Squares + Streets Zoning Districts

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Latest Updates
Overview
Squares + Streets Draft Zoning Text Amendment
Public Comment Period
Connecting Planning Processes to Squares + Streets Zoning
Upcoming Events
Past Events
Timeline

Latest Updates

[Tuesday, March 12] Over the last month, the February 12 draft of the Squares + Streets Zoning Text Amendment has undergone extensive legal review, focused on ensuring the functioning of the current code, consistency of language and references across the code, clarity of drafting, and addressing typographical errors. We are posting this revised draft, which is being presented to the BPDA Board at their March 14, 2024 meeting, inclusive of these drafting changes. This revised draft is available on the BPDA Board Meetings page as part of the March 14, 2024 BPDA Board agenda materials.

The revised draft also includes six updates based on legal review:

  • Deleted “Student Housing” from the use table because this use is already regulated through the Institutional Master Plan process; based on legal review, we did not want to create confusion in the process.
  • Deleted the size thresholds for Supportive Housing as a use, as we determined that size was not inherent to the use (and that there were few examples of Supportive Housing in the city that would have fallen below the threshold we established.)
  • Made Motor Vehicle Rentals Conditional instead of Forbidden in S3-S5 because the impacts are similar to parking facilities (which were already conditional), and access to rental vehicles can be particularly important in areas with lower rates of car ownership.
  • Changed “Accessory Car Share” to “Accessory Motor Vehicle Rentals” to better reflect the use and standardize across the code.
  • We have moved Child Care/Adult Day Health Center to the Civic Uses category of Table A in Article 8, rather than Active Uses. This is to reflect that like Schools K-12, Child Care/Adult Day Health Center is a use that will be widely allowed across almost every district of the city. Civic uses are also exempt from the requirement for Ground Floor Active Uses, so this does not change how the proposed Article 26 works in practice.
  • We have removed a table of parking space dimensions that we had previously proposed to add to Article 23. The BPDA and BTD are working together on a more comprehensive rewrite of the technical provisions of Article 23 for parking design and layout, and we plan to bring those changes together at a later date.

This draft is being presented to the BPDA Board, so that they can choose to vote to petition the Zoning Commission to adopt amendments. We currently anticipate that the Zoning Commission would consider these amendments at their April 10, 2024 meeting.

Overview

Squares + Streets is a planning and zoning initiative of the BPDA and the City of Boston that focuses on neighborhood centers that are near transit and along main streets across Boston. A major component of the initiative is updating the zoning in these neighborhood centers to guide development that encourages a mix of building uses and heights, creates housing diversity and growth opportunities, and encourages active streets.

The BPDA’s Zoning Reform Team has drafted a zoning text amendment that will create several new Squares + Streets zoning districts to be adopted into the Boston Zoning Code to meet these goals.

Squares + Streets zoning districts will be categorized by how building types, land uses, parcel sizes, and building scales function across the variety of Boston’s main streets and neighborhood centers.

Once these zoning districts are adopted into the Zoning Code, they will become a set of zoning options that can be mapped onto appropriate areas of the City only after community engagement processes and analysis of local contexts.

Squares + Streets Draft Zoning Text Amendment

To create new Squares + Streets Districts, a new chapter in the Boston Zoning Code called Article 26 has been drafted. Related updates to several existing chapters of the Zoning Code are being proposed as well, including Article 8 (Regulation of Uses) and other citywide chapters of the Zoning Code to make sure that updates to Art. 26 and Art. 8 are reflected throughout the Zoning Code.

Please review the DRAFT ZONING AMENDMENT AND EXPLANATION MATERIALS BELOW to understand how all these updates work together to enable these zoning districts to function to meet the goals of this initiative:

Public Comment Period

The public comment period to inform revisions made to the Squares + Streets Draft Zoning Text Amendment was open from December 5, 2023 to February 2, 2024. During this period, The BPDA received over 200 public comment submissions and over 35 public comment letters sent via mail and email. Staff on the BPDA Zoning Reform Team reviewed these comments throughout the revision process and have written responses to both public comment submissions and public comment letters sent during the comment period. Those responses can be found below:

Public comments have informed revisions to the draft zoning text amendment to refine the dimensional, land use, and other regulations for each new zoning district to align with citywide goals for development on main streets and in squares (as stated on the Squares + Streets initiative page). While revisions to the draft zoning amendment are based on comments received up to the end of the public comment period on February 2, the BPDA will continue to collect public comments submitted after February 2 and share those comments biweekly up until the proposal of this zoning text amendment to the Boston Zoning Commission.

All public comments received both during and after the public comment period will also be shared with the Boston Zoning Commission for the hearing date where this amendment will be put up for adoption. Boston Zoning Commission meetings are public hearings, so public testimony can be shared live during those sessions, as well.

Connecting Planning Processes to Squares + Streets Zoning

Upcoming Planning: As part of the broader Squares + Streets initiative, the BPDA’s Comprehensive Planning Team will conduct 6-9 month Small Area Plans in areas identified as active neighborhood centers and main streets near high frequency and high capacity transit resources. Engagement in the Small Area Plans processes will be a key part in determining the appropriate selection of Squares + Streets zoning districts for a given area. The first two locations for these Small Area Plans are Cleary Square (Hyde Park) and Roslindale Square.

Recent Planning: In May 2023, the BPDA adopted PLAN: Mattapan, which identified appropriate locations in Mattapan for Squares + Streets zoning districts. Mattapan will see updates to its zoning maps and zoning districts based on the recommendations from PLAN: Mattapan that align with the Squares + Streets initiative.

Upcoming Events

Office Hours

Public Meetings

Past Events

  • November Squares + Streets Zoning Community Office Hours (Recurring):
  • Squares + Streets Zoning Office Hours for Design Professionals (Recurring; 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM)
  • Squares + Streets Zoning Analysis Public Meeting, Mon, Oct 16 (6:00 PM – 8:00 PM)
  • Squares + Streets Zoning Analysis Public Meeting, Mon, Oct 30 (6:00 PM – 8:00 PM)
  • Squares + Streets Citywide Draft Zoning Recommendations Public Meeting, Mon, Nov 13 (6:00 PM – 8:00 PM)
  • Mattapan Squares + Streets Draft Zoning Recommendations Public Meeting, Wed, Nov 15 (6:00 PM – 8:00 PM)
  • Squares + Streets Citywide Draft Zoning Amendment Public Meeting, Tues, Dec 5 (6:00 PM – 8:00 PM)
  • Mattapan Residential Zoning Closeout, Squares & Streets Zoning Update, Wed, Dec 6 (6:00 PM - 8:00 PM)
  • Squares + Streets Citywide Draft Zoning Amendment Update Public Meeting, Wed, Jan 10 (6:00 PM – 7:30 PM)
  • Squares + Streets Citywide Zoning Amendment Final Public Meeting, Tues, Feb 6 (6:00 PM – 8:00 PM)

Timeline

Zoning analysis, drafting, and adoption timeline graphic

Analysis + Evaluation Period:

  • Analyze existing building uses and development trends in Boston’s Squares + Streets areas to inform the new zoning districts.
  • Share and gather feedback on the initial analysis at a public meeting with Boston residents and at small workshops with direct users of the Zoning Code – community development corporations, small scale developers, designers, and the Inspectional Services Department (ISD).

Drafting, Public Comment + Revision Period:

  • Write the draft zoning text amendment to propose the new zoning districts based on feedback from the evaluation period.
  • Share the draft zoning text amendment at a public meeting and hold a public comment period to gather feedback. Hold virtual office hours for interested parties to ask Zoning Reform staff questions about the amendment. Share the revised draft zoning text amendment at a public meeting based on public comments.

Zoning Adoption Period:

  • Present to the BPDA Board for approval to petition the Zoning Commission on adopting the zoning text amendment. Present to the Zoning Commission for adoption of the zoning text amendment into the Zoning Code.