graduated density bonuses for larger lots, net zero ready buildings, and 100 percent affordable housing buildings.
· Requires the majority of new development to provide 20 percent of new units as affordable dwelling units.
· Establishes building sustainability standards to reach Somerville’s commitment to be carbon neutral by 2050.
· Regulates land use through 62 simplified use categories compared to the over 250 individual uses of the former ordinance.
· Requires a special permit for all "formula businesses."
· Establishes a "Fabrication District" and an "Arts & Creative Enterprise" use category to support the creative economy, from individual artists to technology start-ups.
· Establishes New England's first environmental sustainability performance standard for urban landscapes: the Somerville Green Score.
· Requires outdoor lighting to be dark sky compliant.
· Repeals minimum parking requirements for the majority of the city.
· Establishes parking maximums in all areas within walking distance to the MBTA’s Red, Orange, and Green Line rapid transit stations.
· Requires new development to widen sidewalks and prohibits curb cuts on designated "pedestrian streets."
· Requires parking in higher density districts to be commercial parking facilities.
· Requires accessory parking to be "unbundled" from the cost of housing and commercial space.
· Establishes robust minimum bicycle parking requirements.
· Requires higher density buildings and larger businesses to submit Mobility Management Plans and implement transportation demand management programs & services.
· Entitles mixed-use, transit-oriented, high density transformational development akin to Assembly Square through a number of Overlay Districts and a Master Plan Special Permit approval process.
· Establishes a new Urban Design Commission to review how the proposed design of new development impacts Somerville’s public realm.

"This effort was one of the most significant undertakings by the City Council in decades and we are grateful for the collaboration from the administration and the invaluable input from the community throughout," Ward 6 City Councilor Lance Davis said in a statement. "I am extremely proud of the work that my colleagues and I have put in to create an ordinance designed to harness the powerful forces of change in our City in a way that ensures that our shared values are considered first."