What’s going on with the Somernova zoning? An update on the Arts & Innovation zoning overlay.
Have you been following the City of Somerville’s Central Somerville Ave. Zoning? Yes? No? Either way, that’s okay! Now is a great time to catch up on all that’s happened.
On behalf of the entire Rafi team, we sincerely appreciate the time, energy, and thoughtful engagement of the community stakeholder partners including Union Square Neighborhood Council, CBA Negotiating Committee, Arts Stays Here, the City of Somerville and all of the various stakeholders that provided their input throughout the process. Your commitment and dedication has been invaluable, and we hope you share our belief that our collective efforts have the potential to create something truly meaningful for Somerville.
Whether you need a refresher, or are just trying to learn about where this process has led so far, check out the breakdown of where we’re at and where we’re headed below:
How It Started
After years of community conversations, in the Fall of 2024, the City of Somerville’s Mayor’s Office of Strategic Planning & Community Development (OSPCD) began examining ways to strengthen Somerville’s most valuable industry clusters: artists/makers and climatetech. OSPCD published the following overview of the area when they announced the intended review the current zoning in the Central Somerville Avenue corridor:
“With the zoning overhaul in 2019, the Fabrication District zoning was created to ensure that older, formerly industrial buildings and spaces (teaming with artists, makers, and climatetech innovators) could avoid being redeveloped into luxury housing or laboratory buildings, allowing our valuable industry clusters to grow. This tool is innovative but isn't perfect and we have learned some lessons since the release of the MAPC Somerville Arts Space Risk Assessment in 2021.
“At sites in the Central Somerville Avenue Area, the climatetech industry is growing fast and may have the unintended consequence of crowding out the artists/maker industry. The owners of the Ames Complex (now known as SomerNova) suggested a solution: rezone their property and surrounding properties to allow bigger and taller buildings that would accommodate growing climatetech firms but also reserve spaces for artists/makers. The owners have been working with community stakeholders over the past few years to try to strike the right balance between business growth, while preserving spaces for artists. We think that the landowners, the neighborhood stakeholders, and the city are close to striking the right balance about the size and scale of new development and are working to do this in a way that also can provide more protection for artists/makers city-wide.
“These are complicated and interwoven issues so these concerns cannot be addressed with one solution.”
From there, the City established a Five-Point Plan to move forward with an analysis of the Central Somerville Avenue’s zoning:
Clarify zoning language addressing arts and office/laboratory uses.
Draft a research & development zoning district for start-ups and incubators.
Update the SomerVision map to accommodate potential redevelopment areas.
Create an Urban Design Framework to guide future development.
Write a zoning overlay district to allow for expansion of the research & development uses.
The City followed through on this plan by hosting a series of public meetings throughout the end of 2024 to garner feedback from the community which shaped the final plans. This was an unprecedented process that was driven by the community and for the community, to better support the local climatetech and artists clusters that live and thrive in Somerville. More information about this process and each of the meetings can be found here, at the City’s Central Somerville Avenue website.
After integrating community feedback and formalizing the updated zoning process, The City of Somerville officially filed the Arts & Innovation Subarea Zoning Overlay District with the City Council on February 13, 2025.
The Here & Now
This brings us to the present. The Arts & Innovation Zoning was referred by the City Council to the Land Use Committee and Planning Board.
As the next step, the Somerville City Council is hosting a joint session between the Land Use Commission and the Planning Board on Thursday, March 20th, at 6:30 PM. Individuals can attend either in-person in the City Council Chambers at 93 Highland Ave., Somerville, or via a virtual Zoom meeting.
Let’s help shape Somerville’s future by supporting artists, makers, and climatetech through smart zoning and sustainable growth!
