Our Dormer Amendment Goes to Land Use

Somerville YIMBY’s first zoning amendment will go to the joint meeting of the Land Use Committee and Planning Board on April 17. The amendment itself is relatively small: a technical update to the rules governing dormers, which will make it easier to turn attics into useful living space.

This proposal is a real milestone for Somerville YIMBY: it’s the first time the city will consider an ordinance amendment we’ve written. We’re confident that our proposal is fully aligned with the city’s goals of legalizing buildings that already exist and making it easier for people to live, grow, and do business here.

Please come support us online or in person at the joint Land Use/Planning Board meeting on the evening of the 17th.

Our proposal:

• Aligns window rules for dormers with the window rules for other walls.

• Allows dormers to intersect the roofline, as they do in just about everywhere else, because it’s more structurally sound and less likely to leak.

• Applies the same rules on height and roof pitch to most building types in the Neighborhood Residence zone.

Young Abundance

If you’re under 40 and wanted to get more involved in pro-housing, pro-abundance politics, join the Young Abundance community on Slack.

Participatory Budgeting Continues

If you haven’t voted yet, be sure to support street safety and other key priorities in the Somerville Participatory Budgeting process. Vote online now!

Upcoming Events

Tuesday April 15: Community Meeting about a bagel shop at 54A Elm Street. This is an obvious win but the meeting is required before proceeding to other meetings. 6:30 pm, online.

Thursday, April 17: Land Use/Planning Board Joint Meeting takes up the Somerville YIMBY dormer petition and several other items. 6:30 pm, in-person and online.

Recommended Reading

Our book club selection for this quarter is Abundance, by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson. Stay tuned for the date, time, and location of our meetup.

The City of Boston and local architects and planners have written a lovely Accessory Dwelling Unit Guidebook tailored to the urban fabric of the Boston area. Unfortunately, many of these plans are still illegal in Somerville. It’s well worth a look to see what we could have, and begin thinking about what needs to change so we can make it happen.

Housing is Popular, Actually: A reminder that pro-housing policies are both good and popular. This is especially relevant for the elected officials who subscribe to our newsletter!

Automatically Addressing a Housing Shortage: A suggestion to clarify the definition of Somerville’s critical housing shortage and institute temporary emergency measures to address it.