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(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.)
Sir,
In late August the city released a new version of the planned zoning, v4.0. Previously, version 3, from January 2019, was preceded by multiple public meetings as part of the neighborhood planning process to help the city understand what the constituents wanted, and did not want. Building height and massing were major topics of discussion with many visuals prepared by city staff, and people voted on what they preferred.
But since then, when the people of West Somerville overwhelmingly endorsed a 4 story limit, the city zoning plan (v4.0) has designated Davis Square 5 and 6 stories. Not the 4 endorsed in version 3 of the plan by the people. Someone in city hall made this decision despite what the people wanted. I have yet to find anyone outside city planning who thinks 6 stories in Davis Square would be a good idea. In fact, the general consensus is that it would wreck the character of the square. So after years of zoning change incubation the 11th hour changes in V4.0, with a rush to approval raise concerns on process and motives.
Davis is currently zoned for 4 stories and yet it is characterized mostly by 1-3 story buildings with the occasional 4-5. This clearly illustrates that development opportunities abound that have not yet been exploited. It’s easy to visualize two CVS stores (One Davis Square) on top of each other (and this is what 6 stories looks like) as we walk down an overshadowed Elm, Holland or Highland St canyon flanked by 6 story buildings.
There is an alarming lack of transparency around this drastic uplift of 50% in height, by right, that clearly is aimed at developers and not citizens of west Somerville. If it’s tax dollars the city seeks then listen up city officials. In the ½ mile radius from Davis Square the tax extracted is between 20 & 25% of the cities total. And part of this pie is in Cambridge! Already Davis, and surrounds, is being milked.
Davis Square is a precious gem in our city. It is vibrant, has an eclectic culture and is the main focal nexus for city events. Zoning should enhance this not damage it. We know what up-zoning has done to Harvard Square and that’s a path we don’t want to follow.
Alan Bingham
Somerville
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I respectfully disagree. I love Davis square, but allowing for higher heights would not only allow higher tax revenue for the city, but it could potentially allow for more housing construction, and more amenities, like a hardware store, for nearby neighbors. The character of the neighborhood is more than just the fact that buildings are a certain height.
I’m with Ernesto. If we’re not willing to build higher in Davis, which is right next to a T station, then why are we pretending to care about housing costs or getting people out of their cars?
What even is the argument in this letter? Seems to be Davis has money, so upzone around those with less cash. As a Union resident, who is fine with seeing it upzoned, I have zero sympathy for that kind of elitism.
This is a small city jamming too much into it. Somerville is already overcrowded and cramming more buildings and people into it is a recipe for disaster. Look at the amount of pedestrian involved accidents alone. Somerville is size 8 trying to squeeze into size 2. I don’t know why the board bothers with public hearings. They just ignore what they hear and do whatever they want.
I think Alan is suggesting that four stories allows abundant development / growth in Davis while retaining some of the character of the square. But I see in your world taller is better, for the sake of being taller – like that gigantic 20-something story middle finger coming to union square. Any concern about aesthetic, neighborhood character, etc. is relegated to “elitism”. How about we just bulldoze Davis & rebuild it – Somerville’s West End?
My kids just took part in the Climate Strike on Friday, but we get neighborhood “character” nonsense from yuppies in Davis Square. Your modest proposal for four stories instead of six means we get sprawl everywhere else (inside and outside the city) because you want to live in an affluent theme park. I managed to get my slice of the pie over in Union before prices took off, but we don’t have enough housing and housing/jobs need to be next to transit stations so we can minimize the damage we’re doing to our planet. Not surprised to Davis NIMBYs acting like it’s up to everyone else to do something about that.
And wasn’t Davis Square “the Paris of the ’90s?” You know what city is considered one of the most beautiful in the world and has six-story buildings everywhere you look? Paris.
Davis property owners benefited from the public investment of the Red Line extension to their doorstep, but they don’t want to share the community benefits with anyone else. They should be embarrassed and ashamed. Other neighborhoods in the city are making room for new residents and businesses because demand for living and working in the city has soared. And so have costs. The “I’ve got my slice, so the rest of you can go to hell” attitude is despicable. If you don’t like taller buildings (gasp, 6 stories!) next to a subway stop, move somewhere else because we’re done with your BS. SHAME on you, Alan. SHAME!