Neighborhood Design Overlay Districts were created “to protect the existing scale, quality of the pedestrian environment, character of the residential neighborhoods, and concentration of historic buildings” within the district. Certain development projects located within a Neighborhood Design Overlay District are subject to additional design review by the Boston Planning and Development Agency. The area covered by the JPNA includes one Design Overlay District, the Belmont Square District, which includes sections of Sumner, Seaver, Webster, and Lamson Streets surrounding Brophy Park. The Gove Street Design Overlay District is located just to the north of the area covered by the JPNA.
