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Smart
Growth District Zoning Amendment
*Public
Hearing* Board
of Aldermen and Smart
Growth District Zoning Amendment Aldermanic
Chambers Thank you
for your interest in the Smart Growth District Zoning Amendment.
To learn more please click on the following links: Background
Proposed Smart Growth District
Amendment Amendment
Process
Proposed Site Plan Review Amendment Infrastructure
Report
Minutes
from neighborhood meetings Traffic Report
Fiscal Impact Analysis
The
Smart Growth District Zoning Initiative stems from the comprehensive
Master Plan which was adopted by the The
Smart Growth Task Force is comprised of community members with a long
history of involvement in planning and land use issues and includes
representation from the For
the past year, the Task Force has been working to draft a zoning amendment
that promotes this vision. OPCD
received additional grant funding from the Commonwealth to help write the
ordinance and review potential impacts of the proposed rezoning on the
City. This past December, the
Task Force held another neighborhood meeting to receive feedback on the
draft zoning proposal. The
draft was favorably received and forwarded to the full
The process for
amending the zoning ordinance is dictated by Massachusetts General Laws
Chapter 40A, Section 5. According
to these regulations once the Board of Aldermen receives a proposal for a
zoning amendment, the Board must, within fourteen days of receipt, submit
the amendment to the A
fiscal impact analysis was prepared to obtain an understanding of how the
Smart Growth District Zoning Amendment (i.e. allowing residential and
commercial mixed uses in the Lower Washington Industrial District) would
affect the City financially. The
analysis, prepared by Connery Associates, was funded by Stoneplace LP, a
contract purchaser of a tract of property on lower (Click
HERE for the Infrastructure Report)
With grant funding from the State, the City retained Earth Tech, an engineering consultant group, to review the potential impact that the Smart Growth District Zoning Amendment would have on the City’s infrastructure. Specifically, the report discusses the capacity of the existing water, sewerage, and stormwater systems to determine what, if any, mitigation would be required in order to effectively service new development in the Lower Washington Street Industrial District without negatively impacting the surrounding area. (Click
HERE for McMahon Traffic Assessment, May 2007) (Click
HERE for Earth Tech Peer Review of Traffic Assessment, September 2007) (Click
HERE for McMahon Response to Peer Review Comments, November 2007) (Click
HERE for Earth Tech Peer Review of Response Comments, February 2008) A Traffic study
was conducted to determine the effect the Smart Growth District Zoning
Amendment would have on the traffic circulation, flow and safety in the
Lower Washington Street Industrial District and the surrounding area.
The report, prepared by McMahon Transportation Engineers and
Planners, was funded by Stoneplace LP, a contract purchaser of a tract of
property on lower (Click
HERE for the Site Plan Review Amendment) The other
component of this zoning proposal involves amending existing Site Plan
Review provisions in the Ordinance. Site
Plan Review has become a very important tool, allowing the Because the Smart
Growth District Zoning Amendment allows residential and mixed-use
development under a Site Plan Approval Process, the Minutes
from neighborhood meetings (Click
HERE for the (Click
HERE for the The Mayor’s Smart Growth Task Force held two neighborhood meetings. The first was to hear what residents would like to see in the Lower Washington Street Industrial District. The second meeting was to introduce the draft Smart Growth District Zoning Amendment and receive feedback on the draft. For additional information, contact the Office of Planning & Community Development at (781) 979-4190 or dgaffey@cityofmelrose.org
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