Residential Zoning | Healthy Community Design Toolkit

Mixed-Use Development

Mixed-Use Development is when there is more than one type of use on a single parcel. Mixed-Use zoning typically allows commercial uses on the first and sometimes second floors of a building, with the remaining floors above the commercial space zoned for residential uses.
Zoning codes can be revised to encourage mixed-use development in downtown, village center and other appropriate locations.
This is one of the crucial steps for redesigning communities in which older adults, people with disabilities, and others can make the healthy choice to bike, walk (with or without a walker or cane), use a wheelchair or use another mobility assistive device to get to basic goods and services. i

Accessory Dwelling Units

Accessory Dwelling Units, sometimes called in-law apartments or granny-flats, are secondary dwelling units that are added to an existing house of property. The accessory dwelling unit may be in a converted garage, or in an underutilized wing of a house.
When located near existing centers (downtowns, village centers, etc.), new accessory apartments provide walkable access to a variety of goods, services and recreational opportunities. Accessory units can also create low- cost housing options, provide supplementary income to homeowners, and provider better housing options for older adults or people with disabilities.
Many zoning codes do not allow accessory dwelling units. Some codes allow accessory dwelling units but put restrictions on them, creating barriers to residency and production. Examples of barriers include restricting residency to relatives, requiring excessively large lot sizes and off-street parking, or preventing the conversion of existing structures into accessory dwelling units.

Supportive Housing

Group homes provide supportive housing to people with disabilities who cannot or choose not to live independently. In Massachusetts, state law requires that group homes should be permitted in every district. The Community Based Housing Program provides funds for the creation integrated, accessible housing for people with disabilities. Maximum universal design and visitability are criteria used to judge what projects receive funding.
Senior Housing which includes continuing care communities, assisted living facilities, nursing homes, and other retirement communities, serves a small percentage of Massachusetts’s older adults but meets an important need among the state’s diverse older population. Municipal zoning can, and often does, establish specialized use categories for various kind of senior housing.
Communities can proactively identify appropriate parcels for senior housing and group homes work to steer development toward them. One challenge is that development of senior housing often requires large parcels which are often only available outside of existing neighborhoods and far from existing commercial center. Attention should be paid to not force residents into a car dependent lifestyle and/or isolate potential residents of such a development from the broader community. This can be achieved by advocating for planned development that includes not only senior housing, but housing for other age groups as well and commercial development.

Neighborhood Development

Municipalities require developers to submit site and subdivision plans when new neighborhoods or tracts of land are being developed or divided into building sites. These plans depict the layout of buildings, sidewalks, roads, and other structures or pavement.
- Site Plans, Subdivisions, and Special Permits are reviewed against established criteria as the basis for requiring improvements to and approving development plans.
The plan review process gives a community some control over development impacts and an established way to work with developers and property owners to promote development beneficial to the community.
Communities can review site plan and subdivision regulations to ensure that housing and subdivision will provide safe access and internal circulation for residents and appropriate gathering spaces.
Through zoning ordinances and subdivision guidelines, municipalities can encourage types of land development that promotes community health and wellbeing, such as Cluster Residential Development and Traditional Neighborhood Development.
- Cluster Residential Developments, or Open Space Residential Developments, group residential properties on development site in order to preserve open space for hiking and other recreational opportunities.
- Traditional Neighborhood Development models development after neighborhoods characterized by walkability, a diverse mix of housing options, and higher residential densities.

When done well, new housing built within urban centers and rural hubs, areas already served by public infrastructure and with better access to destinations and services, can provide numerous health benefits. Households in neighborhoods that have higher population densities and greater access to destinations and to high-quality bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure are more likely to be physical active. And reduced reliance on cars can improve air quality and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Making sure that this sort of infill housing development is affordable and accessible ensures that these health benefits are available to all residents. ii

Transit Orientated Development

Transit Orientated Development is a mix of uses clustered within walking distance (usually ¼ mile) of a transit station with a relatively high frequency of service. Successful Transit Oriented Development districts typically feature pedestrian and bicycle networks, reduced parking requirements for automobiles, and public amenities in order to encourage compact multifamily homes and varied businesses.
While these developments tend to market themselves to younger commuting professionals, older workers and those older residents looking to downsize could benefit from transportation and amenity access.

Zoning Overlay Districts

Chapter 40R Smart Growth, or Compact Neighborhood Zoning Overlay Districts, is a zoning district superimposed over existing underlying zoning districts that allows for increased residential densities and mixed-use development near shopping and public transit. Districts must be located near transit stations or in a downtown area and must meet specific state criteria regarding allowed housing densities and required percentage of affordable housing. Massachusetts provides communities incentive and bonus payments for this type of development if certain requirements are met.
Compact Neighborhood Zoning is a similar tool that features different residential density and affordability requirements.

Visitability

The Americans with Disabilities Act established standards for physical accessibility of buildings and spaces that must be met by most public and commercial entities (especially new construction). Communities should complete their ADA transition Plan to ensure these standards are being met.
However, there is no similar requirement that covers private housing. Visitability, a relatively new movement that advocates for a small number of design modifications to all homes to enable a minimum level of access by almost all people, can incentivized through local zoning provisions. Visitability modifications include:
- At least one zero-step entrance (meaning the front door is level with the ground outside
- Doors and halls with at least 32 inches of clear passable width
- A ground floor half-bathroom that is accessible by wheel chair
Planning Boards can encourage visitability by providing density bonuses for developments that provide visitable housing.

Parking Requirements

Reducing off-street parking requirements or allowing the Planning Board to reduce off-street parking requirements when reduced needs are demonstrated (e.g., evidence of a shared parking arrangement, demand management measures, etc.) can reduce the costs of building, making housing development more feasible. In addition, reduced parking requirements allow for more space in central locations to be utilized for housing, retail and other active uses (increasing development densities).