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Medford mayor urges pause on zoning changes, ties contract extension to public engagement
Summary
Mayor Brianna Lungo Kern said she will not sign an extension to the Innis Group contract, which expired 06/30/2025, until public‑engagement concerns are addressed and urged the council to slow zoning changes and revisit the Salem Street proposal.
Medford Mayor Brianna Lungo Kern said Tuesday she will withhold signing an extension to the city’s contract with the Innis Group until she and council leadership resolve outstanding concerns about public engagement and proposed zoning changes. "That expired on 06/30/2025," she said of the Innis Group agreement.
Kern made the remarks in a public response to a recent statement by "President Bair," thanking him for recognizing that the zoning process "needs to be slowed down." She said the issue has caused "serious stress" for residents and neighborhoods and that she has been "actively engaged," including working with communications staff to explain the changes.
The mayor warned she has limited formal power over zoning votes, saying, "I had no say in the zoning necessarily because there was this block of 6 that we're gonna vote for it," and that a veto could be overruled. Kern said her available leverage is the mayoral role in signing contracts.
Kern identified several areas she wants the council to reconsider, including the Salem Street proposal, which she said the city planning board recommended and the council should accept. She raised specific density concerns for redevelopment corridors, citing proposals of "14 stories on Mystic Ave" and "9 stories in West Medford," and named Hillside, Tufts and High Street as other corridors that need review.
While saying the city "needs to rezone" and add affordable housing, Kern stressed that changes "need to be reasonable" and must account for infrastructure capacity in policing, fire, public works and schools before approval. She said she will meet with President Beers to work through the items she has flagged and "request that the council revisit the Salem Street proposal."
Kern also said she wants to be involved in the public‑engagement provisions of any contract extension with the Innis Group. She closed by noting past collaboration with councilors and urging officials to work together "for what is best for the community, as a whole."
