[Massplanners] Mandatory Mixed Use - 3A Zoning Question

[Richard McCarthy]

Chris,



I’m not too familiar with Belmont’s zoning but we are hearing our
escalating inclusionary bylaw is also paying a part in choking mixed use
development. Too many wants to make a project economically feasible.  In
our case pretty much everything is vacant land ground up construction.



I’m hearing they need to get $24.00 per square foot for commercial to make
it feasible.  Still working on validating that number.



Best,



Richard J. McCarthy, Jr.

Town Planner

1 Liberty Lane

Norfolk, MA 02056

508-440-2807

Office Hours- Monday through Thursday 9am to 6pm

Closed Fridays



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*From:* Ryan, Christopher <cryan at belmont-ma.gov>
*Sent:* Tuesday, July 16, 2024 3:25 PM
*To:* Richard McCarthy <rmccarthy at norfolk.ma.us>
*Cc:* Mass Planners <massplanners at masscptc.org>
*Subject:* RE: [EXTERNAL]Mandatory Mixed Use - 3A Zoning Question



Thanks, will do.



One issue has been the assertion that at some point, the market will change
and 3 stories will be feasible again…..maybe, maybe not.



So logically, we zone for a desired outcome, not a market condition. But
who knows if the state might balk at 3 story MMU based on development
feasibility. I wonder if they’ve had the opportunity to evaluate this as
yet.



Chris



*From:* Richard McCarthy <rmccarthy at norfolk.ma.us>
*Sent:* Tuesday, July 16, 2024 2:01 PM
*To:* Ryan, Christopher <cryan at belmont-ma.gov>
*Cc:* Mass Planners <massplanners at masscptc.org>
*Subject:* [EXTERNAL]Mandatory Mixed Use - 3A Zoning Question



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Chris,



It’s a challenging question to answer.  I’m sure you know there are so many
variables in doing mixed use.   We struggle with the same questions here. I
remember 3 years ago when we working on increasing building height from 2 ½
stories to  3 stories people were very concerned.  We have a great mixed
use building in town center that is 2 ½ stories that is fully occupied. We
explained how that project at 2 ½ stories was pretty unique  in that that a
local bank owned the property received site plan approval couldn’t afford
to build a standalone bank. The bank partnered bank with a local developer
to build a mixed use building which they are a tenant with other tenants.



We are tackling this topic again if I have anything I will share.



Please share what you have.



Thanks.



Richard J. McCarthy, Jr.

Town Planner

1 Liberty Lane

Norfolk, MA 02056

508-440-2807

Office Hours- Monday through Thursday 9am to 6pm

Closed Fridays



*As a reminder, please do not reply all to this email. If you have any
questions or comments, email me directly. *



*Please be advised that the Secretary of State has determined that e-mail
sent by or received by municipal employees is a public record.*





*From:* MassPlanners <massplanners-bounces at masscptc.org> *On Behalf Of *Ryan,
Christopher via MassPlanners
*Sent:* Tuesday, July 16, 2024 10:55 AM
*To:* massplanners at masscptc.org
*Subject:* [Massplanners] Mandatory Mixed Use - 3A Zoning Question



Good morning planners



I am having a lot of trouble finding resources to verify an assumption that
mixed use buildings are generally not viable at 3 stories and require at
least 3 stories of residential in addition to the ground floor commercial
to be feasible to develop in the current market. We’ve been counseled on
this by several consultants but have not been able to find any journal
articles, newspaper pieces, memos, white papers, or anything else that
definitively provides evidence for this.



Since we are seeking to establish a mandatory mixed use zoning subdistrict
in Belmont, we’d like to be able to provide information to our citizens who
are skeptical about this assumption and would rather we limit MMU to 3
stories total. Does anyone have information which could help us with our
outreach for this provision?



Thanks in advance,



Chris R.



====================================================

*Christopher J. Ryan, AICP, Ph.D.*

Director of Planning & Building

Town of Belmont

19 Moore Street

Belmont, MA 02478-0900

Tel: 617.993.2658

Email: cryan at belmont-ma.gov

Web: https://www.belmont-ma.gov/office-of-planning-building

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