Somerville Residents Invited to Participate in Public Benefits Process

All community residents are invited to attend a series of working group sessions to help create a public benefits strategy for Union Square that will address a variety of topics including affordable housing, small business retention, open space, local hiring and job training programs.

Residents participating in the process will have the opportunity to work closely with community leaders, City officials, nationally recognized development consultants, and private sector interests to identify the area’s housing and community’s development priorities that will serve as the foundation of a public benefits strategy linked to the major private investment activities being planned for Union Square. Community members interested in making a more intensive contribution to the process are also encouraged to apply to be among the approximately 30 Strategy Leaders who will take part in all discussions and conduct additional community outreach.

The “Somerville by Design” neighborhood planning process that began last December will culminate in the creation of a Neighborhood Plan, a draft of which will be released before the first public benefits session. Based on the vision and ideas set forth by the community, the Neighborhood Plan will set the parameters for what could potentially be built in Union Square.

Based on those parameters and building upon almost two years of work by the Union Square Civic Advisory Committee (CAC), this public benefits process facilitated by LOCUS, a program of Smart Growth America, will help the community explore the public benefits that could be attained in conjunction with a successful redevelopment program for the area and identify, prioritize and create a strategic plan for realizing these benefits. The City and LOCUS have released a list of Frequently Asked Questions available online (PDF) that provides more detailed information about the process.

The City announced in July that it would collaborate with LOCUS to develop an innovative new model for public benefits agreements. Last year, LOCUS launched the national Attainable Housing and Social Equity Initiative (AHSEI) to ensure that walkable communities are affordable and accessible to the full range of a community’s residents and local businesses. Union Square is the pilot project for this initiative.

The working group sessions will be held on Wednesday, Nov. 18, from 1 to 9 p.m. and Wednesday, Jan. 13, from 1-9 p.m., with both taking place in the Aldermanic Chambers at City Hall, 93 Highland Avenue.