CommunityScale designs zoning districts that enable walkable, mixed-use, and transit-oriented development. New districts are crafted to reflect community goals around housing variety, neighborhood character, and economic vitality while meeting state requirements such as Massachusetts’ MBTA Communities Act. Districts typically include tailored dimensional standards, use tables organized by functional groups, design guidelines, and provisions for a mix of housing types from missing middle to multifamily.

CommunityScale’s district zoning work often pairs with affordability analysis and fiscal impact evaluation to ensure that new districts produce housing that communities need and that the development economics work. As described in our overview of rolling out state-required multifamily zoning, these districts balance state compliance with local planning priorities.

Projects featuring new zoning districts:

• Malden, MA: transit-oriented development district
• Dedham, MA: transit-oriented development district
• Wakefield, MA: transit-oriented development district
• Sherborn, MA: multifamily zoning overlay
• North Attleboro, MA: mixed-use zoning overlay
• West Natick, MA: mixed-use zoning district
• Dayton, OH: onMain mixed-use district

Related reading:

• Rolling out new state-required multifamily zoning
• Five lessons learned drafting an MBTA Communities overlay for Lowell
• Nesting zoning use definitions into functional groups
• How zoning for data centers could actually benefit your community