City Councilors Resume Discussions on CB District’s Makeup

FRAMINGHAM - The Framingham City Council’s Planning and Zoning Subcommittee met on Monday, June 16, to continue discussions regarding the downtown Central Business (CB) District as Framingham works to gain full compliance with the MBTA Communities Act.

The statewide zoning law dictates that that any city or town with MBTA service has to provide at least one, by-right, multi-family housing district within its zoning. State officials accepted Mayor Charlie Sisitsky’s submission of the CB District to meet the requirements of the MBTA Communities Act at the start of the year, though that approval was conditional. Monday’s meeting came following the completion of an economic feasibility study conducted by the MetroWest Economic Research Center at Framingham State University that posed that the CB District is a viable area to develop multifamily units; the completion of that study was one of the conditions passed down by state officials in early 2025.

Since the conditional approval was granted, local leaders have been pondering potential changes to the CB District, including possible revisions its borders and height limits for buildings. Framingham officials are seeking a final plan that they can submit to the state level for full compliance with the zoning law.

However, City Solicitor Kathryn Fallon Manupelli recently informed the City Council of her legal opinion that any changes to the CB District could leave Framingham in a non-compliant status with the MBTA Communities Act. As a result of that legal opinion, the City Council withdrew the reduction plan they had previously been considering.

During Monday’s Planning and Zoning Subcommittee meeting, the city’s Director of Planning and Community Development Sarkis Sarkisian raised the idea of implementing a three-story height limit in the northern and southern portions of the current CB District; that idea was not a final proposal, as Sarkisian sought to solicit feedback on the initial idea.

“We limit this to three stories because they’re primarily two and a half to three story-buildings—they’re modest two-family homes—and you leave the district as it is,” Sarkisian continued on Monday.

Sarkisian also proposed the creation of a stretch along Waverly Street as an overlay with a three-story height maximum in order to spur development for smaller scale mixed-use projects in the area.

The Planning and Zoning Subcommittee’s reaction to these ideas was tepid. District 1 City Councilor Christine has been in favor of shrinking the CB District’s size; in turn, she told Sarkisian that she was not in favor of the Waverly Street overlay. Tracey Bryant of District 9 also expressed concerns about the overlay idea, as she does not believe that those areas need additional housing units.

“I think we need something that’s really vital going there,” Bryant said.

“I don’t think another whole set of apartments is the answer.”

District 2 City Council member Brandon Ward said the city should seek official feedback from state officials on where they stand in regard to the MBTA Communities Act question as they continue to consider changes to the CB District.