S. Huntington Guidelines Highlight ‘Special Height’ Zones

With former Home for Little Wanderers site and the Goddard House hitting the market, the South Huntington Corridor has been the subject of much discussion lately. A city agency released development guidelines for the area this week, in the process identifying four places along the major Jamaica Plain corridor where buildings could be taller than what is allowed for by current standards.

The Boston Redevelopment Authority, with months worth of input from neighbors, published the South Huntington Avenue Framework for Future Development Review. The extensive document draws conclusions on how high and wide buildings in the corridor should be built and how they might change the scope of the area.

Most notably, the guidelines provide four areas in the corridor were buildings could technically be built taller than regulation.

The four areas are: The Citgo Gas Station on Huntington Avenue, the VA Hospital, 105a S. Huntington St. and the Back of the Hill Apartments.

The guidelines split the corridor into three precincts. Precinct 1 begins at the Huntington Avenue intersection and extends approximately to Heath Street. Precinct 2 begins approximately at Heath Street and ends near the Goddard House, 201 S. Huntington Ave. Precinct 3 begins approximately at the Goddard House, and extends to Perkins Street.

These "special height zones" are limited to Precincts 1 and 2. The guidelines advise the regulation buildings be no taller than five stories in Precinct 1. For these circumstances, the guidelines split Precinct 2 in half, thus creating an eastern and western side. In the eastern side, regulation height buildings should be no taller than four stories for the first 60 feet and no taller than eight stories after 60 feet.

Structures built in these special height zones could take exception to these height requirements only under certain circumstances, according to the guidelines.

For a building to qualify to exceed the requirements, that building would have to provide “exceptional public benefits” such as affordable housing units above the city-mandated 15 percent, according to the guidelines.

Community meetings conducted over the last four months have lead to the 46-page study on the South Huntington Corridor. Citizen input directly shaped these guidelines, according to Ted Schwartzberg, planner for the BRA.

“The process has helped build this vision for what South Huntington can be in the future,” he said. “This vision says, ‘Yes, there is room for growth, for new development, but it should follow these guidelines.”

Any potential developments would be subject to a full Article 80 review process, including public hearings, according to the guidelines.