The Planning Board voted 3-4 against a proposed mixed use development district in the Mall Road area, a non-binding recommendation that Town Meeting will take into consideration when it votes on the proposal in January.
The proposed zoning district is the product of years of work from the Economic Development Office, who says the district would bring walkable, sustainable developments that incorporate apartments, retail, dining and entertainment in the kinds of communities that attract Millennial and Gen Z workers as well as today’s companies.
But some Planning Board members worried the district would change Burlington’s character from a suburban community to something more like Somerville or Boston’s Seaport district, or that traffic and population growth would create unintended consequences.
“We’re talking about an area that’s already got a phenomenal amount of traffic down there and we’re going to add 1.2 million square feet, which is basically the size of Sun Microsystems campus,” said Planning Board member Joe Impemba. “We’re looking at what appears to be a great plan, yeah, the walkability, I like that as well. But when we talk about Burlington needing to be on the cutting edge, I think Burlington is considered the standard right now, and I don’t think we need this to be the standard.”
The proposed district would simplify what’s now a mish-mash of different zoning types (General Business, General Industrial, Innovation, Retail Industrial, and Planned Development) into one new zoning type: Mixed Use Innovation, or MIX for short. The zone would encourage infill development that includes mixed-use buildings, like those that have retail on the ground floor and apartments up above, as well as townhouse-style development. And it would specify investments in green space, streetscaping and buffer zones around parcels that abut residential areas.
According to a new analysis presented by Economic Development Director Melisa Tintocalis, over a 10-year period, the MIX district is expected to create 750 new housing units, bringing in about 1,125 new residents and adding about 62 new students to the school district. Additionally, the district is expected to cost the town about $9.6 to provide additional services, but the tax revenue could reach $62 million, netting the town almost $53 million over the course of a decade.
Tintocalis said the clarion call for development beyond office parks was stronger now after an announcement from Oracle, one of Burlington’s major employers, that it was selling more than 400,000 square feet of office space.
“Approximately 10 years ago we conducted our Comprehensive Master Plan, and if you go through that plan, there’s about 20 recommendations about walkability, compact development, and mixed use,” Tintocalis said. “Those are blueprints and guidelines, and what we’re bringing to you is that street-level implementation, how to get those goals done.”
Although a majority of the Planning Board voted against recommending the project to Town Meeting, three members of the Select Board attended the meeting or submitted comments for the record in support of the project.
Select Board member Nick Priest said if the town failed to adapt to changing norms, Burlington could become a “21st century mill town” full of empty office parks and with a tax burden shifted onto residents. “The makeup of the community is shifting because the people who are looking to come here are different. We have younger Millennials and Gen Z kids who aren’t having kids of their own, they don’t drive cars. … If we don’t embrace this natural inflection point we’re going to be left with a lot of empty office space.”
The Planning Board also continued its conversations on other zoning and development issues before it and on the docket for Town Meeting, including rules for Accessory Dwelling Units. The Planning Board favorably recommended the department’s plans to regulate the units to fit the character of the town, although some rules, like considerations for mobile homes used as ADUs, remain under discussion.
Town Meeting meets January 27, 2025.