What’s wrong with our current zoning code aside from a lack of compliance with MBTA-CA?

Our current zoning code routinely specifies zones by use and uses limiting criteria that don’t specify how a building should integrate with its neighbors or with its streetscape. The uniformity of use in zoning tends to separate uses in different parts of the town: single family homes in one area, commercial districts elsewhere, etc. This separation typically leads to a greater dependence on cars.
The lack of form-based codes prevents people from being able to define and then enforce predictable design constraints that reinforce the character of their neighborhood.
We can’t maximize the value of the space in our most transit friendly areas because of inconsistencies in our zoning code. In particular. floor area ratios (FAR) in areas such as Harvard Street are too low to maximize the number of floors allowed by the building height limits of these areas. Thus, we lose the opportunity to create mixed use developments that include ground-floor retail and housing in the same building.
The extensive use of special permits as workarounds to other flaws in our zoning code makes developing housing more expensive. The permitting process takes longer, more expertise is required, and the outcomes are more discretionary. More discretionary outcomes either force a uniformity in areas that don’t necessarily warrant uniformity, or are difficult to defend if they are challenged.