Salem Street corridor rezoned and funding for zoning project back on track in Medford

After two weeks of bickering, Mayor Breanna Lungo-Koehn and the City Council have reached an agreement in regard to the Salem Street corridor and both parties got what they wanted.

“The city will sign an extension and provide additional resources to advance key zoning priorities in Medford Square, Tufts and Boston Avenue between now and May 2026,” said Lungo-Koehn via press release.

And in return for the mayor’s public commitment to fund the city-wide rezoning project, the council agreed to rezone the Salem Street Corridor from MX-2 to MX-1, which eliminates any opportunity of a medical office or specifically a methadone clinic from opening in the area. 

The multi-year rezoning project came to a halt in September when the contract for Innes Land Group, the consultants that had been guiding the rezoning project, expired. 

In November, Lungo-Koehn offered to extend the contract but only if councilors agreed to rezone the Salem Street corridor, an area it had already rezoned to MX-2. Several councilors balked at the idea, calling it a quid pro quo. 

Councilor Kit Collins said Tuesday she was glad to see the issue resolved. Collins said, from the beginning, that she supported Lungo-Koehn’s request but she also needed something in return, a public commitment to fund the rest of the zoning project. She said she was happy they’d gotten to this point.

“I’m even more glad that we’ve reached the point where we can say with certainty to the community that has been invested in visioning the future of planning at Medford for five years, and that has been invested in conversations about rezoning in Medford for two years, that yes, we have a confirmed path forward,” she added.

Councilor George Scarpelli was the only councilor who was hesitant to vote the rezoning because the mayor had yet to actually issue the press release outlining her commitment.

Councilor Matt Leming, who worked with the mayor’s office on the press release, admitted it was “a bit of a chicken and egg issue,” but said it was a matter of trust.

The council voted unanimously Tuesday to rezone the corridor and by Wednesday morning, Lungo-Koehn had issued the press release that lays out the zoning plan.

Along with addressing the areas listed above, Innes will also “clean up areas of zoning in accordance with the needs of the building commissioner and the Office of Planning, Development and Sustainability.”

Lungo-Koehn also asked that the City Council and Community Development Board hold a joint public hearing in January to discuss the rezoning proposal for Medford Square and West Medford that is currently sitting with the development board. 

In February/March a Request for Proposals for a new contract will go out with a selection to be made in April and work to begin in May. The new work, according the Lungo-Koehn will be aimed at: 

• Main Street and Broadway 
• The initiation of a parking study through the Office of Planning, Development and Sustainability Wellington/Mystic Valley Parkway, after completion of the Wellington Transformation Study 
• West Medford Square, after completion of an economic assessment & SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis. 
• Mystic Ave review after the Tufts UEP Field Project proposal for Reimagining the Mystic Avenue Corridor 
• Residential (including Accessory Dwelling Units and Historic Conversion) & parking
• Transportation Demand Management (TDM) review 
• Inclusionary Zoning Updates and Affordable Housing Overlay 

Lungo-Koehn said an RFP for a public relations consultant is also on tap, “to engage in more robust community engagement.” The plan is to have a standalone website for all the rezoning efforts, support for neighborhood meetings and better outreach ahead of public meetings on zoning issues. 

“No new zoning amendments will be presented during July and August and department heads will be consulted from the beginning on all of the above,” reads the agreement. 

Resident Micha Kesseleman said he was glad to see “the long arduous back and forth” come to a close but he wondered why council didn’t receive the press release draft until late in the day, only hours before the meeting started.

“This is the mayor’s full-time job … This last minute dog-ate-my-homework type of handing of deliverables that need to be vetted and reviewed by the council really needs to improve,” he said. 

He called it challenging for the council and the public, but he did say, “I’m happy to see this ...so thank you guys, and also thanks to the mayor for doing that.