Revere City Zoning Code

Applicability of SGODs. An applicant may seek development of a project located within the SGOD in accordance with the provisions of the Governing Laws and this chapter, including a request for plan approval by the PAA, if necessary. In such case, notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the zoning ordinances, such application shall not be subject to any other provisions of the zoning ordinances, including limitations upon the issuance of building permits for residential uses related to a rate of development or phased growth limitation, or to a local moratorium on the issuance of such permits, or to other building permit or dwelling unit limitations. To the extent that there is any conflict between the Governing Laws and this chapter, inclusive of the design standards, the PAA Regulations, and any applicable associated local zoning requirement (e.g., zoning requirement contained in another section of the zoning ordinances that is nonetheless incorporated by reference), the Governing Laws shall govern.

Underlying zoning. The SGOD is an overlay district superimposed on all underlying zoning districts. The regulations for use, dimension, and all other provisions of the zoning ordinance governing the underlying zoning district(s) shall remain in full force, except for those projects undergoing development pursuant to this chapter. Within the boundaries of the SGOD, a developer may elect either to develop a project in accordance with the requirements of the smart growth zoning, or to develop a project in accordance with requirements of the regulations for use, dimension, and all other provisions of the zoning ordinances governing the underlying zoning district(s).

Administration, enforcement, and appeals. The provisions of this chapter shall be administered by the building commissioner, except as otherwise provided herein. Any legal appeal arising out of a plan approval decision by the PAA under Section 17.29.080 thru Section 17.29.120 shall be governed by the applicable provisions of G.L. Chapter 40R. Any other request for enforcement or appeal arising under this chapter shall be governed by the applicable provisions of G.L. Chapter 40A.

Residential projects. A residential project within the SGOD may include:

Number of affordable housing units. For all projects containing at least eight residential units, not less than twenty percent of housing units constructed shall be affordable housing. For the purpose of calculating the number of units of affordable housing required within a project, any fractional unit shall be deemed to constitute a whole unit. A project shall not be segmented to evade the affordability threshold set forth above - this provision is only necessary if certain projects (those with eight or fewer units as may be specified in the SGZ) are exempt from the affordability requirement. Furthermore, the total number of affordable units within the entire SGZD equals not less than twenty percent.

Monitoring agent. A monitoring agent which may be the local housing authority or other qualified housing entity shall be designated by the chief executive (the "designating official"). In a case where the monitoring agent cannot adequately carry out its administrative duties, upon certification of this fact by the designating official or by EOHLC such duties shall devolve to and thereafter be administered by a qualified housing entity designated by the designating official. In any event, such monitoring agent shall ensure the following, both prior to issuance of a building permit for a project within the SGOD, and on a continuing basis thereafter, as the case may be:

Submission requirements. As part of any application for plan approval for a project within the SGOD submitted under Section 17.29.080 thru Section 17.29.120 (or, for projects not requiring plan approval, prior to submission of any application for a building permit), the applicant must submit the following documents to the PAA and the monitoring agent:

Cost and eligibility requirements. Affordable housing shall comply with the following requirements:

Design and construction. Units of affordable housing shall be finished housing units. With respect to the minimum number of units in a given project that are required to be affordable housing under Chapter 17.29 and the Governing Laws, such units shall be equitably integrated and proportionately dispersed throughout the residential portion of the project of which they are part, across all residential buildings, floors, distinct unit types, and with respect to the gross floor area devoted to residential units, in accordance with the affordable housing restriction and the affirmative fair housing marketing and resident selection plan, as approved by EOHLC. The affordable housing units shall be comparable in initial construction quality, size, amenities, and exterior design to the other housing units in the project. Unless expressly required otherwise under one or more applicable state or federal housing subsidy programs, the bedroom-per-unit average for the affordable housing must be equal to or greater than the bedroom-per-unit average for the unrestricted/market-rate units.

Affordable housing restriction. Each project shall be subject to an affordable housing restriction which is recorded with the applicable registry of deeds or district registry of the land court, and which contains the following:

Costs of affirmative fair housing marketing and resident selection plan. The affirmative fair housing marketing and resident selection plan and/or any associated monitoring services agreement may make provision for payment by the project applicant of reasonable costs to the monitoring agent to monitor and enforce compliance with affordability requirements consistent with the affordable housing restriction and otherwise fulfill the responsibilities contained in Section 17.29.050(B).

Age restrictions. Nothing in this chapter shall permit the imposition of restrictions on age upon projects unless proposed or agreed to voluntarily by the applicant. However, in its review of a submission under Section 17.29.050(C) for a given SGOD, the PAA may allow a specific project, designated exclusively for the elderly, persons with disabilities, or for assisted living, provided that any such project shall be in compliance with all applicable federal, state and local fair housing laws and regulations and not less than twenty-five percent of the housing units in such a restricted project shall be restricted as affordable housing units.

Phasing. For any project that is approved and developed in phases in accordance with Section 17.29.080(D), the percentage of affordable units in each phase shall be at least equal to the minimum percentage of affordable housing required under Section 17.29.050(A) or Section 17.29.050(H), as applicable. Where the percentage of affordable housing is not uniform across all phases, the unit dispersal and bedroom proportionality requirements under Section 17.29.050(E) shall be applied proportionately to the affordable housing provided for in each respective phase.

No waiver. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein, the affordability provisions in this Section 17.29.050 shall not be waived unless expressly approved in writing by EOHLC under the 40R smart growth zoning program pursuant to the Governing Laws, in order to eliminate conflict with an associated state or federal housing financing program and/or at the request of the plan approval authority.

Table of requirements. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the zoning ordinances, the dimensional requirements applicable in any SGOD are as follows:

Dimensional waivers in substantially developed sub-district. The PAA may, in order to encourage the development of infill housing units on undeveloped lots within a substantially developed sub-district, grant a waiver to the dimensional standards of Section 17.29.060(A), in accordance with Section 17.29.100(C).

Number of parking spaces. Unless otherwise approved by the PAA and subject to any conditions EOHLC's determination of eligibility and approval of the corresponding SGOD, the following minimum numbers of off-street parking spaces shall be provided either in surface parking, within garages or other structures:

Visitor parking spaces. The PAA may allow for additional visitor parking spaces, no greater than twenty-five one-hundredths spaces maximum spaces per unit, if deemed appropriate given the design, layout and density of the proposed residential or other development. The PAA may allow for a decrease in any required parking as provided in subsections C and D below.

Shared parking. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein, the use of shared parking to fulfill parking demands noted above that occur at different times of day is strongly encouraged. Any minimum parking requirements above may be reduced by the PAA through the plan approval process (or, for projects not requiring plan approval, prior to submission of any application for a building permit), if the applicant can demonstrate that shared spaces will meet parking demands by using accepted methodologies (e.g. the Urban Land Institute Shared Parking Report, ITE Shared Parking Guidelines, or other approved studies).

Reduction in parking requirements. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein, any minimum required amount of parking may be reduced by the PAA through the plan approval process (or, for projects not requiring plan approval, prior to submission of any application for a building permit), if the applicant can demonstrate that the lesser amount of parking will not cause excessive congestion, endanger public safety, or that lesser amount of parking will provide positive environmental or other benefits, taking into consideration:

Location of parking. Any surface parking lot shall, to the maximum extent feasible, be located at the rear or, where not feasible or otherwise preferred by the PAA, side of a building, relative to any principal street, public open space, or pedestrian way.

Plan approval. An application for plan approval shall be reviewed by the PAA for consistency with the purpose and intent of Chapter 17.17 of Revere Revised Ordinance. Such plan approval process shall be construed as an as-of-right review and approval process as required by and in accordance with the Governing Laws. The following categories of projects shall be subject to the plan approval process:

Plan approval authority (PAA). The Revere Site Plan Review Committee, consistent with G.L. Chapter 40R and 760 CMR 59.00, shall be the plan approval authority (the "PAA"), and it is authorized to conduct the plan approval process for purposes of reviewing project applications and issuing plan approval decisions within any SGOD as may be established in Section 17.29.100.

PAA regulations. The plan approval authority may adopt administrative rules and regulations relative to plan approval. Such rules and regulations and any amendments thereof must be approved by the executive office of housing and livable communities.

Project phasing. An applicant may propose, in a plan approval submission, that a project be developed in phases, provided that the submission shows the full buildout of the project and all associated impacts as of the completion of the final phase, and subject to the approval of the PAA. Any phased project shall comply with the provisions of Section 17.29.050(I).

Preapplication. Prior to the submittal of a plan approval submission, a "concept plan" may be submitted to help guide the development of the definitive submission for project buildout and individual elements thereof. If submitted, such concept plan should reflect the following:

Required submittals. An application for plan approval shall be submitted to the PAA on the form provided by the PAA and approved by EOHLC, [along with application fee(s)] which shall be as set forth in the PAA regulations. The application shall be accompanied by such plans and documents as may be required and set forth in the PAA regulations. For any project that is subject to the affordability requirements of Section 17.29.050, the application shall be accompanied by all materials required under Section 17.29.050(C). All site plans shall be prepared by a certified architect, landscape architect, and/or a civil engineer registered in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. All landscape plans shall be prepared by a certified landscape architect registered in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. All building elevations shall be prepared by a certified architect registered in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. All plans shall be signed and stamped, and drawings prepared at a scale of one-inch equals forty feet or larger, or at a scale as approved in advance by the PAA.

Filing. An applicant for plan approval shall file the required number of copies of the application form and the other required submittals as set forth in the PAA regulations with the city clerk and a copy of the application including the date of filing certified by the city clerk shall be filed forthwith with the PAA.

Circulation to other boards. Upon receipt of the application, the PAA shall immediately provide a copy of the application materials to the planning board, city council, board of appeals, board of health, conservation commission, fire department, police department, building commissioner, department of public works, commissioner of handicapped affairs, the monitoring agent (if already identified, for any project subject to the affordability requirements of Section 17.29.050), and other municipal officers, agencies or boards for comment, and any such board, agency or officer shall provide any written comments within thirty days of its receipt of a copy of the plan and application for approval.

Hearing. The PAA shall hold a public hearing for which notice has been given as provided in Section 11 of G.L. Chapter 40A. The decision of the PAA shall be made, and a written notice of the decision filed with the city clerk, within one hundred twenty days of the receipt of the application by the city clerk. The required time limits for such action may be extended by written agreement between the applicant and the PAA, with a copy of such agreement being filed in the office of the city clerk. Failure of the PAA to take action within said one hundred twenty days or extended time, if applicable, shall be deemed to be an approval of the plan approval application.

Peer review. The applicant shall be required to pay for reasonable consulting fees to provide peer review of the plan approval application, pursuant to G.L. Chapter 40R, Section 11(a). Such fees shall be held by the city in a separate account and used only for expenses associated with the review of the application by outside consultants, including, but not limited to, attorneys, engineers, urban designers, housing consultants, planners, and others. Any surplus remaining after the completion of such review, including any interest accrued, shall be returned to the applicant forthwith.

Plan approval. Plan approval shall be granted by simple majority vote where the PAA finds that:

Plan disapproval. A plan approval application may be disapproved only by simple majority vote where the PAA finds that:

Waivers. Upon the request of the applicant and subject to compliance with M.G.L. c. 40R, 760 CMR 59.00 and Section 17.29.050(J), the plan approval authority may waive dimensional and other requirements of Chapter 17.29, including the design standards, in the interests of design flexibility and overall project quality, and upon a finding of consistency of such variation with the overall purpose and objectives of the smart growth zoning and corresponding SGOD, or if it finds that such waiver will allow the project to achieve the density, affordability, mix of uses, and/or physical character allowable under this chapter.

Project phasing. The PAA, as a condition of any plan approval, may allow a project to be phased at the request of the applicant, or it may require a project to be phased for the purpose of coordinating its development with the construction of planned infrastructure improvements (as that term is defined under 760 CMR 59.00), or to mitigate any extraordinary adverse project impacts on nearby properties. For projects that are approved and developed in phases, unless otherwise explicitly approved in writing by EOHLC in relation to the specific project, the proportion of affordable units in each phase shall be at least equal to the minimum percentage of affordable housing required under Section 17.29.050(A) and Section 17.29.050(H), as applicable.

Form of decision. The PAA shall issue to the applicant a copy of its decision containing the name and address of the owner, identifying the land affected, and the plans that were the subject of the decision, and certifying that a copy of the decision has been filed with the Revere city clerk and that all plans referred to in the decision are on file with the PAA. If twenty days have elapsed after the decision has been filed in the office of the Revere city clerk without an appeal having been filed or if such appeal, having been filed, is dismissed or denied, the city clerk shall so certify on a copy of the decision. If a plan is approved by reason of the failure of the PAA to timely act, the city clerk shall make such certification on a copy of the application. A copy of the decision or application bearing such certification shall be recorded in the registry of deeds for the county and district in which the land is located and indexed in the grantor index under the name of the owner of record or recorded and noted on the owner's certificate of title. The fee for recording or registering shall be paid by the applicant.

Validity of decision. A plan approval shall remain valid and shall run with the land indefinitely, provided that construction has commenced within two years after the decision is issued, which time shall be extended by the time required to adjudicate any appeal from such approval and which time shall also be extended if the project proponent is actively pursuing other required permits for the project or there is other good cause for the failure to commence construction, or as may be provided in a plan approval for a multi-phase project.

Minor change. After plan approval, an applicant may apply to make minor changes to a project involving minor utility or building orientation adjustments, or minor adjustments to parking or other site details that do not affect the overall buildout or building envelope of the site, or provision of open space, number of housing units, or housing need or affordability features. Such minor changes must be submitted to the PAA on redlined prints of the approved plan, reflecting the proposed change, and on application forms provided by the PAA. The PAA may authorize such changes at any regularly scheduled meeting, without the need to hold a public hearing. The PAA shall set forth any decision to approve or deny such minor change by motion and written decision and provide a copy to the applicant for filing with the city clerk.

Major change. Those changes deemed by the PAA to constitute a major change to a project because of the nature of the change in relation to the prior approved plan, or because such change cannot be appropriately characterized as a minor change as described above, shall be processed by the PAA as a new application for plan approval pursuant to Chapter 17.17.

Adoption of design standards. Any project undergoing the plan approval process shall be subject to design standards as set forth below in this section ("design standards").

Purpose. The design standards are adopted to ensure that the physical character of projects within SGODs:

Design standards. The plan approval authority may adopt, by simple majority vote, design standards which shall be applicable to development projects subject to plan approval by the plan approval authority. Such design standards must be objective and not subjective and may only address the scale and proportions of buildings, the alignment, width, and grade of streets and sidewalks, the type and location of infrastructure, the location of building and garage entrances, off street parking, the protection of significant natural site features, the location and design of on-site open spaces, exterior signs, and buffering in relation to adjacent properties. At its discretion, EOHLC may require design standards to contain graphics illustrating a particular standard or definition in order to make such standard or definition clear and understandable.

EOHLC approval. After adopting design standards, the PAA shall submit design standards to EOHLC for approval. Design standards shall not take effect until approved by EOHLC and filed with the city clerk. In submitting proposed design standard for EOHLC approval, the PAA shall also submit sufficient documentation clearly showing that the proposed design standards will not add unreasonable costs to development projects or unreasonably impair the economic feasibility of a development project. A letter from a developer, property owner or other qualified party indicating that the design standards will not add unreasonable costs or unreasonably impair the economic feasibility of a development project shall not necessarily constitute sufficient documentation. At its discretion, EOHLC may disapprove design standards if it finds that the PAA has not adopted objective design standards or has not submitted such documentation.

Plan approval. An application for plan approval that has been submitted to the Revere city clerk pursuant to this chapter shall not be subject to design standards that have not been approved by EOHLC and filed with the Revere city clerk.

Green street smart growth overlay district. The Green Street Smart Growth Overlay District hereinafter referred to as the "GSSGOD"," is an overlay district having a land area of approximately six and thirty-seven one-hundredths acres in size that is superimposed over the underlying zoning districts and is shown on the zoning map as set forth on the map entitled "Green Street Smart Growth Overlay District Exhibit A" dated December 4, 2023, prepared by the City of Revere, MA." This map is hereby made a part of Title 17 of the Revised Ordinances of the city of Revere and is on file in the office of the city clerk.

The Shirley Avenue Smart Growth Overlay District. The Shirley Avenue Smart Growth Overlay District hereinafter referred to as the "SASGOD"," is an overlay district containing two sub-districts ("A" and "B") and having a land area of approximately 43.80 acres in size that is superimposed over the underlying zoning districts and is shown on the zoning map as set forth on the map entitled Shirley Avenue Smart Growth Overlay District "Exhibit B" dated December 4, 2023, prepared by the City of Revere, MA." This map is hereby made a part of the zoning ordinance and is on file in the office of the city clerk.