Arlington Redevelopment Board - Feb 10th, 2025

Meeting held at 27 Maple St. Materials were available from https://arlington.novusagenda.com/agendapublic/MeetingView.aspx?MeetingID=2204&MinutesMeetingID=-1&doctype=Agenda.

Review Meeting Minutes

The board approved minutes from their Jan 27, 2025 meeting.

Discussion of Affordable Housing Overlay Article

(Rachel Zsembery, ARB Chair) Ms. Zsembery says this will be a working session with a citizen petitioner, rather than a public hearing. The petitioners gave a presentation at the board's last meeting, and submitted their main motion for review.

(Sanjay Newton, Petitioner) Mr. Newton says he'd like to present two slides, for the benefit of people who weren't at the earlier meeting. The first slide shows three projects from the Housing Corporation of Arlington, and each of them would qualify for by-right permitting under the affordable housing overlay (AHO). The majority of the funding came from state and federal funding. One project had to go the 40B route, because it didn't align with current zoning.

Mr. Newton says that 70% of dwellings would be income-restricted in the overlay. The requirement would be 60% AMI for rental units and 70% for owner-occupied units, which matches Arlington's inclusionary zoning requirements.

(Kin Lau, ARB) Mr. Lau understands this is intended to help non-profit developers, and will allow them to build more by-right. He asks what this would do for the Housing Corporation of Arlington.

(Erica Schwarz, Housing Corporation of Arlington) Ms. Schwarz says the AHO wouldn't allow them to access additional funds but it would save them money by reducing risks and providing clarity about the process. She says that other non-profit developers aren't coming to Arlington, and that's partly because of a lack of certainty in the development process. She likes the idea of a process that's shorter and more certain than 40B.

(Kin Lau) Mr. Lau asks if other communities have done this.

(Sanjay Newton) Mr. Newton says that Cambridge has, and it's been very successful there. Somerville also has an AHO, but it's newer.

(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery says that Mr. Newton said that mentioned two cities as examples, rather than two towns. She's concerned about having the overlay apply all over town. She's concerned about the business and industrial districts. She's concerned about single-resident occupancy buildings and the range of project types that the overlay would allow. She's concerned about the heights that would be allowed, and the fact that the AHO would allow taller buildings than the MBTA multifamily district. She's challenged by the scope of this article.

(Shaina Korman-Houston, ARB) Ms. Korman-Houston is comfortable with the scope of the article, but she has a number of questions. For example, why do large lots allow less height than smaller ones?

(Sanjay Newton) Mr. Newton says the heights are basically what's in the underlying zoning, plus two stories. The underlying zoning in the B districts allows taller buildings on smaller lots. Mr. Newton says members of his group have given presentations to community groups. Some people were nervous about the heights, and that led them to scale back the heights allowed in the R0, R1, and R2 districts.

(Shaina Korman-Houston) Ms. Korman-Houston asks if section 5.10.5 would allow zero setbacks.

(Sanjay Newton) Mr. Newton says that was not the intent.

(Shaina Korman-Houston) Ms. Korman-Houston sees a liberal approach when to comes to setbacks and open space, and building height provides the ability to use dormers. She suggests that Mr. Newton revisit that. Ms. Korman-Houston thinks the goal should be to maximize housing while respecting the surrounding community.

Ms. Korman-Houston says there's a fair bit of building code around sustainability. She thinks it's important to make allowances so that the physical design can meet sustainability requirements. She thinks it's very valuable in terms of providing a clear path.

(Eugene Benson) Mr. Benson likes the concept, but he thinks this rips out almost everything in the zoning bylaw and goes way too far. He thinks it could be pared back. He suggests going with the MBTA-C heights on Broadway and Mass Ave. He's concerned about having the affordable housing overlay in the industrial districts, and has some concerns about allowing it in B districts. He likes the idea of having some sort of business on the first floor, but he doesn't think that a community service facility should count as mixed use. He'd rather see that on the second floor.

Mr. Benson doesn't think the overlay should be exempt from the provisions for visibility around corners. He's a little concerned about getting rid of the minimum frontage requirement, because that could allow skinny and tall buildings. He thinks some elements of the inclusionary zoning provisions should stay. He thinks the parking minimum of 0.5 spaces per dwelling is okay on Mass Ave and Broadway, but not elsewhere. He thinks the overlay districts should mention something about signs and shadows. He likes the concept, but thinks that AHO projects should require a special permit, and not be allowed by right.

Mr. Benson knows that the MBTA Communities act allows by-right development, but he doesn't think Arlington uses special permits to keep things out. He thinks the proposal needs a lot of work.

(Steve Revilak, ARB) Mr. Revilak says he worked with Mr. Newton in formulating the proposal, so he's familiar with it. He'd like to answer a question that was asked earlier, and he has one question for the proponents.

Mr. Revilak followed Cambridge's affordable housing overlay, and has attended several of their project hearings. Cambridge permitted approximately 350 affordable units under the AHO in its first year; its been successful for them. He asks if affordable housing subsidies can be used to fund commercial space in a mixed use building.

(Erica Schwarz) Ms. Schwarz says that LIHTC would not fund commercial space, and this makes it tricky to build affordable housing in a mixed use building. Funding for the commercial space would have to come from somewhere else.

(Sanjay Newton) Mr. Newton says the commercial space becomes a liability for builders. They'd need to find someone to guarantee the income from that space.

(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery hopes this has provided Mr. Newton with some feedback.

(Claire Ricker) Ms. Ricker says the hearing for this article will be on March 24th.

(Sanjay Newton) Mr. Newton asks if the board would be willing to take this article forward.

(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery says the board will not be taking on this article. She thought she made that clear during the previous meeting.

(Sanjay Newton) Mr. Newton says he didn't understand that. Arlington's bylaw requires that a certified letter be mailed to each property owner, and that's beyond the scope of what a citizen group can do.

Discussion of Board Articles for 2025 Town Meeting

(Claire Ricker) Ms. Ricker says the main motions will need to be ready for the public by March 13th. Tonight, the board will discuss preliminary drafts of the main motions.

(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery suggests reserving one more meeting night for hearings.

(Eugene Benson) Mr. Benson thinks that nine citizen petitions will be a lot for one evening.

(Claire Ricker) Ms. Ricker says that two of the citizen petitions propose map changes, and have one article for the bylaw change and one for the map change. So, there are really seven articles.

Accessory Dwelling Units

(Eugene Benson) Mr. Benson wouldn't reference the state law in the definition of the ADU, because it leaves some aspects up to individual communities. He thinks that section 5.10 covers the requirements.

The board is okay with taking this out.

(Eugene Benson) Mr. Benson suggests removing the paragraph that would allow a second ADU by right.

(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak likes that provision. The thinks the regulations contemplate having, say, two ADUs in conjunction with a single-family dwelling and they're explicit about the special permit requirement.

(Kin Lau) Mr. Lau thinks we should align with state law.

(Shaina Korman-Houston) Ms. Korman-Houston thinks we should focus about bringing our ADU bylaw into compliance with the state law.

The board agrees with the idea of only making changes that are necessary for compliance with state law.

Transportation Demand Management

(Claire Ricker) Ms. Ricker says the board was interested in updating the transportation demand management (TDM) provisions to better support residential projects. She suggests they might be easier for smaller projects if two measures were required. Staff has suggested that proximity to a bus location be an option.

(Eugene Benson) Mr. Benson has suggested several edits for clarity. He'd like to require that any project be within 0.25 miles of a bus stop to be eligible for TDM, though that would exclude portions of town that aren't near transit. The largest portion of people are willing to walk 0.25 miles to a transit stop. He suggests that being located within 1/8th mile of a bus stop be one of the TDM options. He suggests adding a frequency of service requirement that only the Route 77 would meet.

(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak wouldn't make proximity to a bus stop a gating requirement for TDM. He works at an office in Lexington that meets Arlington's TDM requirements, despite not being close to an MBTA bus route. He says the goal of TDM is to provide for options other than driving alone, and that any measure to accomplish this should be allowed.

Mr. Revilak suggests that item (9) apply to locations within a 0.25 miles of a bus station, because that's only a five-minute walk. He disagrees with the frequency requirement, because it would exempt the 87 bus that serves the Broadway corridor.

He suggests including TDM measures that the board has allowed in the past, like providing charging facilities in bike rooms.

(Shaina Korman-Houston) Ms. Korman-Houston says she'd like to drop proximity to a bus line as a gating requirement. For item (9), she'd like a requirement that the bus run seven days per week.

(Kin Lau) Mr. Lau would like more clarity on the items regarding transit pass subsidies and a guaranteed ride home.

(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery is in favor of removing the 0.25 mile gating requirement. She thinks that a seven day per week service requirement makes sense for item (9).

(Eugene Benson) Mr. Benson makes a pitch for retaining his suggestions.

There's discussion about e-bike charging stations. Mr. Revilak says there are landlords who are concerned about the fire risks associated with large lithium-ion batteries.

Delete Inland Wetland Overlay District

(Claire Ricker) Ms. Ricker says that the Conservation Commission, Inspectional Services, and the town environmental planner all brought this up as a jurisdictional issue. She says there's no existing map of the overlay district.

(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery asks if someone from the Conservation Commission will be able to speak during town meeting.

(Claire Ricker) Ms. Ricker answers in the affirmative.

(Eugene Benson) Mr. Benson suggests having the ZBA speak as well. He thinks the Inland Wetland district pre-dates the state wetlands protection act, and it's very difficult to use.

Definition of Lot Coverage

(Claire Ricker) Ms. Ricker says that staff worked with the Zoning Board of Appeals on the definition.

There are no issues from the board.

Parking in Residential Districts

(Claire Ricker) Ms. Ricker says that staff worked with ZBA Chair Christian Klein on the main motion.

(Eugene Benson) Mr. Benson says he collaborated with Mr. Klein on some changes.

(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak thinks the proposed language is much easier to understand and administer than what's in the bylaw today. There is a substantive change he'd like to see: on a corner lot, the bylaw allows parking in the longer of the two front yards, if the lot is less than 6000 square feet. Mr. Revilak would like to see that provision apply regardless of lot size. He thinks that would help avoid "driveway moat" and reduce the amount of paved surface. But he'd be okay with the motion as proposed.

Other board members are okay with the main motion.

Screening and Buffer Requirements

(Claire Ricker) Ms. Ricker says this will remove duplicative material from the zoning bylaw.

(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak is okay with the main motion. In the future, he'd like to see the board revisit the buffer widths. In many cases, they exceed required yard setbacks in the B and I districts.

Redevelopment Board Jurisdiction

(Claire Ricker) Ms. Ricker says this article would remove the board's authority over projects that abut the minuteman bikeway, if they involve a single- or two-family home in the R1 or R2 districts. Those cases would become the jurisdiction of the ZBA.

(Eugene Benson) Mr. Benson suggests an edit to the wording.

Board members are okay with Mr. Benson's proposal.

Rezone B1 parcels

(Claire Ricker) Ms. Ricker says this article would rezone B1 parcels as B2A for greater potential. There would be one article for the zoning bylaw change, and one for the map change. Staff recommends changing parcels that are larger than 5000 square feet.

(Eugene Benson) Mr. Benson thinks that a 5000 square foot threshold would make sense. There are a handful of parcels that are not on a corridor, and Mr. Benson would keep those as B1. He notes that B1 uses allow a "Community Center" while B2A does not; he suggests adding that as an allowed use in B2A.

(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery isn't sure that square footage is the right barometer. She says the board has been trying to deal with the Swiss cheese of our zoning map and she doesn't want to create more discontinuity. She'd prefer to look at adjacent zoning and include the smaller B1 parcels.

(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak would prefer to rezone any B1 parcel that's on a corridor. He'd also be okay with rezoning any parcel that abuts a B2A, B4, or B5 district. He'd be okay with amending B2A's district definition so that it's not limited to certain streets.

(Kin Lau) Mr. Lau would be okay with rezoning the B1 parcels on Chestnut Street. He says that's a populated and busy area.

(Eugene Benson) Mr. Benson says he's okay with that, but we should amend the definition. He's inclined to leave the smaller parcels as B1.

There's discussion about the maps provided by staff. Board members agree they'll need to do due diligence and visit each of these areas.

Open Forum

(John Worden, Jason St) Mr. Worden says he's also filed an affordable housing overlay article. He says the idea is to allow affordable housing in all but the industrial and open space districts, but it would have to follow all of the existing zoning requirements. He says they can't overshadow solar panels, involve cutting down trees, or destroy historic houses.

(Wynelle Evans, Orchard Place) Ms. Evans asks if the changes to residential parking would prohibit having garages under dwellings.

(Marina Popova) Ms. Popova likes the idea of a bus frequency requirement for TDM.

(Eugene Benson) Mr. Benson doesn't believe there's any substantial change to the residential parking regulations. The revision contains exactly the same language about 15% slopes as the existing bylaw.

New Business

(Claire Ricker) Ms. Ricker says the there will be a home rule petition article to amend the town manager act, and clarify that the ARB is the town's board of survey. She says there are interdepartmental discussions going on as to the practical effects.

(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak says he's heard about a town Beautification Committee, and he's asks if staff can talk about that.

(Claire Ricker) Ms. Ricker says there is such a committee. She says we're in the process of staffing it up and making it functional.

Meeting adjourned.