Last night Medford residents gathered at city hall to hear about the plans regarding the updates for zoning. The evening started off ominously with technical delays with zoom. The actual meeting which was supposed to begin at 6:30pm didn’t kick off until 7:00pm.
In attendance were city council hopefuls – Patrick Clerkin, Page Buldini, Melanie Tringali, Nick Giurleo, Paul Donato Jr and Nate Merritt. Rough count shows nearly 100 people physically in attendance. There were no rough numbers regarding zoom attendees.
The meeting was symbolic of the entire process, meaning it was very rushed. While planning has been going on since April of last year, one of the challenges is around communications. Residents only recently received their quarterly tax bill along with an increase to their current rate. Included with this tax bill was a piece of paper referring residents to the zoning section on the city’s website – https://www.medfordma.org/departments/planning-development-sustainability/zoning
When the meeting did proceed, it was clear from the outset, everyone was in agreement, the time line and proposed changes to the zoning ordinance is happening much too quickly to allow for proper implementation. Members of the Community Development Board to the Mayor to the residents in attendance stated their concerns with the speed for which this process was moving along.
Among the common questions were, what are the actual benefits the residents will see? On the surface, this looks to be a money generating effort, while benefitting the city overall, has a very heavy cost. The residents will not see a break on their tax bill. Most importantly and this cannot be understated, this development may not result in actual affordable housing. More does not equal affordability. The current infrastructure is not in place (sewer and water lines) to handle the increase in development, however the city cannot realize the full impact until a complete report and studies are in place.
You can read as much about this project by checking out the city’s website. However, with something as important as this change is, you owe it to yourself to be present at these meetings, however note, the time for public comment and voicing your concerns is closing rapidly. At minimum reach out to your representatives, reach out to the mayor and ask these questions. We will post the video of last night’s event as it becomes available.
The agenda for last nights event can also be found at the link below
https://www.medfordma.org/departments/planning-development-sustainability/zoning
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