Arlington Redevelopment Board - Aug 5th, 2024

Meeting held at 27 Maple St. Materials were available from https://arlington.novusagenda.com/agendapublic/MeetingView.aspx?MeetingID=2100&MinutesMeetingID=-1&doctype=Agenda.

Review Meeting Minutes

The board approved minutes from their July 15th meeting, 5--0.

Docket 3810 - 149 Pleasant St

(Rachel Zsembery, ARB Chair) Ms. Zsembery outlines the process we'll follow for tonight's hearing. The applicant will provide a presentation, board members will be given an opportunity to ask questions, members of the public can provide their comments, and the board will discuss the application.

(Sarah Suarez, Assistant Planning Director) Ms. Suarez says that the applicant proposes to demolish a single-family home at 149 Pleasant St, and replace it with a three-family dwelling. The property is in an R4 district, where three-family homes are allowed by special permit. The applicant has gone before the Historic Districts Commission and been given a certificate of appropriateness. They're seeking relief for a second driveway, and the ability to provide required parking in one of the corner lots front yards. They're also seeking relief from the usable open space requirements, because the property has a 16% grade.

(Martha Penzenik, Architect) Ms. Penzenik says they plan to replace the existing single-family house with a three-family home, and their first request is to be granted a special permit for the three-family use in R4. There will be one accessible unit at ground level, with two side-by-side units above. The building was designed to resemble a single-family home in the Italian Renaissance Revival style. She says the Arlington Historic Districts Commission determined it would be an asset to the town. Ms. Penzenik says they're requesting two driveways: one on Pleasant St. and one on Gray St. This will reduce the amount of vehicles in any one place on the property. The lower driveway, on Pleasant St., will provide parking for the accessible unit.

The driveway on Pleasant St. is 26.4' from the intersection, and the driveway on Gray Street is 57' from the intersection. Ms. Penzenik doesn't think there's enough room for a vegetated buffer between the driveway and the abutting property on Gray Street, but there is room for a fence.

(Kin Lau, ARB) Mr. Lau thinks this is a very complete package. He asks if water can flow down Gray St and enter the driveway there.

(Matt, Engineer) Matt says there will be a gutter line and trench drain to prevent runoff from entering the property.

(Kin Lau) Mr. Lau asks if cars will bottom out when entering or exiting the driveway.

(Matt) Matt doesn't think that will be an issue.

(Kin Lau) Mr. Lau asks about their plans for mechanical space.

(Martha Penzenik) Ms. Penzenik says there will be a utility closet on the ground level. Otherwise, they'll be on the third floor on in the attic.

(?) One of the applicants says that condensers will probably be put underneath the rear deck.

(Kin Lau) Mr. Lau asks if the building will be all electric.

(Property owner) The owner says they're planning to use gas.

(Kin Lau) Mr. Lau asks if that will require a chimney.

(Property owner) The owner answers in the negative.

There's a discussion about exterior trims.

(Shaina Korman-Houston, ARB) Ms. Korman-Houston asks if they're planning gas heating and cooking.

(?) One of the applicants answers in the affirmative.

(Shaina Korman-Houston) Ms. Korman-Houston points out that Arlington is part of the fossil fuel free pilot program, which generally prohibits fossil fuel use in new construction. She suggests that the applicants look at the codes, to see if gas will be allowed in their building.

(?) The applicants say they'll have to comply with the building codes.

(Shaina Korman-Houston) Ms. Korman-Houston asks if they'll need to provide solar panels.

(?) One of the applicants says that the Historic Districts Commission isn't keen on solar panels.

(Shaina Korman-Houston) Ms. Korman-Houston asks how the applicants came to the decision of asking for two driveways.

(Martha Penzenik) Ms. Penzenik says they wanted to provide a separate driveway for the accessible unit. She thinks that two access points will provide additional safety.

(Shaina Korman-Houston) Ms. Korman-Houston asks the applicants to consider a design that requires a single curb cut.

(Martha Penzenik) Ms. Penzenik says the lot has a 16% slope from east to west. She says they wanted to serve the accessible unit, and avoid excess traffic on Pleasant St.

(Shaina Korman-Houston) Ms. Korman-Houston asks why the applicants aren't providing any usable open space.

(Martha Penzenik) Ms. Penzenik says it's because of the slope of the property. She thinks the 8% grade requirement in the bylaw is nonsense.

(Shaina Korman-Houston) Ms. Korman-Houston asks how the applicants envision the yard being used.

(Martha Penzenik) Ms. Penzenik says that the flattest area is along Pleasant St, near some pine trees. She thinks that people will find ways to enjoy their property.

(Eugene Benson, ARB) Mr. Benson thinks it was very nice for the applicants to propose a multi-family use. He says it appears that one of the driveways would require the removal of a crab apple street tree. He notes that they are also proposing to remove trees in the setback areas. He suggests they review these plans with the tree warden, because trees in the setback are protected by town bylaws.

Mr. Benson notes that Arlington's Zoning Bylaw requires a street tree every 25'.

Mr. Benson notes that the applicants are requesting six parking spaces, but only three are required. He thinks they could make that work with a single driveway. He could understand if the applicants were asking for relief to meet the minimum requirements, but asking for more than the minimum is another thing.

(Martha Penzenik) Ms. Penzenik objects to having one parking space per dwelling. She says people don't live that way.

(Eugene Benson) Mr. Benson says the portion of the driveway that's in the setback can be used for extra parking. He says the parking spaces will need to be indicated on the plans.

There's more discussion about parking, and the need for a retaining wall on the west side of the property.

(Matt) Matt says there will be a retaining wall, which will be about 2' high. It will be covered in veneer, so it looks like a stone wall.

(Eugene Benson) Mr. Benson asks which way water will flow.

(Matt) Matt indicates this on the site plan. Water will flow into a dry wall.

(Eugene Benson) Mr. Benson says that the ZBL allows applicants to request a second driveway, but the board isn't required to grant that request.

Mr. Benson says the applicants will need to provide a LEED checklist that's filled in. The one they submitted is all zeros.

(Martha Penzenik) Ms. Penzenik says that was her mistake. She'll submit a new checklist.

(Eugene Benson) Mr. Benson says that solar systems are required for projects that undergo Environmental Design Review, but there are exceptions. He says the applicants will need to state which exception applies to them.

(Steve Revilak, ARB) Mr. Revilak thinks the solar exception in 6.4.2.C may be applicable; it exempts properties where a historic districts commission has denied a certificate of appropriateness. He asks if the applicants discussed solar panels with the Historic Districts Commission.

(?) One of the applicants answers in the negative.

(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery suggests that a memo from the Historic Districts Commission -- saying they would not approve solar panels -- would be sufficient.

(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak appreciates the intention to plan native trees. He asks the applicants to consider trees that would do well in the upper ranges of the hardiness scale, because temperatures are rising, and the hardiness zones are moving north.

Mr. Revilak has additional comments about parking and open space, but he'd like to save them for the board discussion. He thinks that parking will be a challenge.

(Kin Lau) Mr. Lau notes there's a room on the third floor that isn't labeled. He asks what that will be used for.

(?) One of the applicants says it's a bedroom.

(Kin Lau) Mr. Lau asks if that would make the dwelling a rooming house?

(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak answers in the negative. Arlington used to have a bylaw that prohibited more than four unrelated adults from living together, and more than that would have been considered a boarding house. He say we removed that restriction a few years ago, and it's okay to have a four-bedroom home.

The chair opens the hearing to public comment.

(Bertrand Halperin, 11 Gray St) Mr. Halperin's says his main concern is the driveway. He thought there were setback rules for driveways, but if that's not the case, then that's not the case. He's concerned about his plants, which may have roots growing where the Gray St. driveway is proposed. He'd like the driveway not to be so close, and he'd like to see more renderings.

(Anton Rapidov, Mass Ave) Mr. Rapidov says he'd prefer electric utilities to gas, and less parking. He thinks this will be a big improvement over what's there today.

(Susan Stamps, Grafton St) Ms. Stamps says it looks like the applicants are planning to remove two or three pine trees. She says that removal of street trees requires a tree hearing, and that street trees are public assets. Regarding parking, she says that Arlington just went through nearly a year of consciousness about cars, and making the town more pedestrian-friendly.

(Helena Halperin, 11 Gray St) Ms. Halperin says her primary concern is about having asphalt near the property line. She understands the need for additional housing, but is concerned about excessive parking. She thinks that a retaining wall will affect her plants, and questions whether they'll survive. She thinks this will be an improvement aesthetically, but hopes it won't kill her plants.

There are no more comments from the public.

(Steve Revilak, ARB) Mr. Revilak wants to go over the parking requirements in Section 6.1.10.A, which the board will need to discuss. Arlington's bylaw makes a distinction between where required parking spaces have to be, and where people are allowed to park. Required parking spaces have to be behind the front setback, but parking in the front setback is allowed. For example, the existing home has a one-car garage in the basement; that's the required parking space. There's also a driveway leading up to the garage; it's okay to park there, but the driveway can't be counted as a required parking space. Basically, our bylaw requires an extra parking space in the driveway, beyond what's required, but it can't be counted as a parking space.

Section 6.1.10.A allows required parking spaces to be in three places. The first is a garage; that's not applicable here, because there is no garage. The second is in a basement; in this case, that would be where the accessible unit is located. The third case is on a driveway in the side or rear yard. This is a corner lot, so it has two front yards. The three required spaces have to be in the rear yard (on the west), or the side yard (on the north).

Mr. Revilak shows two possible paths for the driveway to take. He recognizes that one would encircle the building like a moat, but that's what the bylaw wants to see.

If this case were in front of the ZBA, Mr. Revilak says the applicants would need to seek a variance from the usable open space requirements. However, he thinks they have a plausible case, because it would be due to conditions of soil, shape, or topography that affect this particular property, but not the R4 district as a whole.

There's discussion among board members, regarding parking and open space.

(Kin Lau) Mr. Lau thinks that having the parking spaces behind the house would reduce the yard, and he understands that the applicants want to keep the trees in the side yard. He also understands the architect's desire to separate the accessible space from the rest of the parking. He thinks they'll have to shift the curb cut on Pleasant St. to avoid an existing street tree. Mr. Lau suggests sliding it over to one side.

Mr. Lau thinks that landscaping and parking are going to involve tradeoffs.

(Shaina Korman-Houston) Ms. Korman-Houston agrees with Mr. Lau. She thinks it's unfortunate that we have to request a site plan that's detrimental to the natural environment because of parking. She wonders if there's an opportunity for the Pleasant St. driveway to head in to the left. There may be other options if the applicants are willing to provide fewer than six spaces.

There's back and fourth discussion about street trees.

(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery agrees with Ms. Korman-Houston. She wonders if shifting the building plan west and trying to meet more of the bylaw requirements would avoid the need for a second driveway. She has concerns about the driveway directly abutting the property line, and wonders if it could be pulled in enough to provide a 12--18" buffer.

(Matt) Matt says he can provide a drawing with a cross section of the retaining wall.

(Eugene Benson) Mr. Benson thinks it would be helpful to have a plan that indicates plantings.

(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery thinks it would be worthwhile to see a plan that consolidates parking into a single driveway.

(Eugene Benson) Mr. Benson says he has an issue with putting parking spaces in the front setback. If they provided three spaces outside the setback, there would be additional parking area in the driveway.

(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery would like to review what the Board is asking the applicant to provide at their next hearing. Her list includes: an updated LEED checklist and narrative, a sectional diagram of the retaining wall, identification of parking locations, identification of an accessible space, reviewing plans with the tree warden, plans that show where each public shade tree is located, checking with Inspectional Services about the applicability of the fossil fuel-free bylaw to this proposal, and a letter from the Historic Districts Commission regarding solar panels.

(Kin Lau) Mr. Lau would like to see the location of trash areas.

The board votes to continue the hearing to October 5th, 5--0.

Economic Development Discussion

This item involves a discussion between the ARB and the town's Economic Development Coordinator, Katie Luczai. Ms. Luczai starts with a presentation.

(Katie Luczai, Economic Development Coordinator) Ms. Luczai says there are 1,691 businesses in Arlington, including 135 retail establishments, 74 food establishments, and 31 businesses involving sports and recreation.

Responses to Envision Arlington surveys show that Arlington has a number of strengths. These include the Minuteman Bikeway, Spy Pond, the Arlington Reservoir, the Regent and Capitol Theaters, open spaces, and quality schools.

Ms. Luczai says that local receipts from meals and hotel rooms are a good indicator of economic health. Arlington has high meal receipts, ahead of Concord and Lexington. In terms of room receipts, Arlington only has one hotel, but it's done quite well since the pandemic.

Ms. Luczai is responsible for enforcing Arlington's Vacant Storefront bylaw, and she's gotten stricter about getting building owners to remove signs from vacant spaces. She thinks the bylaw has been good for creating connections with landlords.

Ms. Luczai says that some buildings have run into the maximum number of signs allowed by the bylaw. She thinks that not allowing neon signs has been a challenge, which puts our businesses at a slight disadvantage.

A few years ago, we adopted bylaws to allow artist live/work spaces in the industrial districts. However, the Arlington Commission for Arts and Culture (ACAC) never finalized the guidelines contemplated by the bylaw. She'll follow up with the ACAC on that.

We're finalizing plans for a mural on the American Alarm building in Arlington Center, and we'd like to do 2--3 more of them before the end of November. Ms. Luczai says it's hard to find business owners that are willing to allow murals on their walls.

Work on the Arlington Heights Business District will pick up the fall. Ms. Luczai says that Arlington Heights had a 45 room hotel in the early 1900s, and she thinks there is an opportunity for a hotel in the heights.

We're working on Arlington 250 events, in collaboration with Lexington, Concord, and Lincoln. There's also a Minuteman wayfinding project in progress.

(Rachel Zsembery, ARB Chair) Ms. Zsembery asks if board members have any questions for Ms. Luczai.

(Steve Revilak, ARB) Mr. Revilak says the board met with Chamber of Commerce Director Beth Locke last year. Ms. Locke says there are a lot of businesses that would like to come to Arlington, but can't find suitable spaces -- our spaces are too small, too old, or not in good condition. Mr. Revilak asks if Ms. Luczai agrees or disagrees with that assessment, and why.

(Katie Luczai) Ms. Luczai agrees. Our commercial stock is old and small -- generally under 2000 square feet. That's not suitable for many businesses. Older buildings usually mean higher up-front renovation costs. She's also seen cases where businesses had trouble dealing the landlord's real estate brokers; they'd call the broker about a space, but wouldn't get a call back.

(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak says that Arlington has large, monolithic residential districts. These tend not to be very walkable, because there's nothing in them to walk too. Mr. Revilak says he likes the idea of allowing neighborhood scale businesses in neighborhoods -- things like cafes, beauty supply shops, and corner stores. He asks Ms. Luczai if those kinds of businesses would be viable in Arlington neighborhoods.

(Katie Luczai) Ms. Luczai answers in the affirmative. She'd also like to see us allow a broader range of home occupations, because what we do allow is quite restrictive.

(Eugene Benson, ARB) Mr. Benson asks what kinds of spaces are people looking for.

(Katie Luczai) Ms. Luczai says people aren't looking for office space. It's mostly retail, fitness, and childcare, which need 3000--8000 square feet. There's less interest from restaurants, but we already have quite a few of those.

(Eugene Benson) Mr. Benson asks if there's any interest in our industrial district.

(Katie Luczai) Ms. Luczai says no. Arlington isn't really suited for industrial uses, and we're not located on a main thoroughfare. She thinks that Arlington has a stronger appeal for smaller businesses.

(Eugene Benson) Mr. Benson asks if Ms. Luczai has any suggestions regarding neon signs.

(Katie Luczai) Ms. Luczai thinks our sign bylaw could be more flexible in that area. She's also seen interest in cabinet and light box signs.

(Shaina Korman-Houston, ARB) Ms. Korman-Houston is interested in hearing more about murals.

(Katie Luczai) Ms. Luczai says she'd prefer to have them along the main corridors, and that they remain up for at least three years.

(Kin Lau, ARB) Mr. Lau thinks that we don't have much control over the small commercial spaces. He asks if we've considered things like tax breaks, to help offset the startup costs.

(Katie Luczai) Ms. Luczai says the state has a Vacant Storefront Districts program, which can provide tax credits of up to $10k.

(Kin Lau) Mr. Lau thinks that Boston has created some good incentives.

(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery thinks this is something we can discuss at our joint meeting with the Select Board.

(Kin Lau) Mr. Lau says we can't make the small spaces bigger, but we can make it easier for businesses to get into them. He asks what Ms. Luczai has been doing in terms of old sign enforcement.

(Katie Luczai) Ms. Luczai says she's been doing that as part of the vacant storefront bylaw enforcement. She informs the landlord that the old signs have to come down.

(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery wonders if there are ways we can incentivize larger spaces in the Arlington Heights Business District. She says that's something to think about.

(Kin Lau) Mr. Lau thinks we can help by reducing parking requirements, or finding a way for the town to provide parking.

(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak thinks that the Arlington Center parking benefits district has had a positive effect. He asks if there might be an opportunity to create additional benefit districts, in Arlington Heights and Capitol Square.

(Katie Luczai) Ms. Luczai says she's heard a desire for free parking, but recognizes the improvements that parking benefits districts can bring -- things like planters, and public seating. Businesses in Arlington Heights have generally been doing this by themselves, whereas businesses in Capitol Square have not.

Alewife Redevelopment Discussion

(Sarah Suarez, Assistant Planning Director) Ms. Suarez tells the board that the MBTA has issued a NOI for the redevelopment of the Alewife T station, and surrounding properties. They're looking for a private developer to collaborate on redevelopment of the site. Ms. Suarez says that we don't have much information now, but staff will provide the board with new information that becomes available.

(Rachel Zsembery, ARB chair) Ms. Zsembery asks board members for their thoughts.

(Steve Revilak, ARB) Mr. Revilak says he's very excited by the possibilities. Mr. Revilak understands that the Alewife Garage has structural issues, and will cost $155M to rebuild. According to the NOI, the T will have to spend $55M over the next ten years just to keep the garage operational in its current condition. He thinks that a public/private partnership makes a lot of sense, especially since the legislature has been unwilling to fund the T's operating costs.

(Eugene Benson, ARB) Mr. Benson says he asked to have this item put on the agenda, because he wanted to figure out the ARB's role in process. He thinks this could be good, or it could be detrimental. More combined sewer overflows would be bad, especially since the Alewife Brook already overflows onto the adjacent greenway. There's also the issue of traffic. He thinks the town should make contact with the MBTA early in the process, and we should be part of any stakeholder group that's put together. Mr. Benson notes that there's an Arlington group that's interested in extending the red line, and they may have an interest in participating.

(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak says he's less concerned about traffic. Cambridge did an Alewife Brook Master Plan in 2019, and the plan estimates that 82% of the traffic in the Alewife district is through traffic -- it neither begins nor ends there. Alewife traffic a regional issue that neither the T nor Cambridge can address by themselves.

(Shaina Korman-Houston) Ms. Korman-Houston asks if we can raise the issue of CSOs. She'd like new development to improve and mitigate combined sewers.

(Eugene Benson) Mr. Benson wonders if Cambridge could do tax anticipatory bonding to improve the sewer system. He wonders if space around the station could be used for artificial wetlands, like some of the nearby areas.

(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery thinks that Arlington should make some kind of statement before the MBTA issues their RFP.

(Kin Lau) Mr. Lau thinks that we'll need to find contacts within the MBTA and the City of Cambridge.

Open Forum

(Kristen Anderson, 12 Upland Road West) Ms. Anderson says that millions of gallons of untreated sewage are dumped into Alewife Brook. The Brook flows onto the Alewife Greenway path, and people walk through that. Ms. Anderson thinks that's horrific, and climate change will exacerbate these conditions. Her group, Save the Alewife Brook, has called for an end to sewage hookups until their CSOs are closed. She says there are several CSO outlets near the Alewife Garage, and the MWRA outlet discharged over a million gallons. She believes this will get worse if there's no closure, and that Cambridge and Somerville need to come up with a plan.

(Beth Melofchik, 20 Russel Place) Ms. Melofchik says she's come to support Save the Alewife Brook. She's shocked and outraged that this situation has been allowed to continue. She asks the ARB to speak with one voice, and ask that no new sewer connections be allowed until the Alewife CSOs are closed. She thinks it would be wonderful to see the brook returned to its natural state.

New Business

(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak says the house and senate passed the Housing Bond Bill, which Governor Healey is scheduled to sign tomorrow morning. One of the provisions allows accessory dwelling units by-right in all single-family districts, with no restrictions on owner occupancy. Mr. Revilak thinks the affidavit requirement of our bylaw may be in conflict with that, and we should consider an amendment for the next town meeting.

Meeting adjourned.