Zoning Relief FAQ 

(Also see the Zoning Relief Flow Chart for a visual representation of the zoning process.)

What is the Jamaica Pond Association’s role in zoning?

The Jamaica Pond Association serves as a forum for local community input into property-owners’ appeals for relief from Boston zoning rules. The JPA’s recommendation on a project typically carries some weight with the City of Boston Zoning Board of Appeal (ZBA) when considering whether to approve or deny appeals for relief. The Jamaica Pond Association can also help mediate conflicts between property-owners and neighbors during the property-owners’ appeals for relief from Boston zoning rules.

Am I legally required to submit my application for zoning relief to the Jamaica Pond Association?

No. However, the Zoning Board of Appeals typically does not look favorably upon appeals that have not gone through an organized process for collecting community feedback. Two city offices—the Boston Planning and Development Agency and the Office of the Mayor—also provide recommendations on every appeal to the ZBA, and look more favorably upon applications that have gone through an organized community process.

I’m scheduled to appear at a Jamaica Pond Association board meeting. What happens there?

The chair of the JPA’s zoning committee will ask you (or a representative such as an architect or lawyer) to explain your application, including the sharing of any relevant drawings or other exhibits. The chair will solicit input from anyone in attendance at the meeting who would like to comment on the application. Following a public discussion among JPA board members, the JPA board will decide either (a) not to oppose your application, (b) to oppose your application or (c) to postpone a vote until you have had an opportunity to address concerns identified at the meeting.

Why does the JPA oppose or not oppose an application?

The JPA seeks to balance property-owners’ desires and needs for their property with the desires and needs of their neighbors and the Jamaica Plain community in general.

As such, the JPA board expects that applicants have held a meeting with neighbors to discuss the project prior to presenting their application for zoning relief to the JPA board. Jamaica Plain’s neighborhood coordinator at City of Boston’s Office of Neighborhood Services can help with arranging that meeting. The JPA is particularly interested in knowing what direct neighbors think, and typically gives added weight to the voices of neighbors who show up in person (or live in the case of virtual meetings).

The JPA evaluates applications on the basis of applicants’ needs; neighborhood impacts such as traffic, parking and fit with the neighborhood’s design aesthetic; applicants’ demonstrated attempts to address neighbors’ material concerns; and broader community concerns such as the need for additional housing or preservation of the natural environment. At its meetings, the JPA often asks applicants to explain why they feel zoning relief is necessary for them to enjoy the reasonable use of their property.

What comes after the JPA’s vote?

The JPA board writes a letter explaining its decision and shares it with the applicant, the Zoning Board of Appeals, the Zoning Committee of the Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Council, the City Councilor for District Six, the Office of Neighborhood Services and the Jamaica Plain neighborhood planner for the Boston Planning and Development Agency (at the time of writing, the neighborhood planner is Ocean Luo). The typical next step for applicants who have received a letter of non-opposition is to submit their application to the Zoning Committee of the Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Council, which is an umbrella civic community association for all of Jamaica Plain (as opposed to the “sub-civic” JPA, which serves a sub-section of Jamaica Plain). See the zoning relief flow chart for more detail.

What options do I have if the JPA board votes to oppose my application?

Applicants can re-submit their application to the JPA with modifications intended to address concerns raised at the JPA meeting. Applicants can also choose to move to the next steps in the process by submitting their application to the Zoning Committee of the Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Council or going straight to requesting a ZBA hearing.

How long does this process take?

Once a Zoning Refusal Letter is issued by the City of Boston’s Inspectional Services Department (ISD), it typically takes four to six months until a ZBA hearing. At the ZBA hearing, the ZBA will vote either (a) to approve the application, (b) to approve the application pending Boston Development and Planning Agency design review, (c) to deny the application with prejudice or (d) to deny the application without prejudice. When an application is denied “without prejudice,” the applicant can re-file the plans again immediately although is expected to re-start the whole process. Applications denied “with prejudice” cannot be filed again until a year has passed. More detail on recent ZBA decisions can be found here.

The standard schedule for relevant meetings is:

Who can answer additional questions about this process?

The neighborhood coordinator for the City of Boston’s Office of Neighborhood Services is your first point of contact. At the time of writing, the contact for Jamaica Plain is Tiffani Caballero. You can also reach out to the JPA with additional questions at JPA02130 {at} gmail.com.

Additional Helpful Resources