March Updates from Somerville YIMBY

On February 27, City Council passed the latest update to the Somerville Zoning Ordinance: a technical change that allows Neighborhood Residence (NR) building types in the Urban Residence (UR) zone. That sounds a bit like a step backwards, because it allows smaller buildings in parcels that currently allow only multifamily homes. However, it has some major advantages.

As you may know, our zoning has two types of residential districts: Neighborhood Residence (houses, duplexes, triple deckers) and Urban Residence (apartment buildings, row houses, etc.) There aren’t a lot of UR parcels in the city, and not all of them have buildings on them that match the UR zone description. This sort of “nonconformity” makes it more difficult to maintain and modify existing buildings in those zones. Changing the UR zone to allow more building types makes it more flexible, turning it from something specifically for apartment buildings to a zone that encompasses most residential building types.

The next step, of course, will be to change the official zoning atlas to increase the number of UR parcels, which would allow people to build multifamily residential buildings in more places, but without adding rules so prescriptive that they prevent basic maintenance or renovation. We’re working on the details of a proposal to do just that.

Upcoming Events

March 5 (TOMORROW!)— 297 Medford Street Community Meeting: Learn more about an affordable housing proposal from Just-A-Start and the Somerville Community Land Trust. In-person at the Main Branch Library on Highland Ave, 6:00 p.m. You can also sign an online letter of support for this project here.

March 5 — 1 Myrtle Street Community Meeting: The entire city is invited to weigh in on someone’s porch design. We don’t actually recommend attending this meeting, but we have included it in the calendar to remind you of the regulatory burden our city imposes on even the smallest projects. 6:00 pm, online via Zoom.

March 7 — Somerville YIMBY Monthly Social: Join us in-person at Remnant Brewing in Bow Market, 6:00 - 7:00(ish) p.m.

March 10 — Elm/Beacon Connector Open House: Learn about the city’s ideas for quick-build safety improvements near the intersection of Elm Street, Beacon Street, and Somerville Avenue. In person at the Kennedy School cafeteria, drop in any time from 6:30 to 8:30 pm.

March 12 — Somerville YIMBY Monthly Meeting: online via Zoom, 6:00 p.m. The agenda will be focused on our zoning proposal and planning for the 2025 elections.

March 19 — Yoni Appelbaum Book Talk: Porter Square Books and the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies (JCHS) host Yoni Appelbaum for the release of his book Stuck, which addresses how and why Americans have lost both geographical and social mobility. In-person at Porter Square Books, 1815 Massachusetts Ave.

March 20 — Land Use Committee: Agenda items include the 297 Medford Street affordable housing proposal and ongoing discussion of arts and laboratory spaces. 6:30 p.m. online via Zoom.

Recommended Reading

Somerville YIMBY member Ben Orenstein explains spot zoning, a narrowly-defined type of regulatory decision that cities in Massachusetts are not allowed to make.

Population.FYI takes a look Auckland, NZ and Bloomberg takes a look at Austin, TX, covering the excellent results of their land use decisions in the past few years.

The Pew Charitable Trusts report confirming the safety of “single-stair” building layouts. These layouts, legal in Europe, Canada, and some parts of the US, are a promising way to improve both the quality and quantity of newly built homes. A proposal to study single-stair construction in Massachusetts is one of the top legislative priorities for statewide advocates Abundant Housing MA.

A Home for Everyone: A Comprehensive Housing Plan for Massachusetts, 2025-2029. The Massachusetts Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (EOHLC) has recently published their plan to address the commonwealth’s housing issues through the rest of the decade.