Zoning Commission Adopts New Zoning for Chinatown, Updates to City Sign Code

Jun 17, 2026

The Zoning Commission today adopted new zoning for the Chinatown neighborhood, as well as comprehensive new zoning for signs in the City of Boston. The new zoning for Chinatown will make it easier for people to open small businesses, protect the historical row houses in the neighborhood, and improve the climate resilience of the neighborhood. New citywide zoning for commercial signs, the first changes to the code in 50 years, will save small businesses time and money.

“New zoning, both for Chinatown, and for commercial signage citywide, is a win for small businesses,” said Chief of Planning Kairos Shen. “Updating zoning in Chinatown will make it easier to open small businesses, and modernizing our sign regulations will save small businesses time and money by eliminating long review wait times. In addition, the new zoning in Chinatown will protect its historic row houses, while also reinforcing the need for new types of housing in other parts of the neighborhood.”

This updated zoning for Chinatown is informed by the feedback Planning staff heard over the last two years about the cultural identity of Chinatown and how best to preserve it, including Chinatown’s ability to support new immigrants, and to provide affordable housing and commercial spaces. Zoning in the commercial heart of Chinatown will make it easier for small businesses to open and to renovate, as well as continue to allow for much-needed housing in the area. 

In the area of the neighborhood with historic row houses, the zoning will be more restrictive to discourage redevelopment. The zoning also includes new citywide districts for institutional uses, mapped to cover Tufts University and Tufts Medical Center. The rezoning process for Chinatown is part of the larger comprehensive strategy for PLAN: Downtown, which was adopted in September of 2025.

“After an extensive community process, I believe the resulting Chinatown Rezoning will provide better protections for working families and small businesses, particularly in the newly created rowhouse zones and the commercial center of Chinatown,” said Executive Director of the Asian Community Development Corporation Angie Liou. “We look forward to the City implementing the new zoning amendments and holding development proposals to the new zoning.”

For the first time in more than 50 years, Planning advanced comprehensive new zoning for signs in the City of Boston. This new zoning will make the process for small businesses to put up signage more simple by setting clear rules for signs, streamlining the process, and eliminating unnecessary review wait times. Currently, every individual sign in the city must go through a design review process with Planning Department staff, which contributes to significant wait times. These proposed zoning updates will allow most signs to be permitted without review, with the exception of special, larger signs that could have large, visual impacts to the public realm. 

"As someone who is constantly pulling permits for signage all around Boston, the current process is beyond frustrating and a permit can sometimes take months to get," said Owner of CRG Graphics Craig Murphy. "I am excited about the updated zoning and look forward to using the new process. I believe it will resolve many of the issues I have been dealing with as a small business owner."