Arlington Redevelopment Board - Dec 4th, 2017

Zoning Recodification Update and Warrant Article. The recodification is at the point of being ready to put on the warrant. The town received the hearing draft earlier this month, and are making refinements to get it into a final form. Both the ZRWG and staff believe the recodified ZBL is ready for a hearing. The first ARB hearing will be held on Jan 8th. We expect several continuation hearings.

Andrew Bunnell requested that the hearing not be continued to consecutive nights, to allow time to incorporate changes and public feedback.

DPCD proposed an outreach meeting schedule. They'll hold office hours from 17:00--19:00 on Dec 7th, 14th, and Jan 4th. They've also proposed four neighborhood meetings, on Jan 17th, Jan 18th, Jan 24th, and Feb 1st. Each neighborhood meeting will be held from 19:00--21:00. Neighborhood meetings would be on the final draft, as it would go before town meeting. The goal is to educate town meeting members.

Advertising will include town notices, direct mailing, social media, and outreach to neighborhood groups.

The ZRWG will produce additional reference materials, including an extended guide and FAQ. The public will have 3--4 weeks to review this material before the ARB hearing.

The special town meeting will begin on Feb 12th. Town Counsel has reviewed the proposed warrant article, and incorporated suggestions from the Mass. Attorney General's office.

John Worden asked if the process could be extended for another three months. We didn't see why it couldn't take longer; he didn't see why the ARB hearing had to be right after the holidays.

David Watson pointed out that the recodification work has been going on for over a year. The original goal was to have a special town meeting in October 2017. This schedule has been extended several times, in order to accomodate public requests for information and supporting materials. Holding the ARB hearing after the holidays isn't optimal, but that's the way the timing worked out.

Andrew Bunnell prefers to keep the recodification separate from spring town meeting, so that TMMs can focus on the recodification alone. Gene Benson states that the full text of the recodification will be available when the warrant article is put forward.

ARB members propose changes to the warrant article (e.g., section numbers in the warrant article didn't match the numbering in the recodified ZBL). ARB votes in favor of the amended warrant article.

Arlington's annual town meeting will begin on April 23rd.

There's one zoning warrant article in the pipline, originating from the residential study group. This article is slated for a ``future town meeting, not necessarily this spring.

Approving Minutes. The ARB reviewed draft minutes from Nov 15th. Gene suggested several corrections. Minutes accepted as amended.