The city’s Climate Forward goals were, among other things, discussed by the Central Somerville Avenue Project group at their recent meeting.

By Katherine Davis   

On Monday, November 18, the Central Somerville Avenue Project group met to go over the summaries from that morning’s workshops on infrastructure and zoning in the proposed development area.

Starting the meeting off, Dan Bartman noted that there is a potential adjustment to the Somervision map as there is discussion regarding changing part of the campus of SomerNova to be included in the Enhancement district of Somervision. These maps are there to imply the intent of what kind of policy is applied to different types of areas around the city, since it relates to the amount or developmental activity that may or may not happen. Bartman assured the attendees that the redevelopment scale in this potential location is nowhere near the size of that of Assembly Square, it is a much smaller project.

Starting with notes from the Engineering Department of Somerville, that morning the department presented three aspects of infrastructure to focus on: wastewater and sewage systems, drinking water and fire hydrants, and lastly stormwater management. The department said that the sewage system itself has enough capacity to absorb the 1.6 million square feet of proposed development.

They also covered stormwater management strategies regarding issues of surface level flooding that already affect the surrounding neighborhood of the campus, some ideas being a Blue Roof where water storage is able to be brought in and held onto for reuse, or a Green Roof where vegetation and the dirt that vegetation grows out of provides a medium to collect water. Lastly, some local pipes will likely need to be replaced and fire hydrants will need to be tested, however that is the common practice of any new development and is not particular to the Central Somerville Avenue campus.

Tying into the engineering aspect of the development, that morning’s workshop included notes from the Office of Environment and Sustainability that covered much of Climate Forward 2050’s goals for the city of Somerville. There are only five years until the 2030 target that aims for 50% of homes and commercial buildings to be fully electric, 40% of passenger vehicles to be electric, and 10% of commercial vehicles to be electric.

The proposal from the Rafi development board states an intent to construct buildings that, in the future, are capable of switching over to 100% electric. They also plan on converting 25% of the existing parking spaces from the first build into electric vehicle charging spaces, Bartman saying the goal is to be “building buildings and parking spaces that are ready for that future that we want to get to as we all continue to adapt and change into that condition.”

There is a major push for the elimination of burning carbon with this project, and they are looking into reusing materials from the existing buildings to help eliminate waste from the project itself. Another important note brought up regarding environmental impact was towards minimizing the heat island created by paved areas. While rising sea levels are a global issue, the most threatening direct impacts on Somerville’s infrastructure and community, with regard to climate change, are the heat island and storms with water events. More information on climate efforts and Somerville can be found at Somervillema.gov/climateforward.

Proposed building heights are still being discussed, with more information being added to the voice.somervillema.gov website with examples of potential heights of proposed buildings and more. The area itself is considered commercial “in intent and nature,” but there is the chance for the “adaptive reuse of a historic building for artist reasons” to which artists could build up residential density by working on something that provides a community benefit from them living in the particular area.

There is also a discussion that the group intends on facilitating that considers the potential motor vehicle traffic that could be caused by the new development.

Since more needs to be covered, the Central Somerville Avenue project group intends to continue meeting beyond the currently scheduled workshops, with additional dates to be added soon. The scheduled meeting for December 2nd has been rescheduled to Monday, December 16 at 6 p.m. both in person at Bow Market and on Zoom.