FAQs - Regulatory Framework

What is Regulatory Framework?

The former South Weymouth Naval Air Station, renamed “SouthField,” is being transformed into a mixed-use “community within the communities” of Abington, Rockland and Weymouth.

The agency overseeing base development, the South Shore Tri-Town Development Corporation (SSTTDC), has adopted a broad range of regulations that provide development standards and guidelines. The 14-year, phased project includes up to two million square feet of office, retail and light industrial development and up to 2,855 residential units, as well as a golf course, athletic fields and recreational areas.

In 2006, the regulations were developed by a Zoning Working group consisting of architects, lawyers, town planners, engineers and environmental consultants. Members of this group also prepared the revised Reuse Plan and Zoning Bylaws for the host communities’ acceptance in 2005. SSTTDC will administer and enforce the regulations within the central redevelopment area, while the local towns will do so in their respective perimeter areas. At the end of SSTTDC’s legislated lifetime, the SouthField land will seamlessly transfer back to the three respective towns for the first time since the Navy bought the land in the early 1940s.

The regulations for SouthField include:

• Administrative Rules & Regulations – “To promote the expeditious and orderly conversion and redevelopment” of the property
  
• Affordable & Workforce Housing -- To ensure the new housing has the required mix of reasonably priced and affordable residences
  
• Architectural and Urban Design Standards and Guidelines – “To preserve a high quality of public realm” to reflect principles of Traditional Neighborhood Design and Smart Growth
  
• Subdivision Rules and Regulations -- To protect “the safety, convenience and welfare of the inhabitants and the environment”
  
• Sustainability Standards and Guidelines – To ensure that “construction, operation and maintenance of buildings and places can meet the needs of present users without compromising the interests of adjacent or future users regarding natural resources or the environment.”
  
• Wetlands Protection Rules and Regulations -- “To protect wetlands and other resources”

All Regulations can be found on here.

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