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Council approves Union Square arts-and-innovation overlay, backed by neighborhood community benefits agreement
Summary
The council unanimously ordained an overlay zoning amendment for Union Square that the planning department and neighborhood groups negotiated; the overlay is paired with a community benefits agreement and a project labor agreement the developer and neighborhood council negotiated.
The Somerville City Council on Wednesday enrolled and ordained a new "Arts and Innovation" sub-area of the master-planned development overlay district for Union Square and unanimously approved related zoning amendments.
The change (item 25-0131) passed 11-0 after several weeks of hearings in the council's Land Use Committee. Councilors and staff emphasized the overlay's role in keeping decisions about design, height, parking and public benefits under continuing city review rather than locking a single development plan into law.
Councilor Scott, who served on the Land Use Committee during the deliberations, summarized the months-long process and said the ordinance arrived only after…
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