A city initiative that would ease the path to new development in Boston’s commercial centers faced a trial run Monday night, drawing mixed reactions at a virtual meeting organized by the Greater Mattapan Neighborhood Council (GMNC).

The proposed changes are part of the “Squares + Streets” initiative that has been launched by Mayor Wu to modernize the city’s development process. If adopted, the changes would reduce regulatory hurdles to more density and active use in areas with more traffic and proximity to transit stops. In line with earlier work by residents and the Boston Planning and Development Agency (BPDA) on PLAN Mattapan, adopted last year, the neighborhood is the first in the city to be mapped for the initiative in detail.

“We’re not trying to rezone to fundamentally establish new context here,” Kathleen Onufer, deputy director of planning for the BPDA, told participants in Monday’s virtual meeting, “but to build on the context [that is already] there, and that we’re going to be willing to revisit and update on a regular basis to keep our zoning up to date.”

Under the plan, most of the zoning changes would take place close to or along main streets—Blue Hill Avenue, Morton Street, River Street, and Cummins Highway. In some of these areas, the changes would allow size, density, and use comparable to that of existing buildings, some of which had been allowed only after a lengthy process for a zoning variance. In Boston, the process allows for more vetting by residents, with original plans by developers often scaled back before getting approval from the Board of Appeal.

“Updated zoning is going to hopefully benefit everyone,” said Onufer. “Right now, because our zoning doesn’t match both what’s on the ground and definitely doesn’t match what we want to see happen, it means that projects are a project-by-project negotiation.” She went on to explain that the goal of the initiative is “to really get in front of development and make sure that we have rules in place that match what we’ve planned for here.”

Many of the concerns raised at the presentation were less about individual projects than about their neighborhood impact, especially after the rise in property values stemming from the expansion of transit service on the Fairmount-Indigo line, with two stops in Mattapan. One Mattapan resident, Ruth Georges, pointed to an increase in her local tax bill.

“I’m not saying that I don’t agree with rezoning. I think that in this rezoning, this is a perfect opportunity to take into consideration residents who are low-to-moderate income, and those who simply can’t afford it, because they have dependents,” said Georges. “And so, I think to not include something that had a scale in increasing taxes or a cap on how much is increased based on how much development is coming, is indirectly feeding into long-term gentrification in these areas. Great things will come in, but those who live here won’t long be able to afford them.”

Onufer noted that the city’s assessed values for local taxes typically lag behind market levels, only to catch up when a property is sold, often at a much higher price. But she acknowledged that local taxation was also beyond the direct control of planners and subject to state laws. She told Georges, “I think it’s something that we’re very aware we ought to keep close eye on and continue to work with our colleagues to make sure we’re setting it up for success.”

A GMNC board member, Allentza Michel, also suggested creation of a zoning overlay that could more closely peg the affordability of new housing to an area’s income level.

Under the “Streets + Squares” initiative there would be five levels of development. In Mattapan, the highest level, allowing for the most height, density, and active street-level use—as well as access for people with disabilities, would be near Mattapan Square, north and east of Cummins Highway.

On mostly residential streets farther from the square, the new zoning would allow for more four-story residential buildings or smaller-scale apartment complexes—development that was previously permitted only after a zoning variance. There would also be yard-space requirements to make development compatible with adjacent housing on less active side streets, but also to make room for trees to moderate the effect of “heat islands.”

In other areas of Mattapan, the new zoning would make it easier for three-deckers to have ground-floor commercial use, or for upper-level housing above ground-floor commercial space. Some residents at the virtual meeting warned that more active use, even where limited to smaller businesses, could result in more trash and congestion from double-parking for pickups and deliveries, and from customers.

“Even in the smaller lots, those same issues that have to deal with public safety, that have to deal with public sanitation, all apply even on the smaller lots, because usually they’re convenience stores,” said GMNC Chair Fatima Ali-Salaam. “They trigger parking issues and all that. They’re also about deliveries. Everything that you see inside of a larger project still happens in those smaller lots because they are on a corridor like Blue Hill Avenue.”

Onufer acknowledged that, even with access to off-street loading bays, some drivers for deliveries and pickups will try to save time or increase convenience by double-parking. She said that parking and sanitation would have to be regulated not strictly as development, but through the city’s licensing, permitting, and code enforcement.

According to Onufer, the BPDA could vote on the “Squares + Streets” zoning for Mattapan as early as next month, followed by a vote on adoption by the city’s Zoning Commission. She also noted that the new zoning could also be affected by work on the transportation action plan for Blue Hill Avenue, under the BPDA and the MBTA.

“Our goal in doing this is not to sort of do this once and walk away and not come back for twenty-five years,” she said, “but to make sure we keep this zoning up to date and working, and so that means revisiting.”