Planning staff present four Gilman Square upzoning scenarios; administration urges broader engagement on displacement risks

Planning staff presented four conceptual zoning scenarios for Gilman Square intended to prompt public discussion, not to present a formal plan. Samantha Carr, a city land-use analyst, described variants that progressively expand mid-rise (MR6) zoning along Medford and Pearl streets and add urban-residential (UR) upzoning on adjacent corridors; one scenario extends UR changes toward the Broadway corridor.

Staff said the maps were developed to test how incremental upzoning could increase housing production within a quarter-mile transit walk-shed of the Gilman Square station while preserving a Small Business District overlay in the core to protect retail diversity. Carr said the scenarios were intentionally illustrative and urged further neighborhood engagement before any formal proposal.

Carr also presented a fiscal-impact snapshot modeling three consolidated neighborhood-residential lots redeveloped as a 30-unit urban-residential apartment building. That example estimated a net municipal revenue gain of roughly $25,000$28,000 annually and a small increase in school enrollment (one to two students), using neighborhood-calibrated land valuations and recent permitting data.

During discussion the mayors office raised concerns about displacement risk and urged a comprehensive engagement program beyond neighborhood councils to reach potentially affected renters. Legislative liaison Yasmin Urdasy said the Office of Housing Stability flagged general displacement concerns with upzoning and recommended broader outreach. Councilors said they supported continuing the conversation and stressed the need to balance housing production with anti-displacement measures; they asked staff to bring the assessors office to a future meeting to address questions about property-tax impacts if parcels remain undeveloped after upzoning.