Chelsea Planning Board backs Fitzpatrick–Prattville Smart Growth overlay, asks one correction

The Chelsea Planning Board voted unanimously to recommend that City Council approve ZA‑26‑02, the proposed Fitzpatrick–Prattville Smart Growth Overlay District, forwarding the zoning amendment with a requested correction to the draft ordinance.

City planning staff and Chelsea Housing Authority officials outlined the overlay, which would allow denser multi‑family and mixed‑use development in the area bounded by Fenno Street, Garfield Avenue, Revere Beach Parkway and the Chelsea–Revere border. The overlay is being pursued under Massachusetts’ 40R/Smart Growth framework to encourage housing near transit while qualifying the city for state incentive payments.

John DePriest, Director of Permitting and Land Use Planning, told the board the ordinance would allow by‑right or limited‑review multifamily and mixed‑use projects subject to plan approval by the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA). DePriest summarized affordability and design requirements: residential developments of 10 or more units must include 20% affordable units (the staff clarification at the hearing identified the trigger as 10 or more units), 10% of three‑bedroom units must be affordable, and affordable units must remain so for a minimum of 30 years. DePriest also said monthly rent limits are set to not exceed 30% of the applicable maximum monthly income, including utilities and parking.

The staff presentation described dimensional and design standards intended to transition height and massing toward the highway, with maximum heights cited at about 90 feet closer to Garfield Avenue and up to 160 feet near the highway with appropriate setbacks. Parking requirements were summarized at roughly 0.5–1.15 spaces per unit. DePriest and the development team discussed bonus incentive payments under the 40R program; staff illustrated an example using development figures that referenced both roughly 23 acres and, later in the presentation, 13 acres for incentive calculations, and estimated incentive payments of about $3,000 per bonus unit (an estimated total of roughly $600,000 was cited in the presentation). The presentation noted the ZBA would serve as the permit approval authority for plan approvals under the 40R requirements.

Paul Nowicki, Executive Director of the Chelsea Housing Authority, described the CHA’s choice of the John M. Corcoran/JJC redevelopment team (the group that worked on Central Avenue) after a consultant‑led RFP and selection process. Nowicki and the developer team emphasized a "resident‑first" relocation approach: the CHA said every legal resident would have a right to return, relocation costs would be paid by the CHA, and in‑place rents for existing residents would remain the same during relocation and under the proposed long‑term ground lease. The redevelopment team described outreach so far (four resident meetings, door‑to‑door outreach to about 300 homes, and a project website at prattchelsea.org) and presented a preliminary schedule that targets relocation beginning around 2028 and potential groundbreaking around 2029, with phased construction possibly taking up to a decade.

Board members asked technical questions about the affordability trigger, the meaning of a referenced 350‑square‑foot figure (staff clarified that figure referred to minimum land area per unit, not unit living area), and which board would perform plan approvals. The development team and CHA representatives reiterated commitments on resident outreach and relocation coordination (Housing Opportunities Unlimited was named as the relocation coordinator).

Before voting, DePriest asked the board to note a drafting error in Section 34‑189‑83A of the proposed ordinance: the figure should read 1.15 (not 0.75). The board moved to recommend approval to City Council with that correction; the motion was seconded and passed by unanimous recorded vote.

The board’s recommendation forwards the Smart Growth overlay to City Council for final action; the ordinance, as framed, would enable redevelopment under 40R rules while requiring affordability, design standards and a plan‑approval process administered by the ZBA. The Planning Board also flagged infrastructure and flood‑plain/drainage concerns for future coordination with the city manager and permitting authorities.