[{"_1":2,"_87":-5,"_88":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6117788,"mediaKeyId","2727571-01017beba7a2743488c87d82afbda5c6","parentId",2727571,"title","Somerville hears wide public comment on Arts & Innovation rezoning, R&D district and Summer Nova master plan; many call for signed CBA before vote","audioSeconds",8528,"startMs",3382000,"endMs",11910000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2727571-01017beba7a2743488c87d82afbda5c6&start=3382&end=11910","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2727571-01017beba7a2743488c87d82afbda5c6/thumbnail_3382000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6117788/Somerville-City/Middlesex-County/Massachusetts/Somerville-hears-wide-public-comment-on-Arts-Innovation-rezoning-RD-district-and-Summer-Nova-master-plan-many-call-for-signed-CBA-before-vote","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6117788-e21b22f33f852d3ef44fc52f23395468/orig.mp4?Expires=1770442847&Signature=XvdxBmVjeS8ZyIHLm-gtUuGIh24ui~5676SfILky3cmnp4syxDgZ3HQ6lOLx1fqWU8ecWUhu83yXWvADC6BgzwN96Mbie084J5LPDKVNQfsyY-7YZBzlmuOIjYouVGtDX344GLTqshu48Llxr2NmOpOW71WHsYq3XqoQehYMPWzAKAKIKfnkn77maPL5ps3Zt3ude-c-qqE9TAcEtRJvs7e2Xao8pGQvK8PGZxa-dq--B8rvjSy788RstKrOHKa7hnoTREoRuIPYOX3Jnmzu9R3sNUw2qECC~NxTz1IwNnUtoiTheW02Yka4pGpjHPH9wMBOCmpdot9AgFaagWYLfA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Somerville City, MA","date","2025-03-21T00:00:00Z","article","Somerville city planners and the mayor’s office on March 10 presented four linked zoning amendments intended to create an Arts & Innovation subarea of the Master Plan Development Overlay District, revise rules for arts and creative enterprise uses, establish a new Research & Development (R&D) zoning district, and update laboratory regulations. City staff said the package aims to preserve and expand local arts and climate‑tech clusters while encouraging new job growth and civic space.

Nut graf: The public hearing drew large in‑person and remote turnout with a wide mix of views. Many artists, arts organizations and neighborhood advocates said they broadly support the proposal’s goals but repeatedly urged that a negotiated community benefits agreement (CBA) and a project labor agreement (PLA) be finalized before council votes on the zoning. Others—developers, business groups and many residents—argued the overlay would bring jobs, civic spaces and new arts facilities and asked for zoning changes to proceed alongside continuing CBA talks.

Tom Gallagani, executive director of the Mayor’s Office of Strategic Planning and Community Development, introduced the package as the outcome of “several years and several streams of community engagement,” and said staff had worked with neighborhood groups and property owners to craft changes aimed at protecting arts uses while allowing innovation uses to grow. Director of Planning Dan Bartman and planner Steve Carey walked the committee through three principal changes: a rewrite of the Arts and Creative Enterprise (ACE) use categories, a new R&D‑oriented zoning district to legalize and steer lab‑type uses to the former Ames/Tube Works campus area, and a Master Plan Development Overlay subarea for the Summer Nova campus that would include explicit square‑footage requirements for arts exhibition and artist studios.

Key elements of the draft overlay and district presented by staff include a required minimum master‑plan land area of 250,000 square feet for the subarea; a 10% ACE floor‑area requirement (with specific requirements of 40,000 sq ft for arts exhibition and 20,000 sq ft for artist studios to be provided on campus); an 85% minimum nonresidential gross floor area requirement for master plan proposals; a capped total of 750 parking spaces across the campus with the planning board able to calibrate building‑level parking via a demand model; and mobility management plans requiring an initial 40% non‑auto mode share and targets aligned with Somerville Vision 2040 on full occupancy.

City staff said the R&D district copies many features of the existing Fabrication District but permits larger floor plates and higher first‑floor ceiling heights to accommodate “high bay” R&D uses common to prototyping and hardware manufacturing, while the proposed rewrite of ACE use categories splits out artist studios and arts education and removes coworking from ACE into the office category.

Public testimony filled the chamber and the remote queue. Supporters included arts organizations and many neighborhood residents who said the proposal could restore lost studio and rehearsal space and create a community center and youth facilities already being run on the Summer Nova campus. Esh Circus Arts co‑owner Elin Wylona (Esh Circus Arts) said the proposed taller spaces and ceilings were “very exciting” for circus arts. Somerville Community Land Trust speakers and supporters said the zoning could enable both arts and housing outcomes.

Union Square Neighborhood Council co‑chair Matthias Rudolph told the committee the USNC supports the overall opportunity but insisted the zoning be accompanied by a signed CBA and a PLA, describing the package as “one part of a three part package” that also must include enforceable community benefits and labor commitments. “We can only support this project and that includes the zoning amendments in front of us if all 3 parts of the package are in place,” Rudolph said.

Raffi (Raffi Properties) and its team told the committee they were actively negotiating both a CBA and a PLA with the neighborhood council and labor representatives and said they were “hopeful” an agreement would be finalized soon. Russell Preston, speaking for the applicant, said negotiations were ongoing and expressed commitment to finalize agreements.

Many artists and arts advocates urged stronger protections for affordable studio and rehearsal space and asked for clearer financial terms for in‑lieu payments and oversight of any municipal fund that would hold such payments. Several artists warned that square‑footage targets alone may not preserve genuinely affordable artist spaces if rent levels are not addressed. The Arts Stays Here coalition and multiple arts organizations supported the zoning work but repeatedly asked the council to withhold a final vote until the CBA/PLA were signed.

Some neighborhood speakers urged reduced maximum heights, expanded ground‑level open space beyond the proposed 10%, and stronger protections for adjacent residences during construction, citing concerns about shadows, traffic and access. Saint Anthony Parish raised the need to protect access for worship and parish activities during long construction horizons. Business and labor representatives, including the Somerville Chamber and Greater Boston Labor Council allies, supported the effort and emphasized the potential for local union jobs and training.

The committee took no votes on the package at the March 10 hearing and left the items in committee; staff said the public comment period for the Arts & Innovation items will remain open through March 31 at 7 p.m. Planning staff and the applicant said they will continue negotiating a CBA and PLA while the Planning Board and Land Use Committee continue their review.

Ending: The zoning package represents a complex balancing act between preserving affordable arts space and enabling growth in R&D and climate‑tech sectors; many community members asked that negotiated legal agreements be complete and publicly tested before the council votes on the overlay.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Somerville City Land Use - 2025-03-20","oneSentenceSummary","Somerville planners presented four linked zoning amendments March 10 to create an Arts & Innovation subarea, rewrite arts and creative enterprise use categories, create a new research and development zoning district, and change laboratory rules. City staff said the package is intended to protect arts space and to accommodate climate‑tech and research uses in targeted areas.","taxTitle","Somerville City, Middlesex County, Massachusetts","taxId",4564,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6117793,"Somerville land-use hearing draws mixed public reaction to MR3→MR4 rezoning proposal for Gilman Square lot",2879,493000,3372000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2727571-01017beba7a2743488c87d82afbda5c6&start=493&end=3372","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2727571-01017beba7a2743488c87d82afbda5c6/thumbnail_493000.jpg","/articles/6117793/Somerville-City/Middlesex-County/Massachusetts/Somerville-land-use-hearing-draws-mixed-public-reaction-to-MR3MR4-rezoning-proposal-for-Gilman-Square-lot","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6117793-e2112563e8c5c813dc4adf9f3feb42d1/orig.mp4?Expires=1770442847&Signature=KbLIv5-8MXiP9nscHcH49zevGT-sYu2kPLtEnae1wtDuatKgI80Z4mXN3n94eIhFEg0m6QEcd8Cufhw-Sa4g~P0X~s2oBWzcyafpUrI3Qi6nc~1agx5IN1juKKsP7zhPI6x8Ifjs5WryVZUkPzmDs33j6DYpz5m94ew-lWCom5SVW8F7gU~S4znU5kVlwyRVkDOr94WEKrsRdlGEACR5~Ith-wrpHBfvrTUxaMaw6a2y1vTIlfFpvcjh~O3iBDa0cwMgxmFsf8RAbX-N2ha2QTSRmMlmq-uw7eZzbNq-SvFjhlp~n~iu9dGBbD6kjDKgudMPYGiFBCJkK5B6gDnFxg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Somerville City Council Land Use Committee and the Planning Board opened a joint public hearing March 10 on a request to rezone 295–297 Medford Street and 93 Walnut Street from Mid Rise 3 (MR3) to Mid Rise 4 (MR4), a change the Somerville Community Land Trust (SCLT) and its partners say is needed to make a 100% affordable housing project feasible.

The proposal, submitted as a zoning map amendment (Public Communication ID 25‑0269) by trustees John Fragioni and Agostino Fiola of the Grama Realty Trust and presented by the Somerville Community Land Trust, would allow a taller building on a currently vacant lot near Gilman Square to accommodate what project proponents described as about 50 affordable units under the city’s Affordable Housing Overlay.

Nut graf: Supporters said the MR3 to MR4 change is required to reach the scale needed to deliver permanently affordable housing at the site; opponents called the proposed seven‑story bulk excessive for the block and raised concerns about parking, traffic, shadows and neighborhood character. The committee took no vote and left the item in committee with the public comment period kept open to allow further input.

Project proponents framed the request as narrowly targeted to allow additional height while preserving other dimensional rules. Ben Baldwin, executive director of the Somerville Community Land Trust, said the rezoning would “allow the scale necessary to actually build the 100% affordable housing project that we’re proposing here,” and that the site would be eligible for the density bonus available under the Affordable Housing Overlay. Architect Matt Drosselmeyer presented shadow studies for the spring, summer, autumn and winter equinoxes that showed most new shadows would fall on the MBTA tracks and that existing taller buildings across Medford Street already cast much of the area’s shadow.

Supporters from the neighborhood and citywide groups repeatedly told the committee the site is appropriate for affordable housing because of its proximity to Gilman Square station and the Community Path. Thomas Rafferty, a social worker and recent Somerville resident, said the site was “as good as we can possibly get in a place that is as dense as Somerville.” Several speakers urged the city to maximize family‑sized units and high‑quality construction; Ivana Barca, coordinator for Padres Latinos of Somerville Public Schools, urged more 2‑ and 3‑bedroom units and “sustainable construction practices such as carbon free mass timber.”

Neighbors who opposed the rezoning said a seven‑story maximum is excessive for a block with lower scale housing and raised practical worries about parking and traffic, rodent problems and loss of light. Rick Caledroopoulos said he had circulated neighborhood petitions opposing a prior rezoning attempt and told the committee he expected “over 200 registered voters in the neighborhood who stand united against the proposed development.” Charlotte Dore and others warned that allowing rezoning requests may encourage similar upzonings on nearby lots.

The committee and planning board accepted written and spoken testimony. The Planning Board and the Land Use Committee will keep the public comment period open through March 31 at 7 p.m., and the Land Use Committee left the item in committee with no vote taken. City staff and the project team said further design review, shadow analysis and neighborhood outreach would continue if the rezoning proceeds through the Planning Board and final council vote.

Ending: The Land Use Committee did not take action at the March 10 joint hearing; staff and proponents said additional design work and community discussions will continue and the public may comment through the end of March.","The Somerville City Council Land Use Committee and the Planning Board opened a joint public hearing March 10 on a request to rezone 295–297 Medford Street and 93 Walnut Street from Mid Rise 3 (MR3) to Mid Rise 4 (MR4), a change the Somerville Community Land Trust and its partners say is needed to make a 100% affordable housing project feasible.","actionData","errors"]

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Somerville hears wide public comment on Arts & Innovation rezoning, R&D district and Summer Nova master plan; many call for signed CBA before vote

Somerville land-use hearing draws mixed public reaction to MR3→MR4 rezoning proposal for Gilman Square lot