Belmont is compliant with the MBTA Communities Act. Town Meeting adopted 3A zoning for Belmont Center and Waverley Square in November 2024, allowing multifamily housing by right in those districts, and the state gave final approval in April 2025. The state required Belmont to zone for a capacity of 1,632 units. For owners and investors, it can expand what you are allowed to build on a Belmont parcel.
Belmont meets the MBTA Communities Act through 3A zoning districts in Belmont Center and Waverley Square, which Town Meeting adopted in November 2024 by a vote of 213 to 8, and which received final approval from the state's Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities in April 2025. As a commuter rail community, Belmont was required to zone for a capacity of 1,632 multifamily units, about 15 percent of its housing stock. The zoning allows multifamily housing as of right in those districts, meaning qualifying projects no longer need a special permit.
The zoning concentrates by right multifamily in two areas, Belmont Center and Waverley Square, with Waverley Square carrying the larger share as the contiguity district. About 50 acres were rezoned across the two centers, roughly 27 of them in Waverley Square. Because the boundaries are parcel specific and some lots are excluded, the only reliable way to know if a given property is in a district is to check it against the town's adopted zoning map. Send us the address and we will look it up.
Inside the districts, multifamily housing is allowed by right at a minimum density of 15 units per acre, a meaningful change from Belmont's traditionally restrictive zoning. That can turn a parcel that previously allowed only a single home or a two family into one where a multifamily building is permitted as of right. The exact unit count depends on the lot and the district rules, so each parcel needs its own analysis.
If your parcel sits in a district, your development potential, and therefore your value, may be higher than the old zoning implied. What that means depends on who you are:
We run that analysis before clients buy, sell, or hold.
There are two ways to check, in order of speed:
| Belmont 3A detail | Figure |
|---|---|
| MBTA community category | Commuter Rail |
| Required multifamily zoning capacity | 1,632 units |
| Capacity as share of housing stock | 15 percent |
| Compliance mechanism | 3A zoning in Belmont Center and Waverley Square, adopted November 2024 |
| State compliance status | Compliant, final EOHLC approval April 2025 |
| Typical current multifamily price point | $1,731,429 |
BELMONT MBTA SECTION 3A
A free zoning and value check for Belmont owners and investors
Belmont's new 3A zoning in Belmont Center and Waverley Square allows multifamily by right, and many parcels now carry development potential they did not have before. Send us your Belmont address and we will tell you whether it sits in a district, what it allows, and what that does to its value.
Yes. Belmont's Town Meeting adopted 3A zoning in November 2024, and the state gave final approval in April 2025.
Belmont was required to zone for a capacity of 1,632 multifamily units, about 15 percent of its housing stock, the obligation for a commuter rail community.
No. It allows multifamily by right only in the Belmont Center and Waverley Square districts, and it permits housing rather than requiring it to be built.
Check the city's adopted 3A zoning map, or send us the address and we will confirm it.
It can, because by right multifamily potential adds development options a parcel did not have before. The effect depends on the specific lot.
Written by Ethan Piani-Hohmann, broker and founder of PH Realty Group, a Greater Boston brokerage focused on multifamily and investment property. Last updated May 2026