Following are links to a selection of current planning and regulatory activities affecting Somerville.
HUD Action Plan |
Summary: Plan for using HUD Community Development Block Grants (CDBG), HOME Investment Partnership grants, and Emergency Shelter Grants (ESG).
Time Frame: 1-5 years
Schedule:
- (2/24/10) Draft Consolidated Plan and 1 Year Action Plan Due for Public Review.
- (2/25/10) Requests for Proposals available 8:30 AM at Purchasing Dept. CDBG Program: Bid #10-50 CD, Emergency Shelter: Bid #10-51 CD.
- (3/24/10) Proposals due 11:00 AM.
- (4/1/10) Public Hearing on Action Plan scheduled.
- (4/6/10) Submission to BOA.
- ( 5/14/10) Submission to HUD.
Status:
- (2/18/10) Public hearing held. Schedule for plans, hearings, and RFP proposals set.
- (2/9/10) Scheduled 2/18/10 Public Hearing on use of HUD funds.
- In middle of 2010-2013 Five Year Consolidated Plan
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Monitor: Use of funds for:
- Affordable housing projects:
- (2/18/10) St. Plycarp Rental Phase 1: Low income housing (done 6/09).
- (2/18/10) Proposed St. Polycarp Village Phase 2: Low and medium income housing.
- (2/18/10) Capen Court: Senior housing (due 5/2010).
- Shelter for formerly homeless:
- (2/18/10) 280 Broadway: Proposed Housing for formerly homeless.
- (2/18/10) 75 Cross Street: Housing for formerly homeless.
- Transit-oriented Economic and Community Development:
- (2/18/10) Possible use of HUD funds to sponsor community organizations for each new T-stop.
- (2/18/10) Unspecific on possibility of doing economic development plans for each T-stop.
- Parks and Open Space
- Albion Park (done 12/09)
- Grimmons Park (done 12/09)
- Hodgkins Park (construction)
- New Washington Off Leash Area (construction
- Morse-Kelly Park (design)
- Dickerman Park (design)
- North Street Park (design)
- Quincy Street Park (design)
- East Somerville
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Background:
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Risks:
- Ineffective use of funds.
- Overconstrained inventiveness.
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Mitigation:
- Become familiar with existing plans.
- Testify at public meeting.
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Infrastructure Investment Incentive (I-Cubed) Program |
Summary: State provides bond financing of up to $50 million for public infrastructure, paid back through net new State tax revenues.
Time Frame: 30 years
Status: Preliminary economic development proposal evaluated by state agency and independent state-hired consultant. Next steps:
- (1/1/10) Second head house excluded from iCubed funding by Mayor Curtatone. Other funding sought. Meeting to come 1/6/10 on second head house.
- Aldermen White and Gewirtz (10/15/09) ordered Office of Strategic Planning to investigate feasibility of using iCubed funds for 2nd head house.
- City to vote 10/22/09 on economic development proposal, creating liquidity reserve, and acquiring property for the infrastructure.
- City has received permanent easement to roadways to be built using iCubed funds (to be submitted 9/24/09, BOA action 10/8/09.
- Submittal of final Economic Development Plan and Infrastructure Development Assistance Agreement (IDAA) (10/8/09)
- Continued Public Hearing (10/14/09)
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Monitor:
- Successful submittal of EDP and IDAA.
- Use of funds for transit, particularly to support the 2nd head house at the Assembly Square T-Stop.
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Background: The Assembly Square infrastructure project is the first use of this program. State believes that IKEA alone will bring in enough out-of-state business to provide enough net new state tax revenues to cover debt service for the first part, and that planned mixed-use developments will provide enough for the second part.
Part of the Mystic View Task Force settlement was that the developers should contribute $15 million toward the Assembly Square Orange Line T-Stop. The first part of the iCubed financing is intended to apply to the area adjacent to the Orange Line, including funding for access to Draw 7 Park. |
Risks:
- City of Somerville is essentially cosigning on the bonds. If the development falls through, the City pays.
- Funding could be used only for roadways. Part of funding should be applied toward transit, particularly to fund the 2nd (IKEA) head house at the Assembly Square T-Stop.
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Mitigation:
- Developer is supplying a Liquidity Reserve letter of credit covering about 18 months of debt service.
- Push for using the $15 million promised in the MVTF settlement to fund the 2nd head house at the Assembly Square T-Stop.
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Lower Mystic River Corridor Strategy Project |
Summary: A planning project to improve the lower Mystic. The study area includes portion of the Malden River, the Island End River in Everett and Chelsea, the Chelsea River, and Mill Creek.
Time Frame: 5-20 years
Status: Seeking public input. |
Monitor: Somerville's interests in the Mystic and Alewife Brook, particularly the Assembly Square project, need to be protected. |
Background: Somerville has two relevant rivers, the Mystic and Alewife Brook. Both have been long neglected and are heavily polluted. The Mystic is the key waterway next to the Assembly Square district, a key development parcel in East Somerville.
Several years ago MVTF worked with the Somerville state delegation to fund a planning study of the lower Mystic. This includes Alewife Brook, a tributary of the Mystic.
See Metropolitan Planning Council. |
Risks: Continued neglect of the Mystic and Alewife Brook. |
| Mitigation: Monitor and participate. |
MBTA Budgeting Process |
Summary: As part of its current budgeting process, the MBTA is trying to make up for a shortfall in revenue.
Time Frame: Phased in over the rest of FY 2009.
Status: Public workshops leading up to hearing in October. |
Monitor:
- Amount of service cuts and fare increases for T riders.
- Amount of service cuts and fare increases for commuter rail riders.
- Amount of toll increase for drivers.
- Effect on existing Somerville service.
- Effect on Assembly Square T-Stop and Green Line Extension
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Background:
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Risks: Service cuts and far increase for T riders, but no increase for commuter rail riders or tollway drivers. Environmental justice issue. |
| Mitigation: Attend meeting and ask for parallel increases in commuter rail fares and tolls and parallel cuts in service. |
MPO Transportation Improvement Plan Process |
Summary: The Boston Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) does a Transportation Improvement Plan (TIP) every year describing projects for the next 3 years.
Time Frame: The TIP has been submitted to the Federal government.
Status:
- (1/1/10) Expedited 2-week review of 2010-2013 TIP amendment ends 1/5/10. Public meeting 1/7/10. No apparent affect on Somerville projects.
- (8/25/09) 2010-2013 TIP now out for 30-day public comment period ending Tues. Sep. 22. Currently the Assembly Square Orange Line Stop and the Green Line Extension are both scheduled to be finished in 2014. The original Green Line Extension schedule had it finished in 2011.
Funding: (1/1/10) 2010-2013 TIP now contains the following Somerville-related projects:
- Assembly Square Access Improvements $15,000,000
- Reconstruction of Washington St $1,750,000
- I-93 Mystic Avenue Interchange Study $448,750
- Union Square Improvements Study $92,451
- Assembly Square Multimodal Access Improvements Construction $6,259,219
- Improvements to Broadway in Somerville Construction $2,484,748
- Green Line Extension Project $48,600,000
- Green Line Lechmere Station Relocation $1,000,000
- Red Line-Blue Line Connector Design $6,000,000
- Assembly Square Access Improvements (iCubed program) $13,000,00
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Monitor:
- Make sure the Green Line and Assembly Square transit projects remain in the list of 2010-2013 TIP projects.
- Make sure that the state holds to the 2014 schedule. The Green Line Extension has already been delayed by 3 years.
- (7/31/09) The Green Line Extension and the Assembly Square Orange Line T-Stop weren't in the 2007-2010 TIP.
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Current Documents:
Background:
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Risks:
- So many Somerville projects are in the TIP right now that the western suburbs are starting to feel left out.
- If the Green Line Extension to Somerville and the Assembly Square Orange Line T-Stop don't remain in the MPO 2010-2013 TIP, they won't be built.
- In the past, the state has attempted to claim that other transit projects, such as the Greenbush Line to the South Shore, provided adequate mitigation for the degradation of Somerville air quality caused by the I-93 traffic increases of the Big Dig. Because health effects are local, this argument is specious and has been rejected by the courts.
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| Mitigation: Write comments and testify orally to indicate commitment to building the Green Line Extension and the Assembly Square Orange Line T-Stop by 2014. |
Somerville Comprehensive Plan Process |
Summary: Comprehensive development plan being developed by Somerville Strategic Planning Office.
Time Frame: 10-30 years
Status:
- (4/18/10) Vision statement finalized. Goals being fleshed out.
- Public visioning meetings to finish January 5 2010. Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee meetings to resume January 12.
- Status review meetings held Sept and Oct. 2009. Public visioning meetings scheduled for Dec. 2009.
- Kickoff meeting held 9/15/09. Issues subcommittees being formed.
- Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee formed and Fall -2009 meetings scheduled.
- Ongoing meetings presenting research and asking for citizen input.
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Monitor:
- Balance between tax base and integrity of neighborhoods.
- Development proposals assumed by plan.
- Demographic and trend assumptions.
- Orange Line T-Stop at Assembly Square
- Green Line Extension through Somerville
- Assembly Square Development
- Boynton Yards/Brickbottom Development
- Broadway Redevelopment Project
- Union Square Development
- Somerville Avenue Development
- Health issues along I-93 and McGrath from VOCs.
- Health issues along diesel commuter rail lines from VOCs.
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Background:
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Risks:
- Ignoring demographic changes.
- Ignoring environmental justice issues.
- Short-term, opportunistic thinking.
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Mitigation:
- Attend meetings and make sure assumptions are clear.
- Make sure direction is transit-oriented.
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Somerville Parking Rate Increase |
Summary: The city of Somerville is extending resident-only parking throughout Somerville and increasing meter rates and time periods.
Time Frame: 1-6 months
Status: Decision made; rollout begun. |
Monitor:
- Expanding residents' only parking to all of Somerville.
- Increasing metered parking rates to $1/hr.
- Adding "second shift" permits.
- Parking in new developments.
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Background:
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Risks:
- May unfairly impact Somerville homeowners lacking driveways.
- May unfairly impact people doing deliveries and home repairs.
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| Mitigation: Attend meetings and advocate for allowing people doing home repairs to park all day. |
Somerville ResiStat Program |
Summary: City program to allow online interaction of Somerville residents with each other and with the city regarding civic affairs.
Time Frame: Ongoing
Status:
- (1/1/10): 2009 meetings completed. ResiStat Report due.
- Fall 2009 Meetings begun.
- Calendar Created
- Ward and Group Meetings Begun
- 2008 Resistat Report Issued
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Monitor:
- Quality of data provided
- Responsiveness of city government to citizen participation
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Background:
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Risks:
- Data inaccurate or skewed
- Citizen participation ignored.
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Mitigation: Participate and critique. |
State Air Quality Standards |
Summary: Currently the state ambient air quality standards are misaligned with the national standards for lead, ozone, and particulates.
Time Frame: 1-2 years
Status: Amendments being reviewed. |
Monitor:
- Ozone and fine particle levels near sources such as busy highways
- Definition of fine particle versus ultrafine particles.
- Health effects of ozone and fine particles.
Comment deadline is August 18, 2009. |
Background:
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Risks:
- Standards may continue to mask local "hot spot" effects, where most health problems occur, with regional measurements.
- Standards may not adequately address local air quality issues involving fine particulates, which are particularly damaging to health.
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| Mitigation: Advocate for local measurement and mitigation and for regulation of fine particulates. |
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