Accountability needed in zoning process
*

By Union United

(The opinions and views expressed in the commentaries and letters to the Editor of The Somerville Times belong solely to the authors and do not reflect the views or opinions of The Somerville Times, its staff or publishers)

This week, the Planning Board and Board of Aldermen will hold a public hearing on a new zoning proposal for Union Square. This proposal would make it easier for US2 to get special permits to proceed, while failing to assure that the important aspirations expressed in the Union Square neighborhood plan will ever be implemented.

Many of the goals outlined in the neighborhood plan, which was approved after nearly a year of extensive community input and revision, cannot be accomplished through zoning. The section on Managing Neighborhood Change includes recommendations like relocation assistance for businesses on the D parcels, rent stabilization vouchers, and a workforce education center. These are all excellent ideas, and the plan includes many more. They are not things that can be regulated by zoning.

The Neighborhood Plan also suggests a special permit for formula businesses, which is not included in the zoning proposal. There may be other zoning-related items in the Neighborhood Plan that have slipped through the cracks.

With a Community Benefits Agreement, much can be agreed upon outside the restrictions of zoning. A CBA could include support for the programming of a community center, or living wages for workers in the development. But once the zoning is approved, there is little incentive for US2 to work with the City to ensure that these ideas are implemented. Last week, the LOCUS strategy leaders recommended a neighborhood council that could negotiate CBAs with developers. The zoning may need to incorporate provisions that give this neighborhood council a tangible role in evaluating and making recommendations regarding development proposals within the district.

The zoning proposal was filed with the Board of Aldermen in July, but no accurate map was made available to the public before the public hearing in October. This makes it difficult for community members, including those whose property would be affected by the new zoning, to properly assess the impact of the proposal. The proposal should be re-filed and re-advertised to give stakeholders an opportunity to understand its implications.

This proposal sets a precedent for new development in Winter Hill and all other areas around future Green Line stations. If we establish a blueprint that allows developers to move ahead with new zoning before committing to community benefits, we will miss out on a chance to partner with those developers in creating more livable communities.

In their thoughtful op-ed several weeks ago, members of Union Square Neighbors noted that the zoning contains many incentives for developers while taking input away from the general public. They wrote: “The zoning would allow developers to propose speculative projects on land they do not own. And it would reduce the public’s ability to influence regulation of the highest impact developments. These would be consequences of the creation of an overlay district whereby multiphase projects covering 200,000 square feet (4.6 acres) or more, and comprising two lots or more, could obtain a Coordinated Development Plan Special Permit. CDPSPs would be a new form of entitlement created by this legislation.”

http://www.thesomervilletimes.com/archives/70966

Last week, the Chamber of Commerce published a petition in this paper encouraging the Board of Aldermen to adopt the Union Square zoning as quickly as possible. This approach makes no sense for those who are concerned about community values like affordable housing, good jobs, small business protections, and open space. We don’t hope to delay US2’s development forever. But there is a window of time in which we as a community have the leverage to ask for the things we want. Once the zoning is approved, US2, whose president Greg Karczewski is a board member of the Chamber of Commerce, will have a green light to move forward with a Comprehensive Development Permit that increases their profit margin.

The Board of Aldermen has been diligently following the redevelopment process and seeking input from their constituents, but the zoning is the only part of the process where they can make their voices heard. Before this zoning is approved, we ask the aldermen to ensure there is a commitment from US2 to negotiate an enforceable CBA with the Union Square community that will ensure the success of their ultimate development.