A trolley on the MBTA's Mattapan Line rolls down tracks in Milton. Photo by Derek Yu | CC BY-SA 2.0
The number of towns and cities required to have transit-oriented zoning in place by Dec. 31 just ticked up by one: Milton.
Milton town meeting members overwhelmingly passed the two packages of changes Monday night, 158-76 and 192-28, to comply with the state MBTA Communities zoning reform law.
The changes rezone an office building, a state-owned parking lot and an American Legion hall near the intersection of Granite Avenue and the Southeast Expressway close to the Quincy city line, plus several parcels near the MBTA Mattapan Line trolley’s terminus and near its station at Dorchester Lower Mills for buildings between 4.5 stories and 6 stories and floor area ratios between 1.1 and 1.
The changes also rezoned the East Milton retail village for 2.5-story residential buildings pending the completion of an ongoing planning process that will allow greater density, but only under a special permit process, Milton Planning Director Tim Czerwienski told town meeting members Monday.
“We think it will present a more attractive redevelopment opportunity for property owners in that district, and we have the opportunity to require mixed-use under that zoning,” he said. “We’re protecting both business districts and ensuring the most possible commercial use in our business districts.”
In addition, numerous single-family homes along Milton’s Elliot Street, which parallels the Mattapan Line were rezoned to allow up to three residential units per property. Homes along Blue Hills Parkway, which extends south from Boston’s Mattapan Square, were also upzoned slightly to allow for small multifamily buildings up to 2.5 stories tall.
In all cases, the zoning changes cap parking requirements at between one and 1.5 spaces per unit, and allow for less parking in order to encourage transit ridership.
In total, the town’s zoning package would allow for 2,586 multifamily units, around 125 more than would be required under the state MBTA Communities law.
Opponents Monday night continued to try and attack the town’s designation as a community with “rapid transit” service requiring Milton to zone for a much higher level of multifamily development. But their criticisms of the level of service on the Mattapan Line appeared to have little effect on their peers in Town Meeting over six hours of debate spread across two nights. However, opponents may not be finished. The Boston Globe reports that at least one town meeting member declared their intent to force a referendum on the zoning changes, which would require nearly 1,100 signatures gathered over the next eight days.
Milton’s vote came the night before the Healey administration fêted officials from Salem and Lexington, the first two communities to have their MBTA Communities zoning certified by the state. Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll hosted a celebration at the Brix condominium in Salem’s downtown Tuesday. The building was a joint venture of developers Urban Spaces and Diamond Sinacori
“Our administration stands ready to support MBTA communities as they work with us to reduce the cost of housing in Massachusetts,” Driscoll said in a statement. “As the former mayor of Salem, I’m particularly proud of my community’s leadership and grateful to make this announcement at BRIX Condominiums, a prime example of the type of mixed-use development near public transportation that this law will create. The work we are doing together will provide more opportunities for individuals and families to find affordable places to call home in Massachusetts. We all benefit when we come together to build more housing.”
