On Friday, April 21, the Newton Planning and Development Department released its updated Village Center Zoning Redesign plan, Version 2.0, based on comments and concerns voiced at the City Council’s Zoning and Planning meetings. (NewTV’s video of the April 24 meeting)
Among the changes from Version 1.0 to 2.0 is that VC1 is now reserved for village centers only, and mainly on Route 9. Version 2.0 also does not include ”priority streets” in village centers, which include multi-use retail and residential development. In addition, instead of the 3,500 new units projected in Version 1.0 — an amount less than the minimum of 8,330 units required by the MBTA Communities Act — the new version calls for 10,000 units. The 10,000 units do not include extra stories for affordable housing.
Under the new version, Newton would exceed all minimum requirements for compliance with the MBTA Communities Act guidelines, which require dense multi-family development along MBTA routes. For example, MBTA requirements call for Aggregate Gross Density of 15 units per acre. In Version 2.0, Newton’s Aggregate Gross Density would be 35 units per acre. In the MBTA Communities Act, the total required Land Area is 50 acres; Newton’s version 2.0 designates 288 acres. According to the MBTA guidelines, 90% of the designated district must be located in the “station areas.” According to Newton’s plan, 100% of the district would be located in the station area.
Version 2.0 eliminates required parking for residential and commercial districts. In both versions, special permits are required if the lot size is greater than 30,000 square feet, and site plan review is required for lots between 20,000 and 30,000 square feet, while building footprints remain the same. However, setback requirements are reduced in Version 2.0. In a new Multi-Residence Transit (MRT) designation — previously VC1 — there are changes to heights, square footages, lot widths, setbacks both front and back of the lot, and all of this is restricted to only multi-family use (not retail).
The next Zoning and Planning Committee meeting is scheduled for Monday, May 8.
Ed. Note: We have updated this article to provide a table summarizing Newton’s compliance with the MBTA Communities Act and a link to those state guidelines — and to make corrections in response to these points in a letter from Thomas Gagen:
- Version 1.0 provided for an additional 3,500 units, not 8,330, which is the minimum requirement under the MBTA Communities Act.
- The numbers for compliance with the MBTA Communities Act are minimum requirements.
