By Gina Ingrando

On August 4, the weekly Planning Board meeting was held with a number of items on the agenda. The meeting was led by Michael Capuano with three other Board members including Ameila Aboff, Erin Geno, and Jahan Habib. There were a number of items on the agenda, such as approving the requests for the continuation of zoning movements around the city of Somerville.

The first agenda item discussed was the approval of requests for the continuation of zoning movements. The Planning Board decided to recommend the adoption of the zoning movements to the City Council.

The zoning improvements covered a few different areas and were all passed onto the City Council to adopt the particular amendments. This was the deciding choice because there were no arguments made against any of the decisions as well as no problems or concerns found in the planning process.

The next item on the agenda was the proposed mixed-use development at 16-20 Medford St. in Somerville. The presentation of this agenda item consisted of answering questions from the Board the last time this was brought up on June 15, 2022.

The project included new construction of a four-story general building in the MR4 Zone. Questions asked by the Council last time were answered. These included issues such as clarification of where the trash will be located, clarification of accommodations for deliveries to the building, traffic on Bedford St., and turning movements to Bedford St.

The Board wanted to see more modifications to the back of the building to give it more of a presentable look. Overall, the Board decided to hold off on voting and instead asked this committee to come back when they have made improvements on the plans for the backside of the building. Members of the public showed their concern for the housing crisis that is currently happening and wished for the vote to happen sooner.

The next item on the agenda is 50 Webster Ave. subdivision plan approval application. A slideshow with blueprints and pictures of the different plans in the proposal were presented. There were no comments or concerns from the public. The Board agreed that there was no problem with this plan and that this was a good first step in the process. The Board went ahead and approved this agenda item.

What makes Davis Square such a unique place in Somerville was another topic discussed at the meeting. This presentation provided the opportunity to understand what the changes to Davis Square would do for the community. Adding an “intellectual vibrancy” to the street levels with Green Town Labs was mentioned. The promotions of small businesses and appealing storefronts with new features such as sliding doors. Doing so will bring “texture” to the street levels.

Some concerns brought up included parking spots being taken away. Tori Antonino, a member of the community, gave a statement commending the staff of this project for getting Davis Square to where it needs to be after COVID.

Almost all of the topics on the agenda were referred to the City Council to for further discussion.