Zoning
&
Housing
“Zoning” is the set of laws that define what kinds of buildings can be built in which locations in the city. Somerville has about a dozen different “zones” applied to properties throughout the city, along with a handful of special districts and overlays with additional rules and permissions. Simplifying our zoning code would allow more housing to be built, both by developers and existing property owners. How might we do that? Read on below.
Opportunities
How we can create more housing in Somerville
Zone all major streets for mid-rise buildings
Our major thoroughfares should be vibrant, energized areas with abundant local businesses, community spaces, and homes. All major cross-town roads should allow the classic “business on the bottom, housing on top” that is common in places you already like to hang out - in our current zoning code, this is classified as “mid-rise” or MR. Zoning corridors like Highland Ave, Broadway, Washington, Somerville Ave, etc to allow these types of structures will make these already beloved well-known corridors even more engaging and give residents easy access to cross-town transit.
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Allow residential by-right in mid-rise
Related to zoning major corridors for mid-rise mixed use buildings, we need to make sure we can prioritize living space in those buildings. Right now, residential uses of mid-rise buildings require a special permit. Allowing housing automatically would simplify and expedite the process of constructing much needed housing.
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Permit ground-level residential
Not only do we have insufficient housing in Somerville, but we also are severely lacking in accessible housing. Part of this is due to our older housing stock, but even new housing has barriers to easy accessibility. Our zoning requires elevated first floors in residential areas, and completely forbids ground level apartments in mid-rise areas, meaning expensive ramps, lifts, and elevators have to be built to allow users of mobility devices to safely access their living spaces.
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Simplify residential zoning
Right now, we have two different residential zone types with different architectural requirements for what is allowed to be built in each. Many existing buildings in these zones do not match the requirements for their zone, which means any modifications, additions, and even repairs can be costly, bureaucratic nightmares. By merging our two residential zones into one, it will legalize many of the existing structures in our neighborhoods, and allow for much-needed additional housing to be built while still fitting in with the existing neighborhood.
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Expand the affordable housing overlay
Somerville has an “affordable housing overlay” which applies to some properties and allows them to build larger buildings and loosens some of the requirements if the building is 100% affordable. This is a great way to incentivize affordable housing construction & adaptation - why don’t we apply it to the whole city so we can build affordable housing anywhere?
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