By Adam Swift
The zoning board of appeals took advantage of a light agenda at its July meeting last week to get an update on planning and zoning issues in the city.
The one special permit and variance that was granted was a relatively minor one, allowing for the construction of a first floor landing and stairway at a nonconforming residence on Central Ave.
Three other hearings, including the proposed residential construction at 320 Revere Beach Parkway, were continued to the ZBA’s next meeting on Tuesday, August 11.
Will Ceccio and Adam Roy of the Permitting and Land Use Planning office provided the planning and zoning updates to the board, something they said they will be doing on a regular basis.
The recently adopted zoning amendments that were touched on included the Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) ordinance, the West Chelsea Mixed Use Overlay District, the Fitzpatrick-Prattville Smart Growth Overlay District, and the newly revised inclusionary housing ordinance.
“The accessory dwelling units (ordinance) was adopted in April of this year,” said Roy. “It essentially allows ADUs in all single-family zoning districts. What we did with this ordinance is that the state provided us with minimum guidelines, and we took those guidelines and adopted them to meet the Chelsea context.”
If the ADUs, also known as in-law apartments, meet the requirements in the ordinance in the prescribed districts, they can be built by right.
“ADUs have been permitted that are by right, so they are spurring up in the city,” said Ceccio.
The West Chelsea Mixed Use Overlay District was one of the city’s larger planning initiatives that was spurred by efforts in the West Chelsea area around Market Basket and the commuter rail station over the past several years, according to Roy.
“It is a very large area that was highlighted in our comprehensive planning effort as an area for growth and transformation, especially given its transit accessibility in that area and its lack of residential housing currently,” said Roy. “What we wanted to do in this district is allow for a lot of large-scale, mixed use, transit-oriented development. With that, we wanted to emphasize building form, open space, walkability, and really try to create this area as a new place to go to in Chelsea, allowing these types of developments that would be attractive to bring in Chelsea residents, having that green space and open space in the area, and creates a corridor along Everett Avenue from the transit station to Broadway that is more walkable and pedestrian friendly.”
The Fitzpatrick-Prattville overlay district is similar to the overlay district that led to the Central Avenue Duo project and the reconstruction of Chelsea Housing Authority units there.
The new overlay district will allow for the replacement of the CHA units in the Prattville district, as well as new market rate residential development.
“Paul Nowicki, the director of the Chelsea Housing Authority, (has) talked about how those buildings, those public housing units were built in 1949 and 1951 and essentially haven’t had any significant updates since, so they are in massive need of updating and redevelopment,” said Ceccio.
Roy and Ceccio also touched on the updated inclusionary housing zoning ordinance, which city leaders introduced to help spur development while still maintaining an avenue for developers to build affordable housing units.
Roy and Ceccio also touched on ongoing zoning and planning initiatives, including the Chelsea Pa’Lante master planning process, an affordable housing overlay district, the examination of minimum parking requirements in the city, and green zoning initiatives.
Ultimately, Ceccio said that in the next several years, the city will be looking at a major rewrite of its existing zoning regulations.
“Reforming our zoning is the number one priority,” said Ceccio. “We have a zoning code that does not align with the city’s vision, and it is just extremely outdated and has been updated piecemeal. So we are really taking a step back and looking at this entire zoning code, how can we make something that’s holistic and comprehensive and actually matches the vision that this comprehensive plan is now laying out.”