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.