Arguments Against Planned Business District
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This page lists arguments made against the proposed change to the Newton zoning ordinance to create a Planned Business District. This list is a compilation. No one person or organization has endorsed all the arguments. In fact, some of the arguments may be contradictory.
No transit requirement
A developer could add over a million square feet of commercial property and hundreds of residential units without any requirement for locating on (not near) mass transit or providing a robust connection to mass transit.
Newton already has Planned Business Districts. They are called villages, each of which would be more appropriate for development because they have Green Line or commuter rail stations.
Chestnut Hill Square will have a stop for the Route 60 bus and run a shuttle a few times a day to the Chestnut Hill T station. This hardly constitutes a meaningful connection to the mass transit infrastructure.
Development need not be limited to areas already well-served by mass transit. A developer could propose and help fund a meaningful addition to the mass transit options. Chestnut Hill Square sits on the woefully underserved Route 9 corridor. It needs bus rapid transit or some other mass transit solution. Chestnut Hill Square could be the catalyst for a meaningful, needed change.
If such a district is considered, it should require a solidly justified expectation of 30% transit use (or more).
Greatly streamlines development approval
With the creation of a Proposed Business District, a developer, such as New England Development, would have a much easier time getting approval for a large-scale development. Regardless of the merits of such a district, a streamlined approval process is inconsistent with the size and scale of development that would ensue.
Reduces city's discretion
Reduces discretion available to Newton government to deny zoning variance to mega-developers like NED.
Increases city's exposure to litigation
Increases Newton's vulnerability to inevitable appeal by NED of zoning variance denial decision. Town of Tiverton is a recent example where NED has sued the local government and even each official in personal capacity for the zoning variance request denial.
No site limitation
There is nothing in the proposed ordinance that limits the placement of a Planned Business District. Some or all of a PBD could be in what is currently a residential or low-density Business 1 zone.
No context limitation
One of the consequences of a Planned Business District going anywhere is that it can abut any kind of neighborhood. For instance, the proposed Chestnut Hill Square development is hard against a residential neighborhood.
No provisions for respecting/protecting abutting Newton properties zoning/character.
No height or setback limitation
A Planned Business District would be the only district in Newton without a height or setback limitation. Currently, as-of-right zoning allows for only 36 feet. The maximum a developer can get through the special permit process is a 96-foot building, and only in select business districts.
On the future Chestnut Hill Square site, New England Development can build to 24 feet as-of-right and 36 feet with a special permit. The proposed towers appear to rise to 160 feet, or 5-to-8 times allowable zoning.
Floor/area ratio is too high
Floor/area ratio (or FAR) determines density. The higher the FAR, the greater the density. As proposed by New England Development, the Proposed Business District would have an allowable FAR of 3.0. In contrast, Business 1, 2, and 5 zones haev a FAR of 1.0 and Business 3 and 4 zones have a FAR of 1.5.
The 11-acre site controlled by New England Development, if built out to an allowable 3.0 FAR, would have about 1,400,000 square feet (excluding parking). That is four times the Mall at Chestnut Hill's 350,000 square feet, five times the Chestnut Hill Shopping Center's 300,000 square feet, and seven times ghe Atrium's 215,000 square feet.
With a FAR of 3.0, New England Development could put all three existing malls on the Chestnut Hill Square site -- twice.
Reduction of off-street parking
Without any justification, the Proposed Business District would allow 1/3 less parking than equivalent development outside of a PBD. This might lead to more parking on surrounding streets, which, as discussed above, could very well be residential.
This would be a problem even for commercial districts. Patrons of the development may use spaces that would otherwise be used by customers of nearby businesses.
This is not a theoretical concern. New England Development's own consultants forecast parking shortages, even given wildly optimistic projections of transit use.
Too loose zoning
An entire Proposed Business District would be subject to only the loosest zoning -- Business 4 and 5 -- regardless of the original zoning of the underlying properties. Business 4 and 5 zoning is currently restricted to the west end of Newton, near Route 128/95 and the Riverside T station.
Need not be single property owner
There is no requirement that a site applying for Proposed Business District designation be owned (or controlled) by a single owner. This will make it much easier to organize a PBD anywhere in Newton.
Artificial size
Artificial criterion of 10 acres minimum, custom tailored for NED
Encourages acquisition of residential property
Encourages expansion of parcels by large developers by buying off neighboring residential properties and uprooting them. NED has already bought and emptied two single family homes across from my house, changing the composition of my neighborhood.
Encourages up-rooting existing businesses
Encourages mega-developers to expand large parcels of land by buying off neighboring commercial properties and uprooting them. NED has already gutted great many diverse businesses housed in 200/220 Boylston, etc.
Land accumulation has negative consequences
The process of accumulation of land for the purposes of compliance with the proposal may last 10 years of longer (including new build lag time). This process has great many inevitable negative impacts. For example in case of Chestnut Hill Square project:
- Newton had been already denied for years (and will continue to miss for years to come) huge amounts of tax revenue from tens of destroyed businesses formerly housed at 200/220 Boylston, etc.
- Many (possibly hundreds of) people already lost their jobs. Many of these people may have been Newton residents.
- Larger scale commercial development (projected under PBD) will overtime depress values of neighboring residential properties. It will both amount to taking property without compensation and reduce tax revenue for Newton (offsetting tax benefits from PBD)
- Neighboring communities for years lost the convenience of these businesses.
- The prospect of larger scale development than would be possible under existing zoning law, will scare and frustrate abutters, will ruin their peace of mind as it did ours.
Does not consider abutting/affected municipalities
No provisions for consideration/respect for residents of abutting/affected municipalities.
Does not consider needs of special abutters
No provisions for consideration/respect to special abutters like the xxxwood nursing home on Florence
