Council panel OKs four Worcester rezonings

In this report: Key decisions · Full report · Sources

What happened

The Economic Development Committee voted 3-0 four times to recommend rezoning petitions covering the Mercy Center conversion to roughly 40 apartments, 98 units of affordable senior housing at the former St. Vincent's nurses building, and two other zoning changes. The committee also voted to hold a proposal to raise the payment-in-lieu affordable-housing fee from 3 percent to 5 percent of construction value, pending additional public input and a staff report on exempting for-sale housing.

Key decisions

• 🏢 St. Vincent's nurses building affordable senior housing. The committee voted 3-0 to recommend rezoning the city-owned property from Business Office 2.0 to RG-5 with an Adaptive Reuse Overlay District to permit approximately 98 units of affordable senior housing by Rogerson Communities, serving households between 30 percent and 80 percent of area median income. (Vote 3-0). Read case details
• 🏢 Mercy Center rezoning for apartment conversion. The committee voted 3-0 to recommend rezoning from RS-7 to RL-7, allowing conversion of the existing building to approximately 40 plus or minus apartment units and two-family uses by right, with low-rise and high-rise multifamily uses requiring special permits from the Zoning Board of Appeals. (Vote 3-0). Read case details
• 📜 Payment-in-lieu fee increase 3 to 5 percent. The committee voted 3-0 to hold the proposed ordinance amendment to raise the payment-in-lieu fee from 3 percent to 5 percent of construction value pending additional public input, and directed staff to return with a report on whether to exempt for-sale housing from the requirement. (Vote 3-0). Read case details
• 🏢 Manufacturing-to-business rezoning for townhouses. The committee voted 3-0 to recommend rezoning the property from manufacturing limited (ML-0.5) to business limited (BL-1) to allow roughly 20 townhouse units with accessory parking. (Vote 3-0). Read case details
• ● Adaptive Reuse Overlay District addition. The committee voted 3-0 to recommend adding the Adaptive Reuse Overlay District to the existing Business Office 2.0 zoning without changing the underlying zone, preserving future redevelopment flexibility including potential for high-rise multifamily use with a special permit and relief from certain dimensional and parking requirements. (Vote 3-0). Read case details
• 📜 Driveway pavement and permits ordinance. The committee voted 3-0 to hold the proposed zoning ordinance amendment pending completion of review by Inspectional Services following its recent leadership transition. (Vote 3-0). Read case details

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