Petition To FIX Union Square Redevelopment Plans Before Project Proceeds
We submitted the petition on May 24, but you can still sign on below!
Union Square is about to undergo a once-in-a-lifetime transformation, but key community priorities have been left out of the plans. You can help!
The Mayor, Board of Aldermen, and the members of the Somerville Redevelopment Authority are on the cusp of moving forward with redevelopment plan framework (including a new Union Square zoning ordinance, a Master Land Disposition Agreement (MLDA), and a Development Covenant Agreement), all of which will affect the quality of life and public benefits for Union Square residents and business owners for the next 30 years. Key community priorities have been left out of the documents. Therefore:
We, the undersigned, share the concerns articulated by Union Square Neighbors in a letter dated April 24, 2017 and hereby petition the Mayor, Board of Aldermen, and Somerville Redevelopment Authority to amend the proposed Union Square zoning proposal, Master Land Disposition Agreement, and Development Covenant Agreement to address the following community priorities:
Commercial Development
Open Space
Building Heights
Indoor Civic Space
Family Sized Housing
Off-Site Affordable Housing
Homeownership Opportunities
Parking
Union Square is about to undergo a once-in-a-lifetime transformation, but key community priorities have been left out of the plans. You can help!
The Mayor, Board of Aldermen, and the members of the Somerville Redevelopment Authority are on the cusp of moving forward with redevelopment plan framework (including a new Union Square zoning ordinance, a Master Land Disposition Agreement (MLDA), and a Development Covenant Agreement), all of which will affect the quality of life and public benefits for Union Square residents and business owners for the next 30 years. Key community priorities have been left out of the documents. Therefore:
We, the undersigned, share the concerns articulated by Union Square Neighbors in a letter dated April 24, 2017 and hereby petition the Mayor, Board of Aldermen, and Somerville Redevelopment Authority to amend the proposed Union Square zoning proposal, Master Land Disposition Agreement, and Development Covenant Agreement to address the following community priorities:
Commercial Development
- Amend the zoning ordinance proposal, the Covenant Agreement, and/or the MLDA to enforce the phasing of commercial and residential land use mix and development.
Open Space
- Require that the size of the Neighborhood Park required under the Coordinated Development Special Permit be at least 1.5 acres.
- Require public ownership of new civic space on publicly owned land.
Building Heights
- Amend the zoning ordinance proposal to set a maximum height for building stories above ground level that would result in an overall height limit of 80-85 feet on the D6 parcel (land on the south side of Somerville Avenue in the heart of Union Square.)
Indoor Civic Space
- Amend the Covenant Agreement and/or MLDA to include a provision that requires inclusion of an indoor, publicly accessible, flexibly programmed civic indoor space(s) that totals at least 25,000 square feet, of which at least 10,000 square feet shall be a multi-functional gymnasium/recreation room.
Family Sized Housing
- Amend the zoning ordinance proposal to increase the percentage of affordable housing units that must be at least three bedrooms from at least 10% to at least 20%; and require that at least 40% of affordable housing units must have two bedrooms.
- Amend the Covenant Agreement to require that 10% of market rate housing units must have three or more bedrooms and 30% of market rate units must have two bedrooms.
Off-Site Affordable Housing
- Amend the zoning ordinance proposal to state that market rate units within the Union Square Overlay District cannot receive their Certificate of Occupancy until all inclusionary units, whether provided on-site or off-site, receive their Certificate of Occupancy.
Homeownership Opportunities
- Amend the Covenant Agreement between the City of Somerville and US2 to require that not less that 20% of all new units created on the development blocks be offered for sale instead of rented as apartments.
Parking
- Amend zoning ordinance proposal by requiring that any increase in the 1,500 cap on the number of Union Square Overlay District parking spaces require a special permit and be granted only if a Transportation Management Agency (TMA) has been constituted and determines that the only recourse for addressing the unmet needs for parking is to create more parking.
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