Edmands Road Overlay District Proposal
At a glance
- What: a developer (J and Co, captioned "Jay and Co") is asking the City Council to adopt an overlay zoning district of about 32 acres around Edmands and Edgell Roads in the Nobscot area (captioned "Edmond", "Edgel", "Knobscot"), allowing a residential development of roughly 324 units under special permit. The underlying R4 zoning would stay for anything outside a special permit.
- Where it stands: the Planning and Zoning Subcommittee heard a revised draft on Oct 5, 2026 (the applicant first appeared in Feb and June 2026; an earlier version was rejected, with a roughly two-year tolling period mentioned). No vote. Zoning change needs a supermajority of the 11-member council.
- Next: another subcommittee meeting about two weeks later, where neighbors will present a Nobscot survey; Chair Christine Long is revising the draft with the applicant's attorney.
The proposal (Oct 5 draft, per the applicant's attorney)
- Density cut from 15 to 12 units per acre; residential uses only.
- Setbacks by building type, 50-ft vegetated buffer with no active lawn, open space minimum 60 percent (concept shows about 65), lower parking minimums, some extra height allowed for multifamily buildings with under-building parking.
- Special permit plus site plan approval, with tech review, community outreach and a pre-application conference first; 13 percent affordable units under the city's inclusionary bylaw.
- A development agreement offered for park improvements, sidewalks and trails, ownership mix, an age-restricted share and council consultants.
Main concerns and positions
- Long wants affordable units built on site (no payment in lieu or off-site), the City Council as permit granting authority, and bigger setbacks. Philip Ottaviani Jr agreed on payment in lieu. The attorney, Jeff Roloff, agreed to delete payment in lieu.
- Neighbors, including Steve Krueger, Herb Chason and Carol McGary, oppose the rezoning: density versus one house per acre, height, woodland loss, claimed weaker approval language. Chason's reading of the draft was disputed by Long.
- Janet Leombruno and Ottaviani said abutters have the most at stake but that the state is pushing density anyway; see Ballot Question 7 and State Housing Zoning.
- Conflict-of-interest disclosures were read or referenced by Ottaviani and Leombruno regarding the applicant (neither reported a financial tie).
Notes on names
Captions render the street names and the Lavoie Road abutters unreliably ("Levolei", "Lavoli"); the 2016-2024 opposition history was stated by a resident and is unverified.
Discussion time
About 64 minutes across 1 meeting (from transcript timestamps; approximate).
| Meeting | Minutes |
|---|---|
| 2026-10-05 - City Council Planning and Zoning Subcommittee | 64 |
Log
- 2026-10-05 - City Council Planning and Zoning Subcommittee — Attorney presented the revised overlay draft; Long and Ottaviani asked to remove payment in lieu and off-site affordable units; neighbors opposed; survey presentation scheduled for the next meeting.