Newton Zoning Panel Reaches Provisional Deal on Inclusionary Zoning Overhaul

NEWTON -- June 23, 2025, Newton's Zoning and Planning Committee provisionally endorsed a broad overhaul of the city's inclusionary zoning ordinance at its June 23 meeting, targeting a public hearing in late September or early October 2025. Chair Lyall Baker led the four-hour session alongside consultant Kyle Talente of RKG Associates and Planning Housing Program Manager Shaylin Davis-Ayanako. The committee reached consensus to eliminate the second affordability tier, which allowed developers to count units priced at up to 110 percent of area median income, for rental projects while retaining it for condominium sales, on the grounds that 110-percent-AMI rental units are difficult to fill. For large rental projects of more than 100 units, the committee provisionally backed a set-aside of 18.5 percent of units at an average of 65 percent AMI, down from the current 20 percent, with RKG arguing the math produces "a financial equivalency with more certainty" for developers. The $650,000 cash-in-lieu benchmark was retained, with language changed to allow the Newton Housing Partnership to recalibrate it at least every three years rather than no more than every three years. The committee also reappointed Harvey Short to the Newton Historical Commission through June 21, 2028.