July 2019 News

This month's Somerville YIMBY news features the updated Davis Square Neighborhood Plan, and important progress on Union Square and Clarendon Hill.

Updated Davis Square Neighborhood Plan

The city has released an updated Davis Square Neighborhood Plan, and it's right in line with the goals set forth in the SomerVision community planning process, preserving residential areas and allowing commercial areas to grow more densely. Comments are due on August 16. People will be sure to write to the planning board arguing that any increase in permitted height will cast the square into permanent shadow and that the plan includes too much housing for people and not enough parking for cars. We disagree. Read through the plan and let the planning board know that you support increased height and density in Davis square.

Powder House Boulevard

What are you doing next Wednesday night? If you're free, please join Steering Committee members Laura and Jeff and other community members at a presentation from the city about planning Powder House Boulevard's safety upgrades. The city has been reluctant to do what's necessary to make it safe for people on bikes and on foot, despite a recent fatality. Why? Well, some neighbors are very vocal about having a hard time finding a place to park. Join us to let the city know that people's lives are more important than storage for cars. That's 6:30 PM on Wednesday the 31st at the West Somerville Neighborhood School, 177 Powder House Blvd.

Clarendon Hill

If you're not familiar with it, Clarendon Hill is an older public housing development in Somerville. It's in very rough shape, and the tenants have organized to demand improvements. The redevelopment project, a collaboration between the Somerville Housing Authority, Preservation of Affordable Housing (POAH), Somerville Community Corporation (SCC), and Redgate, stalled last year due to labor issues. This summer, however, the groups have put together a new proposal that very well might balance the needs of tenants and labor rights, while creating a substantial amount of high-quality housing for people of all income levels. Learn more at ClarendonHill.org and keep an eye out for community meetings on the subject, especially if you live in West Somerville.

Union Square

If you've been through Union Square recently, you know it's a construction zone as the city replaces the sewer mains and upgrades the streetscape. That's one enormous project, but it ties in with two others: the

Green Line Extension

and the first buildings going up in the vacant lot at the corner of Somerville Avenue, where the Union Square Station will be. The GLX is still on schedule, and US2 has secured key environmental and planning board approvals to move forward. They have also come to a preliminary community benefits agreement (CBA) with the

Union Square Neighborhood Council

. We can expect that

construction of the first building, which will contain lab and office space

, will begin soon. That business space will bring jobs, tax revenue, and daytime activity into Union Square. Look out for community meetings and further updates on this topic as we move into the fall.