(The opinions and views expressed in the commentaries and letters to the Editor of The Somerville Times belong solely to the authors and do not reflect the views or opinions of The Somerville Times, its staff, or publishers)

By Bill White
Former Somerville City Councilor for 24 years

Evidently, Mayor Wilson is continuing in his efforts to destroy our residential neighborhoods!  Already, developers can build buildings such as those shown in the photos as of right.  No one can deny that they cause the eviction of tenants, eliminate rental units and replace them with large luxury condominiums.  They create concrete jungles, provide almost no green space and are on top of next-door neighbors.

The Mayor has submitted zoning amendments to increase these backyards cottages to three stories in height with a total square footage of 1,750 feet.  Remember, these “cottages” can be built with no neighborhood input as of right, only 3 feet from your boundary line.  Look at the “cottage” in the photo.  Imagine the Mayor now wants this cottage to be the same height as the adjoining building.  What was troubling is that the Mayor’s staff represented that these changes were required “to align with state law.”  At the public hearing, there were a number of attorneys and people familiar with state law who established that state law does not require what the Mayor’s staff represented to the public was necessary “to align with state law.”  State law specifically requires that an accessory dwelling unit like our backyard cottage shall be no larger in Gross Floor Area than 1/2 the Gross Floor Area of the Principal Dwelling or 900 square feet, whichever is smaller. State law only therefore only requires 900 square feet for a “cottage!”  How did the Mayor get to 1,75 square feet?  Also, state law would require the “cottage” to be up to 3 stories tall, but only if it was located 20 feet from the rear property line, not 3 feet. Why didn’t Mayor’s staff mention that requirement?  These are questions we all should ask ourselves, and, perhaps the Mayor should ask his staff. Imagine the rear cottage shown in the photo at the same height as the two front buildings.

If you believe that these proposals by the Mayor go too far, you can send comments to the City Council and Planning Board at publiccomments@somervillema.gov by Friday October 30, 2026, and state your opposition.  Maybe you should consider sending a simple email to the Mayor’s office directly at  https://www.somervillema.gov/mayor and say ‘ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.’