Revere, MA Zoning Overlays & Bonuses: Downtown Design Guide (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing overlay
- Wonderland Transit-Oriented Development Overlay District (WTODOD)
- Design guide adopted
- July 2009 WTODOD Design Guidelines
- Reviewing bodies
- Site plan review committee and Revere Beach Design Review Board
- RBDRB deadline
- 60 days, silence deemed approval
- Underlying district
- RC2, near MBTA Wonderland station
Summary
Revere's Wonderland Transit-Oriented Development Overlay District requires every development proposal to match the city's July 2009 "WTODOD Design Guidelines" before the site plan review committee can approve it. The developer must also win sign-off from the separate Revere Beach Design Review Board, created by a 1975 special act, or the board's silence past sixty days counts as approval.
The developer submits the Site Plan Review application required by Section 17.17,060 of the Revere Zoning Ordinance to the site plan review committee, which application shall be supplemented with information sufficient to demonstrate that the proposed development is consistent with the "Revere Beach Design Review Board Submission and Design Guidelines" prepared on behalf of the city of Revere for the WTODOD issued in July of 2009 (the "WTODOD Design Guidelines"); ... The Revere Beach Design Review Board a ... pproves those plans as described in RBDRB Act. If the Revere Beach Design Review Board fails to approve or to deny the preliminary site development plans, in writing and within sixty days of their submission, then as to this section, those plans shall be deemed approved.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: rev 4804778; v14 updated 2026-05-04).
Full Breakdown
030, no site plan in the Wonderland Transit-Oriented Development Overlay District (WTODOD), the area around the MBTA Wonderland Blue Line station mapped within the RC2 district, can proceed until the developer's Site Plan Review application to the site plan review committee is supplemented with information demonstrating consistency with the "Revere Beach Design Review Board Submission and Design Guidelines" adopted for the district in July 2009. 070's standards before approving it. For land described by the 1975 special act establishing the Revere Beach Design Review Board (RBDRB), 1975 Mass.
Acts c. 841, the developer must separately submit preliminary site development plans to the RBDRB itself, a body distinct from the city's own site plan review committee. If the RBDRB does not act in writing within sixty days, the plans are automatically deemed approved. 6, and heights up to 160 feet, become available. The chapter applies only to land in which the developer holds a legal interest, and where WTODOD provisions are silent the underlying RC2 district rules fill the gap.
Violations & Fines
Building or expanding within the WTODOD without an approved, design-consistent site plan means the project has no valid Site Plan Review approval. Under Revere Municipal Code § 17.04.030, any building erected without meeting the title's requirements is a zoning violation that automatically voids its certificate of occupancy. The building inspector will not issue permits until the site plan review committee, and where the RBDRB Act applies, the Design Review Board sign off.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does every Revere project need the WTODOD Design Guidelines review?
What happens if the Design Review Board never responds?
Who decides if a project matches the design guidelines?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Revere
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