Enforcement of Assembly Square decision postponed until June 1
By George P. Hassett

   Land Court Judge Alexander H. Sands III postponed ruling on two motions by the city Monday to amend his judgment that the zoning that paved the way for a strip mall to be built at Assembly Square is unfair and invalid.
Sands ruled March 7 that the zoning the Board of Aldermen approved for Assembly Square conflicted with state laws requiring uniformity. In press releases from the city’s communications office, lawyers claimed Sands’ decision was based on a technicality that could be easily addressed.

    ‚ÄúWe‚Äôve said from the outset that this was a technical rather than a big-picture ruling,‚Äù said City Solicitor John Gannon.
     The city filed two motions this week, requesting a stay of enforcement on the decision, claiming a clerical error led to a misunderstanding of the zoning amendment.
     Sands allowed city officials to have until June 1 to propose a solution to the plaintiffs, the Mystic View Task Force (MVTF), a grassroots community group of local activists. But he also declined to adjust his March 7 ruling and claimed the clerical error made no difference, said MVTF Vice PResident Jane Beston.
     Sports Authority, the mall‚Äôs final tenant, will be allowed to open on March 31st, but the city cannot issue new building permits to high-impact projects, said Beston.

     Curtatone said the city could move forward with whatever projects it deemed appropriate, except for anything concerning the technical issue of uniformity raised by the judge.

     In a prepared statement, Beston said the city has changed its reasons for amending the zoning at Assembly Square several times.
     ‚ÄúPerhaps the real purpose of {the zoning amendment} stands exposed: to let the developers evade the special permit with site plan review required by Somerville‚Äôs zoning ordinance and state law. But the special permit process is what protects the health, safety and welfare of all the residents of Somerville.‚Äù
      Aldermen have said it is possible that the mall may have to be completely knocked down, but the mayor has repeatedly claimed the judge‚Äôs ruling is based on a minor, technical issue.
      ‚ÄúThe development of {Assembly Square} into a thriving economic hub has already and will continue to increase the local tax base and add several hundred jobs to the local community,‚Äù said Curtatone in a March 28 statement. ‚ÄúWe look forward to putting this issue behind us and realizing the city‚Äôs vision of a mixed-use, transit-oriented urban village.‚Äù