Proposed Zoning Ordinance

Upcoming Public Meeting Schedule:

• October 1, 2019: City Council Land Use Committee Meeting
• October 3, 2019: Planning Board Meeting

This newest version (August 2019) of the proposed Official Somerville Zoning Atlas was created through extensive collaboration with the Ward Representatives of the Somerville City Council to appropriately implement the objectives of SomerVision, the City of Somerville’s comprehensive Master Plan, within each of the City’s

Public Hearings/Meetings
09/19/2019 – Joint Hearing, City Council Land Use Committee & Somerville Planning Board Proposed New SZO v4 (Review presentation of changes from v3) Video of the Joint Hearing
August 2019 v4 Submittal
Official Somerville Zoning Atlas All Articles (Large File) Article 1 – Introductory Provisions Article 2 – Glossary & Overview  __Standards & Measurements Article 3 – Residential Districts __3.1 – Neighborhood Residential __3.2 – Urban Residential Article 4 – Mid-Rise Districts     4.1 – Mid-Ride 3 __4.2 – Mid-Rise 4 __4.3 – Mid-Rise 5 __4.4 – Mid-Rise 6 Article 5 – High-Rise Districts Article 6 – Commercial Districts  __6.1 – Fabrication __6.2 – Commercial Core __6.3 – Commercial Industry __6.4 – Commercial Business Article 7 – Special Districts Article 8 – Overlay Districts Article 9 – Use Provisions Article 10 – Development Standards Article 11 – Parking & Mobility Article 12 – Development Benefits Article 13 – Public Realm Article 14 – Nonconformance Article 15 – Administration
Change Log
08/22/2019 – August 2019 submittal released (v4) 09/27/2018 – September 2018 submittal released (v3) 02/01/2018 – Article 6 & Article 11 updated (v2) 01/09/2018 – January 2018 submittal released (v2) 11/05/2017 – 2nd Discussion Draft released (v1.1) 06/24/2017 – Partial version of Article 12 released (v1) 06/21/2017 – 1st Discussion Draft released (v1)
Previous Presentations (Archive Only)
05/19/2019 – Affordable Housing 04/30/2019 – Parking 04/22/2019 – Open Space 04/02/2019 – NR, UR, Nonconformance 03/19/2019 – Open Space 03/12/2019 – Open Space, Tree Protection, Zoning Overhaul 01/15/2019 – v3 Update 12/04/2018 – Proposed Open Space Amendment 10/16/2018 – Proposed New SZO v3 Overview 05/23/2018 – NR District & Parking 05/15/2018 – NR District 02/13/2018 – Proposed New SZO v2 Overview 01/31/2018 – SZO v2 Document Review
Previous Code Versions (Archive Only)
Draft Ordinance v3, January 2019
Zoning Atlas (out of date) Pedestrian Streets Atlas  (out of date) Transit Areas Atlas (out of date) Article 1 – Introductory Provisions (out of date) Article 2 – Overview & Guide  (out of date) Article 3 – Residential Districts (out of date) Article 4 – Mid-Rise Districts (out of date) Article 5 – High-Rise Districts (out of date) Article 6 – Commercial Districts (out of date) Article 7 – Special Districts (out of date) Article 8 – Overlay Districts (out of date) Article 9 – Use Provisions (out of date) Article 10 – Development Standards (out of date) Article 11 – Parking & Mobility (out of date) Article 12 – Development Benefits (out of date) Article 13 – Public Realm (out of date) Article 14 – Nonconformance (out of date) Article 15 – Administration (out of date) Article 16 – Definitions  (out of date)
Draft Ordinance v2, January 2018
Zoning Atlas 02/14/2018 (out of date) Pedestrian Streets Atlas  01/09/2018 (out of date) Transit Areas Atlas 01/09/2018 (out of date) Article 1 – Introductory Provisions 01/09/2018 (out of date) Article 2 – Overview & Guide 01/09/2018 (out of date) Article 3 – Residential Districts 01/09/2018 (out of date) Article 4 – Mid-Rise Districts 01/09/2018 (out of date) Article 5 – High-Rise Districts 01/09/2018 (out of date) Article 6 – Commercial Districts 02/01/2018 (out of date) Article 7 – Special Districts 01/09/2018 (out of date) Article 8 – Overlay Districts 01/09/2018 (out of date) Article 9 – Use Provisions 01/09/2018 (out of date) Article 10 – Site Development 02/01/2018 (out of date) Article 11 – Parking & Mobility 01/09/2018 (out of date) Article 12 – Development Benefits 01/09/2018 (out of date) Article 13 – Public Realm 01/09/2018 (out of date) Article 14 – Nonconformance 01/09/2018 (out of date) Article 15 – Administration 01/09/2018 (out of date) Article 16 – Definitions 01/09/2018 (out of date)
2nd Discussion Draft, November 2017
Zoning Atlas 06/21/2017 (out of date) Article 1 – Introductory Provisions 11/05/2017 (out of date) Article 2 – Overview & Guide 11/05/2017 (out of date) Article 3 – Residential Districts 11/05/2017 (out of date) Article 4 – Mid-Rise Districts 11/05/2017 (out of date) Article 5 – High-Rise Districts 11/05/2017 (out of date) Article 6 – Commercial Districts 11/05/2017 (out of date) Article 7 – Special Districts 11/05/2017 (out of date) Article 8 – Overlay Districts 11/05/2017 (out of date) Article 9 – Use Provisions 11/05/2017 (out of date) Article 10 – Site Development 11/05/2017 (out of date) Article 11 – Public Realm 11/05/2017 (out of date) Article 12 – Parking & Mobility 11/05/2017 (out of date) Article 13 – Development Benefits 11/05/2017 (out of date) Article 14 – Nonconformance 11/05/2017 (out of date) Article 15 – Administration 11/05/2017 (out of date) Article 16 – Definitions 11/05/2017 (out of date)
1st Discussion Draft, June 2017
Article 1 – Introductory Provisions 06/21/2017 (out of date) Article 2 – Overview & Guide  06/22/2017 (out of date) Article 3 – Residential Districts 06/21/2017 (out of date) Article 4 – Mid-Rise Districts 06/21/2017 (out of date) Article 5 – High-Rise Districts 06/21/2017 (out of date) Article 6 – Commercial Districts 06/21/2017 (out of date) Article 9 – Use Provisions 06/21/2017 (out of date) Article 10 – Site Development 06/21/2017 (out of date) Article 12 – Parking & Mobility 06/24/2017 (out of date) Article 13 – Development Benefits 06/21/2017 (out of date) Article 14 – Nonconformance 06/21/2017 (out of date) Article 15 – Administration 06/21/2017 (out of date) Article 16 – Definitions 06/21/2017 (out of date)