Newton's new zoning, the Village Center Overlay District (VCOD), was passed by the City Council on December 4, 2023. Prior to this, Newton's zoning ordinance for business / commercial zones had not been updated since 1987. The VCOD is designed to allow for the concentration of housing and commercial opportunities near transit, amenities, and places to gather.

The new zoning is designed with three distinct districts: Village Center 3 (VC3) for commercial cores, Village Center 2 (VC2) for smaller commercial areas, and Multi-Residence Transit (MRT) to gently transition to existing residential areas. As an overlay district, the new zoning allows the current zoning to remain while giving property owners the option to build according to either. The new zoning does NOT require new buildings to be built, rather it expands development rights for property owners. 

 VCOD Zoning Map

Resources

 MBTA Communities Law information found here.

To view the VCOD Zoning ordinance text, click here, and find Chapter 30, Article 9 on page 9-2. 

To view the VCOD Zoning map, click here.  

To view the interactive zoning map, click here.  

Zone standards cheat sheet found here.

VCOD Overview Sheets found here. 

Slideshow from video above can be found here.

For more information, please reach out to Zachery LeMel at zlemel@newtonma.gov

Process

 The process to reach this historic ordinance is detailed below.  

Below are resources from previous drafts of the new zoning ordinance

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