Despite some significant zoning changes in the past year, project applications remain few and far between.
In fact, more than a year after the zoning change was approved by Town Meeting, only one project under the MBTA Communities Act has gone through the planning process. Nearly one year since Town Meeting authorized changes to the accessory dwelling units (ADU) bylaw — bringing the town into compliance with the state to make the permitting process easier for applicants — just two ADU applications have come before officials.
“For the MBTA, I think what it’s going to be dependent on is the greater market values, like interest rates and construction costs, the availability of labor — things like that are going to be critical,” said Planning Division Director and Town Planner Chris Ryan. “Right now, it just doesn’t seem to be a strong construction market. … For the ADUs, I’m a little surprised how slow it’s been.”
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Signed into law in 2021 by then-Gov. Charlie Baker, the MBTA Communities Act requires towns served by the mass transit system, such as Belmont, to create at least one zoning district of reasonable size where multifamily housing is permitted and that meets other criteria, including:
- allowing a minimum of 15 units per acre.
- Zones located not more than a half mile from a commuter rail station, subway station, ferry terminal, or bus station.
- The zones have no age restrictions and are suitable for families with children..
Belmont, classified as a commuter rail community, was required to zone for at least 1,632 new housing units. In November 2024, Town Meeting approved a zoning map with the new zoning district.
The only relevant project in the pipeline, submitted to the Planning Division by Joseph DeStefano, proposes a five-story, mixed-use development with 44 housing units (seven of which would be designated affordable) and 6,000 square feet of ground-floor commercial space, according to Ryan. The Planning Board approved the plan in July 2025, but according to Ryan, DeStefano has yet to pull either a demolition or building permit.
Per the project narrative, the plan involves the demolition of an existing two-story mixed-use building located at 43 White St., which contains roughly 10,000 to 12,000 square feet of mixed-use space. The site is located behind the Bank of America next to Tatte in Waverley Square.
As for the ADU bylaw, which brought the town into compliance with a new state law allowing ADUs by right in districts that allow for single-family zoning, two projects have received permits — one of which has since been completed, while the other is underway. According to the state, the new law aims to jumpstart housing production and make it easier for families to find affordable places to live.
Town Meeting voted 179-32 with four abstentions to support the article as amended. That amendment sought to ease requirements on exterior staircases and entrances to ADUs.
“When we got into the ADU project, it was kind of surprising how much an ADU costs to build,” Ryan said. “It’s darn expensive. I’m sure some of the same variables [as affect 3A projects] contribute to that on a smaller scale — construction cost, cost of materials, interest rates, things like that.”
It’s also typically more difficult for a single-family homeowner to get financing for ADUs compared to the effort ot secure a home loan.
Outside of those two projects, Ryan said there has been interest, but no further applications.
“Each of the [zoning changes] are different, but they have some parallels and crossovers,” he said. “I don’t anticipate an explosion of growth any time soon, but we’re certainly optimistic that at some point, we’ll see some things happening.”
