FAQs

Zoning is the City of Somerville’s ‘code’ of rules for what can be built and how something can be used on private property in different areas of the city. A zoning map divides the city into districts or zones. Standards are frequently different from one district to the next. 

A form-based code is a zoning code that prioritizes regulating the physical shape, bulk, and placement of buildings to create predictable and well-designed built outcomes. 

A dimensional standard is a regulation that controls physical shape, bulk, and placement of a building. This can include such as lot area, lot width, lot coverage, building setbacks, floorplate size, number of stories, and building height.  

A zoning envelope is the volume of space that is made up of the building setback and building height rules. A building is allowed to be located within the envelope, and nothing is allowed to project outside its boundaries. 

Building types are a way to classify different buildings. Building components are additional parts attached to the main portion of a building that increase the internal area or enhance the usefulness of a building. Building components include features like stoops, porches, decks, dormers, bay windows, side wings, and rear additions.    

A hardship variance is an official exception to the zoning standards that can be granted due to the existing soil conditions, topography, or shape of a property or the shape of an existing building.  

Frontage area refers to the area of a lot between the front of a building and the font lot line. Some lots, depending on shape and placement, can have two frontage areas.