Zoning Text Amendments

Beals Associates, Inc. was initially engaged to provide land planning, civil engineering, local and state permitting and overall project management services for the redevelopment of the Arsenal on the Charles office complex into our client’s corporate campus. The first essential accomplishment into implementing the ten-year master plan was the successful approval of several zoning text amendments by the Watertown City Council. Beals Associates took the lead in the permitting and project management aspects of this process.

Over the course of almost two years, Beals Associates worked with various stakeholders including client corporate staff, Watertown officials and local community groups – to prepare amendments to bring the Arsenal Overlay District (AODD) zoning closer in line with the goals and aspirations of our client. The major purposes of the amendments were to create a comprehensive plan for the campus, establish a clear permitting process, add additional but appropriate height, allow retail as a permitted principal use and remove unnecessary and outdated text from zoning language.

The process to approval included facilitating multiple community meetings and meeting numerous times with various Town departments to incorporate input from both residents and local officials. Beals Associates presented the final versions to City Council and received approval of all amendments.