Somerville Streamlines Applications for Zoning, Historic Preservation

SOMERVILLE, MA — The City of Somerville Planning, Preservation, and Zoning (PPZ) Division is streamlining the application process for zoning relief and historic preservations, effective July 5.

The city now accepts all new applications for permits for the Historic Preservation Commission, Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals through the city’s Citizenserve Portal, the same online portal currently used for building permits and licensing by the City’s Inspectional Services Department (ISD).

The transition to Citizenserve centralizes all zoning relief and historic preservation project applications and documents into a single online platform. According to city officials, this change will help create a central repository for all project-related documents and streamline communications between applicants and staff.

Applications/processes that can now be submitted via Citizenserve include:

• Historic Preservation
• Demolitions of buildings over 75 years old
• Alterations to properties within Local Historic Districts
• Memorandum of agreement (MOA) process
• Zoning Permits
• Special Permits
• Site Plan Approval
• Hardship Variances
• Plan Revisions

All applications submitted prior to July 5, 2023 will be processed under the previous system.

Additional information on submitting applications via Citizenserve is available at somervillema.gov/citizenserve. Anyone with questions may email planning@somervillema.gov (zoning permit questions), historic@somervillema.gov (historic preservation questions), isd@somervillema.gov (building permit questions), or isdzoning@somervillema.gov (zoning ordinance questions).