CITY OF MELROSE MASTER PLAN 2004 OFFICE OF PLANNING & COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT D ENISE G AFFEY, D IRECTOR MASTER PLAN ADVISORY COMMITTEE MAYOR ROBERT DOLAN June 2004 Melrose Master Plan Advisory Committee Community Representatives Peter Bowman, Chair (Business Community) Alderman Gail Infurna (Aldermen) Charlene Weekley (School Committee) Anne DeSouza-Ward (Planning Board) Steve Gould (Community Development Council) Joan Cassidy (Affordable Housing Task Force) Dr. Jane Desforges (Open Space) Philip Kukura (Historic Preservation) Andrew Gallup (Community-at-large) Mike Henry (Community-at-large) City Representatives Mayor Robert J. Dolan Denise Gaffey, Director, Office of Planning and Community Development (OPCD) Jack Beckley, Director, Council on Aging Holly Killmer, Assistant Planner, OPCD Consulting Assistance provided by Taintor & Associates, Inc. Consulting assistance was made possible through a $30,000 grant for planning services provided through the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Executive Order 418 Program to support the completion of a Community Development Plan. Funding for the Community Development Plan was provided by the Department of Housing and Community Development, the Executive Office of Environmental Affairs, the Executive Office of Transportation and Construction, and the Department of Economic Development and administered through the Metropolitan Area Planning Council. I AM YOUR CITY! I REFLECT YOU AS THE LAKE MIRRORS THE SKY, IF I AM FAIR SO THAT THE STRANGER PASSING THROUGH SAYS, “THIS IS A CITY OF PEOPLE WHO LOVE THEIR HOMES,” YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE. IF I AM ILL PLANNED, UNKEMPT, SPRAWLING LIKE A BLOT, IT IS YOUR NEGLECT WHICH HAS WROUGHT THE RUIN. I AM THE EMBODIED IMAGE OF THE PRIDE OR NEGLECT OF ALL WHO HAVE CALLED ME HOME. I AM WHAT YOU MAKE ME – I AM YOUR CITY. Eva G. Osgood 1930 Melrose Planning Board 1921-1935 Table of Contents Executive Summary....................................................................................................................1 Vision Statement .........................................................................................................................3 Population and Social Characteristics ......................................................................................5 Population ............................................................................................................................................................. 5 Age Distribution.................................................................................................................................................... 6 Race....................................................................................................................................................................... 7 Educational Attainment......................................................................................................................................... 8 Income................................................................................................................................................................... 8 Land Use ....................................................................................................................................13 Introduction......................................................................................................................................................... 13 Land Use Trends ................................................................................................................................................. 14 Current Land Use Profile .................................................................................................................................... 18 Current Land Use Plan ........................................................................................................................................ 22 Zoning Analysis .................................................................................................................................................. 26 Land Use Challenges & Opportunities – Smart Growth Initiative...................................................................... 27 Goals, Objectives and Action Items for Land Use .............................................................................................. 31 Housing ......................................................................................................................................35 Introduction......................................................................................................................................................... 35 Housing Units...................................................................................................................................................... 35 Households.......................................................................................................................................................... 36 Age of Housing Stock ......................................................................................................................................... 37 Housing Types..................................................................................................................................................... 38 Cost of Housing................................................................................................................................................... 38 Housing Gap Analysis......................................................................................................................................... 40 Housing Affordability Gap Summary ................................................................................................................. 47 Subsidized Housing and Chapter 40B................................................................................................................. 47 Residential Tax Rate & Equalized Valuation Per Capita .................................................................................... 49 Developable Residential Land............................................................................................................................. 51 Population and Housing Observations ................................................................................................................ 52 A Growing Housing Mismatch ........................................................................................................................... 52 Future Trends & Recommendations.................................................................................................................... 53 Goals, Objectives and Action Items for Housing................................................................................................ 55 Economic Development ............................................................................................................57 Introduction......................................................................................................................................................... 57 Employment ........................................................................................................................................................ 58 Commercial and Industrial Tax Rate and Revenue ............................................................................................. 60 Existing Conditions Summary/Discussion .......................................................................................................... 61 Future Economic Development........................................................................................................................... 61 Table of Contents i Goals, Objectives and Action Items for Economic Development....................................................................... 66 Transportation ..........................................................................................................................67 Commuting Patterns............................................................................................................................................ 67 Street Network, Roadway Classification, and Existing Traffic Volumes & Trends ........................................... 68 Vehicle Accident Locations ................................................................................................................................ 70 Intersection Level of Service............................................................................................................................... 72 Melrose Traffic Commission/On-going Traffic Concerns .................................................................................. 73 Traffic Calming................................................................................................................................................... 74 Parking ................................................................................................................................................................ 75 Public Transportation .......................................................................................................................................... 77 Pedestrian Amenities/Walkability....................................................................................................................... 80 Bicycle Facilities................................................................................................................................................