Ominous silence at the Planning Board

Over the past few months, the Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals have canceled several meetings for lack of anything to discuss. That’s an ominous signal that the pipeline of new construction projects is drying up in the face of high interest rates, even as the price of housing continues to rise.

The Planning Board and the Land Use Committee do have a joint meeting coming up on May 2, but it’s not about a proposal to build new housing. Instead, it’s to discuss removing the density bonus for net-zero buildings. This change request is coming from the mayor, and is apparently the result of updates to the state building code. We are seriously concerned about the loss of an incentive that makes it possible for people to build green buildings, or indeed any buildings at all. If the current incentives do need to change, we hope that they can be improved rather than eliminated. We’ll be there, and report back on what happens.

Also on May 2, the city will begin hosting “Slice of the City” meetings. These are casual pizza parties where you can chat with city officials and have a slice. They’ll be hosting one per ward, and the first will be at the Healey School. Learn more at somervillema.gov/slice.

Other events:

Somerville YIMBY Social: join us at Remnant Brewing in Bow Market for a snack and/or beverage. Friday, May 3, 6-8 pm, in-person.

Jane’s Walk: The Somerville Museum will conduct a historical tour of Duck Village in honor of the late urbanist Jane Jacobs. Saturday, May 4, 10-12:30 am, starting at Perry Park, 355 Washington St.

Somerville YIMBY General Meeting: Our monthly “business” meeting to discuss strategies and outreach. Find the agenda and pre-meeting discussion thread on our messageboard. Wednesday, May 8, 6-7 pm, online via Zoom.

Joint Book Club with A Better Cambridge

Somerville YIMBY and A Better Cambridge will be reading the same book this spring: A Paradise of Small Houses: The Evolution, Devolution, and Potential Rebirth of Urban Housing. We’ll plan to meet in person in late June to discuss. As always, if purchasing this book would be a hardship, drop a line to [email protected] and we’ll hook you up

Recommended Reading

• A lovely Boston Globe editorial on accessory dwelling units (ADUs), aka mother-in-law suites or backyard cottages.

• Housing Policy is (Still) Climate Policy, from California YIMBY, highlights how we can help the climate by building more housing in the right places.