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Zoning Basics

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Second of three articles

Who creates and manages zoning?

Massachusetts cities and towns have the responsibility by law to adopt ordinances to regulate the use of land, buildings, and structures. City councils, select boards, and equivalent agencies establish their own regulatory bodies and processes. In Boston, several agencies have authority over different parts of the process:

  • The Boston Planning and Development Agency (BPDA), formerly known as the Boston Redevelopment Authority, is charged with planning the future of neighborhoods with the community, identifying height and density limits, and charting the course for sustainable development and resilient building construction.

  • The Boston Zoning Commission maintains and updates the city’s zoning code.

  • The Zoning Board of Appeal (ZBA) inspects and reviews buildings for zoning compliance and regulates what and where someone can build in the city.

  • The Inspectional Services Department (ISD) administers and enforces building, housing, health, sanitation, and safety regulations mandated by the city and state governments.

  • The mayor selects the director for the Boston Planning and Development Agency, appoints members to the Zoning Commission and the Zoning Board of Appeal, and appoints the commissioner of Inspectional Services.

The ZBA or its equivalent in each municipality has the power to hear and decide:

  • Appeals based upon a rejection of a building permit application

  • Applications for special permits

  • Petitions for variances

  • Appeals from decisions of a zoning administrator, if such a position exists in the community

“Zoning codes regulate how a given section of land can be used and what type of businesses can use the land and its structures. Building codes regulate the details of the structures themselves.  ”

Comprehensive planning

Cities and towns often develop comprehensive plans, or master plans, to provide a road map that will lead toward desired social, economic, and physical development. To create such a plan, a city or town considers what it wants regarding land use (including public infrastructure) and how it will achieve these goals. The plan also acts as a guide for the creation of regulations on kinds of uses and types of structures permitted, as well as their design and where these uses and structures may be placed. The plan itself is not legally binding, but it is the foundation for legally binding instruments like the zoning ordinance.

Imagine Boston 2030 is the first citywide comprehensive plan in more than 50 years, developed with input from more than 15,000 Boston residents. In addition, planning initiatives by the BPDA are in process or underway for individual neighborhoods, including Newmarket, JP/Rox, Mattapan, and Nubian Square.

Zoning reform is a hot topic in the legislature with a particular focus on promoting livable communities and affordable housing. For more details on zoning reform efforts and the need to build multifamily housing in Metropolitan Boston (not just the city of Boston), see the report from Amy Dain of Dain Research and the Massachusetts Smart Growth Alliance, “The State of Zoning for Multi-Family Housing in Greater Boston.”

Illustration by Claudia Martin

Illustration by Claudia Martin

Classifications and districts

Classifications used to describe zoning are not the same from place to place. It is not unusual to find zoning rules that apply to one municipality, but are different in the neighboring town. One area may allow a mix of residential uses with some commercial uses, but a neighboring community will not allow such a mix. In Boston, for example, residents are not allowed to raise hens, while nearby in Brookline there is a chicken coop at Goddard House, an assisted living facility.

In Massachusetts, all zoning is controlled locally. Each of the 351 municipalities in Massachusetts adopts its own zoning ordinance or bylaw that typically creates zoning districts for residential, commercial, industrial, and open space uses. Within each of these general categories are more narrowly defined divisions. For example, a residential zone may have subdistricts for single- and two-family homes, three-family homes, and multiple-family residences. An industrial zone may be “heavy,” “light,” or “restricted.” A business zone may have subdistricts for local services for an immediate neighborhood and general goods and services for the larger community.

An overlay district may be designated over one or more established zoning districts to provide stricter standards and criteria for covered properties. Communities often use overlay zoning to protect special features such as historic buildings, wetlands, and waterfronts. Overlay districts can also be used to promote specific development projects, such as mixed-used developments, waterfront developments, housing along transit corridors, or affordable housing.

A zoning classification is not permanent. Zoning laws can be relaxed and exceptions made. In Massachusetts, zoning is not retroactive. Building lots, structures, and uses that preexisted zoning laws may be grandfathered and not subject to new and more restrictive zoning. Grandfathered status may apply to reconstruction of a structure or different or expanded use of property.

Frequently, communities use letters to identify the type of use allowed in an area, such as R for residential, C for commercial, I or M for industrial or manufacturing. These symbols are usually followed by a number to specify the level of use; for example, the common generalizations are R1 for a single-family home, R2 for two-dwelling units, and so forth. Many communities, including Boston, may also designate a number to indicate certain square-footage limits for that particular zone. However, zoning symbols vary from one community to another.

As-of-right use

The term as of right (or use by right) refers to an owner’s use of property and structures in a manner consistent with the requirements of zoning. Because as-of-right use falls within the limits of what is allowed, it is not subject to special review and approval. For example, renovation of a building that does not change the zoned use or exceed the permitted scale and dimensions complies with as-of-right use.

Floor area ratio

One key zoning-related concept is the floor area ratio (FAR): the relationship between the total amount of usable floor area that a building has and the total area of the lot on which the building stands. The ratio is determined by dividing the gross floor area of the building by the gross area of the lot. Excluded from the square footage calculation are areas not used for occupancy, such as attics, basements, cellars, space under sloping eaves, and space used for utility mechanicals or storage.

FAR is essentially a measure of how dense an area is. It is used by municipalities to determine zoning classifications and, therefore, restrictions for building or renovating a structure on a particular lot. A higher FAR allows more building projects on a particular lot, providing incentives for development. FAR may vary from one area to another because of population dynamics, growth patterns, and the nature of the land and its surrounding community.

The next installment will focus on property compliance with zoning when making renovations or constructing a new building.

Further reading

Massachusetts Office of Housing and Economic Development, Zoning and Building Codes

Boston Planning and Development Agency, overview of zoning in Boston

Property Metrics blog, “A Practical Guide to Understanding Zoning Laws”

American Planning Association, “Property Topics and Concepts”

USDA Cooperative Extension, Community Planning and Zoning, “Permitted uses, aka, ‘use by right’”

Investopedia, “Floor Area Ratio”

—Kathy Brown