Community Development Board gives Green Light to Zoning Change

 – Allison Goldsberry

When Route 93 came to Medford, Rose Gill’s home was moved to Bonner Avenue to make way for the highway.  After discovering that her home was among eight on Bonner and Alexander Avenues located in a commercial district, she fears being displaced again.

Residents found out last summer that their homes were in a commercial zone when plans for a drive-through Dunkin Donuts on Mystic Avenue were in the works. 

Gill and her neighbors nervously watched as the developer bought two homes to make way for a two-story office building with the coffee chain on the ground floor and an employee parking lot.  They decided to petition to change the zoning to residential before more homes could be demolished for commercial use.

Tonight’s unanimous vote of approval from the Community Development Board brings them one step closer to their goal.

“I agree with all of you that you should not be subjected to commercial use in a residential zone,” said Board Chairman Ben Averbook.

City officials could not pin down exactly when or why the zoning in that neighborhood was changed to a commercial district.  It appears to have been that way for about forty years.

All but one of the homeowners said they were not made aware of the zoning quirk when they purchased their homes.

Residents fear more “commercial encroachment” in a neighborhood that is tightly hemmed in by the major commercial districts of Main Street and Mystic Avenue, resulting in nuisances such as illegal parking, pollution, noise, and traffic clogs.

“The notion that an additional block could go commercial was alarming to neighbors,” said Phyllis Bucco-Notaro.

The Board’s decision will be forwarded to the City Council, where five votes are needed in favor of the proposal in order for it to pass.