June Updates from Somerville YIMBY

It’s been a busy month already!

Somernova: On June 4, voters overwhelmingly approved the Somernova Community Benefits Agreement, setting the stage for the Land Use Committee to discuss the related zoning change proposals. After a long meeting on the 5th, Land Use sent three of the four zoning amendments over to the main body of the council for approval; a fourth amendment will stay in committee for further discussion.

Dormers: Land Use also discussed a proposal from Somerville YIMBY to liberalize roof slopes and dormer installations. They were pretty positive about the petition in general and asked the Planning Department to provide further analysis. It currently looks like we’ll be able to get at least some portion of our petition passed into law.

Street Safety: The city is making progress on quick-build safety upgrades to the area around the Somerville Avenue/Elm Street/Beacon Street intersections. They’re also kicking off a process to follow up with improvements to Somerville Avenue between Elm and Bow. Learn more about that project and provide feedback in their survey here.

Elections: We’ve sent our 2025 election survey to candidates and hope to have endorsements ready within six weeks.

Call for Volunteers

Do you like websites? Would you be up for helping update somervilleyimby.org? We could use help writing new copy and adding illustrations or images, as well as the more technical side of the site. If you’d be interested in doing any of those things, please reply to this message and let us know.

Upcoming Events

June 17: Land Use Committee — Agenda will include mass timber, arts and creative enterprise zoning, and our dormer petition. Online via Zoom, 6:00 pm.

June 18: Zoning Board of Appeals — A bakery requires a special permit and an apartment facade requires a hardship variance. Could this meeting have been an email? Online via Zoom, 6:00 pm.

June 22: YIMBYs in the Park — Bring your kids and have a lovely morning in the park with other parents who also care about housing. In person at Lincoln Park, 10:00 am to noon.

June 22: Somerville YIMBY Book Club — We’ll be talking about the book Abundance, by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson. If you need a copy, reply to this message to borrow one. In person at Bloc Cafe, 1:00 - 3:00 pm.

June 24: Mystic River Bridge Community Meeting — Get the latest about the proposal to build a bike and pedestrian bridge between Somerville and Everett. In person at Somerville High School, 83 Highland Ave., 6:30 pm.

As always, you can find our Google calendar at somervilleyimby.org/calendar. If you notice we’ve missed an event, feel free to reply to this message and let us know!

Recommended

Boston’s downtown has nowhere to go but up — The Globe advocates for more height in Boston.

As housing costs rise in Boston, homelessness soars in the cities that surround it — Our regional failure to build is driving a rise in homelessness.

Location, location, low-carbon — Once more, and louder for the people in the back: people drive less and reduce carbon emissions when they can live in cities.

Pedestrians and cyclists who live in communities of color face disproportionate exposure to traffic injury — A new study from the Urban Institute addresses the intersection of street safety and racial equity.

Racial diversity and exclusionary zoning: evidence from the great migration — A forthcoming Journal of Politics article finds a troubling correlation: “increasing racial diversity causes cities to zone less land for multifamily housing.”