What is Zoning?

Zoning is a set of rules that control what may be built in each part of a community. Zoning divides land into different districts and regulates allowable building area and volume on a lot, determines which uses are allowed or prohibited in each district, and establishes additional guidelines for growth and development.

Newton has around 33,000 housing units. The city is currently involved in two separate but related zoning projects that have a maximum build out capacity of over 15,000 units.  This will impact everyone in Newton and we need to carefully consider how we design Newton’s future. 

MBTA Communities Law

The state recently passed the MBTA Communities Law that applies to 177 cities and towns that have, or are near, MBTA stops, excluding Boston, in the greater Boston area. It requires that these towns update their zoning code to allow for a specific number of multi-family (3 or more) housing units by-right (no approval needed by the city council) as opposed to requiring a special permit.The developer just pulls a permit from Inspectional Services (ISD).  Residents don’t have a voice unlike special permits. The purpose of this law is to increase housing in the Boston area. Newton’s zoning requirement under this law must allow for 8330 multi-family units, which is a 25% increase in our current housing.  This is a housing production plan and doesn’t increase affordable housing unless the project has 7 or more units and then our Inclusionary Zoning kicks in like now. 

 

The new zones created by the MBTA Communities Law will be overlay zones.  That means when building in one of these areas, a builder will have the choice of using the existing zoning laws or the MBTA laws.  

Village Center Zoning

Several years ago, Newton City Council started to rezone our village centers to allow for more housing. Among the goals of this program is to increase housing in the city, make the village centers more vibrant, and reduce the reliance on cars since the village centers are located near public transportation.

 

Recently, the city’s zoning and planning committee rolled out the proposed VCOD (Village Center Overlay Districts) Zoning Ordinance. These zoning codes will overlay the current zoning codes. This is almost double what is recommended by the state MBTA Communities law legislation because it includes 7 additional villages than what is being counted as part of the MBTA Act. 

 

The new zones will have taller, denser multi-family buildings, will require commercial space on the ground floor on priority streets, and will eliminate parking requirements for commercial and residential buildings.  

 

Based on the size of the village center and the proximity of a particular parcel to the village center the height of the buildings that are built by right ranges from 2.5 stories to 4.5 stories. A half story is the top floor that is set back or has a pitched roof. If 25% of the units are affordable units, then an additional story is permitted in buildings closest to the village centers.  In that case, buildings can be as tall as 5.5 stories.

What does RightSize think about this?

  1. We are moving too fast.  By law, we have until December 31, 2023, to comply with the MBTA law, which means that we need to zone for 8,330 units by that date.  That’s what we should concentrate on now and put the VCOD zoning on a temporary hold in the other 7 villages that are not affected by it.  The city does not seem to have plans for accommodating this increase in density and population that we will incur.  We need to start planning for that now. Once we start to see how the results of this zoning affects the city, we should then revisit the VCOD zoning. 
  2. We don’t have a clear growth plan. Population density transforming many areas of Newton from suburban to effectively urban will increase strain on our public facilities, fields, schools, city services, traffic congestion, and more. The city council has not provided a plan for how we will handle this large population increase.  There are many unanswered questions. How many city employees will we need to hire? Will our public facilities be adequate, including the new senior center? Do we need more fire trucks and fire and police personnel?  Will there be enough space in the schools, particularly the middle and high schools? Will property taxes and increased revenue from sales tax cover all these expenses? How much additional traffic will we have in Newton? 
  3. We aren’t building the right kind of affordable housing.  Rezoning for more housing perpetuates a model whereby we are reliant on for-profit developers to increase our affordable housing stock. Most of the affordable units provided through this model are for middle-income earners. We would also like to see more housing built for low-income individuals and families, including condos/homes for purchase where the owner can build equity. We need to find alternative ways to bring in affordable housing units that balance other city goals for instance nonprofit developers and city-state partnerships. 
  4. We are thinking about parking the wrong way.  The current zoning proposal eliminates requirements for developers to provide parking in order to discourage motor vehicle use. Currently, it is difficult to travel between neighborhoods in Newton if not impossible by public transportation. Until there is a plan to reinstate the NewMo services that were recently discontinued and to expand its services or to create public transportation to travel throughout the city, residents will be reliant on cars and removing parking will only increase congestion on our roads.
  5. We are risking the garden city.  We are concerned that allowing substantial by right development may lead to more tear downs, especially in our village centers, displacing our small businesses that make each village unique. These will be replaced with mixed use buildings containing approximately 85% new luxury units. The plan also requires less usable open space that results in a loss of green space.
  6. We aren’t talking about the climate impact. Tear downs and new construction are taxing on the environment, with such high embodied carbon. Even in the most energy-efficient buildings, it can take hundreds of years to work off that carbon debt. The greenest building is one already standing. 

What can you do about this?

  • Think about these issues when you vote for our next city councilors
  • Speak up at city meetings
  • Write to the city council about your thoughts

     

FURTHER RESOURCES:

  • NewtonRezoning.org presents detailed information about the Planning Department’s rezoning proposals, including reference links, data analysis, and fact-checking.

City Councilor Pam Wright's Presentation, "Newton's New Zoning Ordinance" - 8/6/2020

Content on this page is sourced from:

 Newton Coalition’s “A One-Page Summary of Zoning Redesign” – March 3rd, 2021 

City Councilor Pam Wright’s Presentation, “Newton’s New Zoning Ordinance” – 8/6/20