This is the first in a series of blogs to breakdown the zoning into simple language.
There is a lot of misinformation out there from those who should be the most informed, so let’s get into it. Councilor Leming has put out a blog where he thinks the “biggest change there (Salem St zoning) is allowing three story buildings by right with incentives that allow developers up to six stories.” This is one change, but I would wager the 70% reduction in the lot size needed to build an apartment building is a bigger issue. So today, I would like to dive into the Dimensional Table to see how big it all is. As a bonus, later today I will unpack Councilor Leming’s blog attacking residents trying to share information and mobilize.
Zoning is not glamorous or particularly exciting, but it is important to understand what changes are being proposed here.
The first line is the lot area needed to build an apartment building or mixed-use building. 3 story buildings (up to 35 feet) are currently allowed on Salem St (APT1 district). Currently, you need a 10k with 35-50 feet of frontage (land width at street). The change proposed is to allow an apartment building with only 30-40 feet of frontage and a 3k lot (70%) reduction.
To put that into prospective, if you live on a side street, the lot a single home sits on is typically 5-6k square feet, so this will allow a 6+ story apartment building on a lot half the size needed to build a single-family home.
There is also a minimum “Facade build out” of 70-80%. So, the building MUST occupy at a minimum that percentage of the lot that faces the street making for a building that dominates the lot.
How tall can they be? Well, there are three districts being created here all will appear on some parts of Salem Street as well as a portion of the side streets that border it. The first is the “MR” district, this will have a minimum of 35 feet (current maximum) and a max of 42 feet residence only buildings. The second is “MX-1” this will allow buildings from 35 feet to 54 feet. Lastly is the “MX-2” which will allow buildings from 54 feet to 78 feet (current maximum is 35 feet). It is important to note that this is just the occupiable spaces included in this height. Height can be more with (half floors) mechanicals, heat pumps, solar, wind power, ornaments (p13 h. Height Waiver 1”). For context, the 6 stories allowed in MX-2 would allow for a building as tall as Lumiere or Stations Landing.
There was a good deal of talk about “step backs” at the Community Development Board meeting by Innes Associates (the consultant). Stepbacks begin above the 3rd floor in MX-1 (meaning the building will be solid for 35-42 feet and then after that, the next floor will move in 10 feet). In the MX-2, they begin after the 4th floor which is 44-54 feet tall and then the next 2 floors will move in the 10 feet. The “Planning Department Recommendations” document that the consultant shared part of that night includes a waiver for this step back that did not appear in the zoning that was sent to the Community Development Board.
So again, how big will it be? We have the height allowances of 35-78 foot tall buildings in an area with a current maximum of 35 feet. So how far will it be from the street? The front setback can be from 3-20 feet. But if you look at page 12 of the zoning, “Front Setbacks,” you will see what this range really means. The idea they have is to create a big wide sidewalk, but as this is going to happen parcel by parcel, you will see a 3 foot sidewalk and then one with a new building on it 9 foot back with a 12 foot sidewalk. The 20 feet is only allowed if the builder wants to “create an active public plaza.” They projected it would take decades for a consistent 12 foot sidewalk to happen if at all. I would prefer that this extra footage go to moving these overly tall buildings away from the lower height buildings behind them.
A short story to make the Side and Rear setbacks feel a bit more real. Here is an overhead image of the pit at 290 Salem St.
You can clearly see that there are two single family homes that directly abut this property (this lot is just under 8k square feet, so almost triple the size needed to build an apartment building). This zoning requires 0 feet of side or rear setbacks (meaning they can build right up to their property line) UNLESS the building is next to a home with fewer than 5 units in it. Then they get the choice of a 10 feet setback OR a 5 foot setback with an 8 foot fence (p13 b. Side and Rear Setbacks). Which do you think someone trying to maximize their profit is going to pick?
Currently, the zoning encourages more green space partially by limiting how much of a lot can be covered by a building. This is an environmental justice neighborhood and heat islands are an issue. The goal should be to minimize heat islands, but this zoning does the opposite and creates more. The current zoning allows a maximum of 30-40% lot coverage. The proposed zoning will allow 80% lot coverage. They are also asking for 12-foot sidewalks on the Salem St side. Councilor Bears at a meeting said “Do I care about heat islands? Yes. But do I care more about building housing for all the people who want to live in Medford? Also yes.” (6/12/24 City Council Planning and Permitting Committee Meeting*) So here we are with zoning that makes the climate impacts on an environmental justice neighborhood worse, because building housing is more important.
So to wrap up this technical blog, we are talking about very small lots (3k) holding tall buildings at double or more the height in some zones (78ft). The buildings will cover most of the lot (double or more what was allowed previously). One thing to note, is that because the lots are much smaller, there will be very little affordable housing because there will be less units per lot. The developer need only stop at 9 units to avoid having to add even a single unit of affordable housing. But more on that later.
Thanks for following along. I hope this provided some context for what the dimensional chart means and the differences from what is currently allowed. Please share this and our other blogs with friends and neighbors so we can have as many people understanding the zoning as we can get. Come prepared to the City Q&A on Monday February 10th at 6:30PM at the Roberts Elementary School! We will be there and we hope to see you too!
Stay tuned for our blog replying to Councilor Leming’s defamatory remarks about the residents trying to raise awareness and provide education of what is in the actual zoning. Thanks all.
* Link to 6/12/24 meeting: https://medford.vod.castus.tv/vod/?video=c32251b9-2667-4234-a832-22e40c91f0ce
* The dimensional table is found on page 10 of the zoning (highlighted portions were added by us to show now and proposed differences): https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Og_Pgw9Ok6pqWIkLbKgNWvPtj_MxF-Ln/view?usp=share_link
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