Frequently Asked Questions
Zoning Terms
Frequently Asked Questions: Union Square Neighbors Zoning Petition, April 2007
1. What are the key differences between the Union Square Neighbors (USN) petition and the October 2006 City petition?
Height: The USN petition allows the tallest buildings to be 5 stories/60 feet tall on the west side of Prospect, 6 stories/70 feet tall on the east side. This keeps the heights in scale with Union Square and the surrounding neighborhood. The City petition allows buildings to be 10 stories/120 feet tall.
Setbacks: The City petition allows new contruction adjacent to the residential districts to be built without a setback, and with a height setback - both of which are required in other PUDs in the city. The USN petition allows an FAR of 3.5 within 100 feet of the main streets, 3.0 beyond 100 feet, reducing the incentive to overbuild adjacent to residential neighborhoods.
2. Will developers build new buildings at a 60-70 foot height?
A. Yes, developers have built new buildings at these heights throughout the Boston area and the US, for residential, office, rearch & development (R&D) and mixed use retail.
Some local examples:
Residential: Cronin’s Landing - Waltham - 50-70 feet tall
Residential: Holmes Trust Buiding, Central Square - 65 feet
Office/R&D: Millenium Pharmaceuticals, Univeristy Park, Cambridge - 70 feet
3. Will this provide enough density for Union Square to be considered for the Green Line extension?
A. Yes, at its current density, Union Square, as with almost all of Somerville’s retail and residentail areas, is more dense than most of the current transit areas in the MBTA system outside of downtown Boston. At the densities proposed in the Union Square Neighbors zoning petition, 3.0-4.0, the density will more than match the state’s suggested density for Transit Oriented Development.
4. Wouldn’t the City make more money selling its property if taller heights were allowed?
A. Probably, but not necessarily. The short term extra income from a site with a tower may ultimately be lower when compared with the overall long term gain from establishing an extension of the existing commercial and residential fabric. Such new development would strengthen the existing commercial and residential areas rather than sacrificing the established areas for the short term gain of the new construction.
Union Square Neighbors: Zoning Terms
What is FAR?
FAR stands for Floor Area Ratio. This determines how much building can go on a piece of land. An FAR of 1.0 would allow an amount of building equal to a single layer of building covering an entire piece of land.
What does a density FAR of 3.0 look like?
It depends a lot on the allowed height. If you imagine a piece of land with layers of building (like a layer cake) - a 3.0 FAR would be 3 layers (floors) covering the entire site. It could also be that same amount of building influence the look of density include required open space and setbacks. Many of the densest developments in Boston, Somerville and Cambridge range between 3.0 and 4.0 FAR, and have buildings on the site that range from 40 feet tall to 200 feet tall.
What is a setback?
It is the distance a building must be set back from their neighbors lot line. Current PUD regulations require setbacks from the residential RA and RB districts of 30 feet. The USN petition maintains that setback for the PUD-C and C-1 districts when adjancent to the RA and RB districts.
What is a PUD?
PUD stands for Planned Unit Development. It is a zoning technique intended to allow for reasonable flexibility when a zoning different uses (e.g. housing in one area, office in another area); different portions may best be developed over time; required open space would better serve the site and the public if massed in one area of the site; PUDs generally are allowed on sites of a minimum size to justify the extra flexibility. They generally require a Special Permit, and are subject to an extensive set of design criteria for the project as a whole, the site planning and the buildings.