Interpretation of Zoning Districts
The section of the technical documentation pertains to base zoning districts.
For the base zoning districts in the Zoning Atlas, MAPC defined a basic set of “core fields” covering use allowances and dimensional requirements to populate. The core fields are as follows:
Minimum lot size
Dwelling units allowed per acre
Maximum height
Maximum floor-area-ratio (FAR)
Whether multifamily housing was a permitted use, and if a special permit was required
The values in the Zoning Atlas for these fields generally reflect the by-right regulations of a zone as they appeared in the bylaw or ordinance on the date it was accessed by MAPC. The exception to this rule is the four multifamily fields (MULFAM2, MULFAM3_4, MULFAM5_19, and MULFAM20_), which capture uses allowed by special permit, in addition to those allowed by-right.
The pages below describe two our approach to two common interpretation challenges:
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