Somerville planners push ahead on Schedule A uses and redevelopment study, target shorter building heights

At its June 10 meeting the Somerville Planning Board directed staff to finalize a draft of Schedule A land‑use uses and to prepare a draft area‑need redevelopment study for review next week, moving the effort toward formal notice and adoption steps.

Board members emphasized that flood-related height and design requirements are controlled by the borough's flood-hazard ordinance — a separate, established document — and recommended the Schedule A work should reference that ordinance rather than duplicate flood rules. Staff said the county/state plan recently changed and that references in the draft documents will need updating; Ryan Bakey converted the study to Word to help streamline edits.

The board signaled a policy preference to avoid large, tall buildings: members said most zones will be written for two-and-a-half- or three-story buildings, with a two-and-a-half option retained for sensitive residential corridors such as Franklin Street. The board rejected language that would allow much taller structures (e.g., eight stories) in these zones.

Members agreed to one more week for comments on Schedule A and instructed staff to bring the revised materials to the next meeting. The draft area-need redevelopment study was scheduled to be available to board members by the Friday after the meeting for review before public notice and final action.

The work is part of a broader master-plan update that also includes a historic element, community-facilities inventory and related appendices; the board said it will continue to fold those elements together as staff delivers updated drafts.