Arlington Redevelopment Board - Jun 15th, 2026

Meeting held at 27 Maple Street. Materials were available from https://arlingtonma.primegov.com/Portal/Meeting?meetingTemplateId=4745.

Introduction

(Kin Lau, ARB Chair) Mr. Lau thanks Ms. Zsembery for her service. Tonight will be her last meeting with the board.

(Rachel Zsembery, ARB) Ms. Zsembery expresses her gratitude to the town, and to the work the board has done during the past few years.

Docket 3902 - 251 Summer St

This special permit application involves a marijuana establishment. The applicants have asked to have the hearing continued to July 6th.

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

Farina Roofing, 1306--1308 Mass Ave

(Kin Lau, ARB Chair) Mr. Lau asks for an update on Farina Roofing's renovations at 1306--1308 Mass Ave. The building's windows are still boarded up.

(Claire Ricker, Planning Director) Ms. Ricker says that representatives from Farina Roofing are here tonight to discuss the progress of their window installation. The town began assessing fines in March. The board discussed timelines with the applicant the last time they appeared.

(Kin Lau) Mr. Lau asks when Farina's special permit was approved.

(?, Farina Roofing) A representative from Farina roofing says it was about a year ago. He says they've ordered the glass, but what came in doesn't fit the windows. In the interim, they're doing improvements inside the building.

(Rachel Zsembery, ARB) Ms. Zsembery asks about the timing for getting the new windows installed.

(?, Farina) The fellow from Farina Roofing says they hope to have them installed in the next month.

(Kin Lau) Mr. Lau is disappointed. The board spoke with the applicants in March, and they estimated a one-month turnaround then, but it's been three months and the windows are still boarded up. He'd like to be provided with evidence that the window order has been placed, to demonstrate that the delays are out of Farina's control.

(Sarah, General Manager, Farina Roofing) Sarah says their supplier sent glass, but the panes were the wrong dimensions. She offers to send copies of emails and the window order. Her contractor was diagnosed with cancer and had to stop the work. She will provide staff with documentation to demonstrate this.

(Kin Lau) Mr. Lau says that explanation goes a long way. He asks Sarah to communicate this to Katie Luczai, the Department's Economic Development Coordinator.

(Sarah) Sarah says her supplier will try to deliver new glass in the next two weeks. She'll work with her contractors employees to get it installed.

Docket 3650 - 190 &, 192--200 Mass Ave

This docket involves modifications to a special permit for a mixed use building at the corner of Mass Ave and Lake St.

(Claire Ricker, Planning Director) Ms. Ricker notes that the special permit modifications can be approved by a majority of the board, due to the housing component. The board originally approved this project in 2023. The applicant is proposing facade and exterior changes, along with changes to the parking and garage. The applicants need to provide five inclusionary units, but one of them, #203, is too small at 511 square feet. Staff suggests using a larger one-bedroom to fulfill that requirement. Finally, the egress stairs in the building have been moved.

(Jon Murphy, Developer) Mr. Murphy says he came back to the board to discuss changes to the building. During excavation they discovered additional utility lines and an asbestos pipe on the Lake Street side of the building. They'd like to move the wall on the Lake St side, to avoid disturbing utilities, and that will require changes to the drive aisle and garage configuration.

They've also made refinements to the exterior design. When doing construction drawings, they realized that the largest windows were in the bedrooms. They propose flipping the windows, so the large ones are in the living rooms. They also had to move a staircase to meet egress requirements in the building code, but that change doesn't affect the exterior.

(David Barsky, Architect) Mr. Barsky says the window locations are mirrored -- swapping the placement of the small and large pairs. The building design tightened up as they worked out the details for utilities and structural elements. He says they are refinements rather than changes. There are slight differences in colors, now that they've selected specific exterior finish products. It will be a high-end EIFS system.

(Rachel Zsembery, ARB) Ms. Zsembery asks if they're still including an exhaust vent for a future restaurant.

(David Barsky) Mr. Barsky says there is space in the plan for that. He's prepared to have space for a serviceable restaurant.

(Kin Lau) Mr. Lau would like to see the location indicated on the upper floors. He says it needs to be black iron and accessible from a public space for cleaning.

(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery asks what kind of brick they're planning to use.

(David Barsky) Mr. Barsky says it will be New England red brick. It will be a full dimensional brick.

(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery is okay with the changes to the fenestration. She asks about the changes to the cornice.

(David Barsky) Mr. Barsky thinks the changes are more pleasing. He says he was trying not to draw so much attention to the penthouse level.

(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery says the cornice appears more prominent in the rendering than the elevation drawings. She asks if it will be a flat fascia board.

(David Barsky) Mr. Barsky says it will be cleaner and more modern.

(Shaina Korman-Houston, ARB) Ms. Korman-Houston asks if the revised transportation demand management plan has come in.

(Jon Murphy) Mr. Murphy says that's still outstanding.

(Shaina Korman-Houston) Ms. Korman-Houston understands the egress changes were for code compliance. She asks if Inspectional Services has approved them.

(David Barsky) Mr. Barsky says the original design had the stairways closer together than code would allow.

(Shaina Korman-Houston) Ms. Korman-Houston asks if Inspectional Services have confirmed that the new location meets code.

(David Barsky) Mr. Barsky says ISD hasn't given him confirmation yet.

(Jon Murphy) Mr. Murphy says that ISD will review the plans after this hearing.

(Shaina Korman-Houston) Ms. Korman-Houston is okay with the facade changes. It was helpful to understand the reasoning for the changes to the drive aisle. She asks about their solar installation.

(David Barsky) Mr. Barsky says they have a layout for the panels, and there's a lot more to doing that than one would expect. He says there's a good deal of space on the roof and a good orientation for solar.

(Shaina Korman-Houston) Ms. Korman-Houston encourages the applicants to have a solar company look at the roof design. Regarding the affordable units, the minimum sizes come from state guidelines, to ensure that affordable units are comparable in size and quality to market-rate units. The state hasn't updated their requirements in over 15 years, and she thinks the applicants are meeting the intent of the regulation. However, they have to meet the sizes too.

(Vince Baudoin, ARB) Mr. Baudoin agrees that there needs to be space for an exhaust system in one of the commercial units. He's not convinced they've met the egress requirements on the lowest level of the building, but he'll leave that decision up to Inspectional Services. He'd like the applicants to look at the manufacturer's recommended clearances for the bike racks; one of them appears to be a little tight. He understands the solar system is still a work in progress. As far as construction goes, there seems to be an issue with access to the pedestrian signal at the corner of Mass Ave and Lake. He asks if there's been any dialog with ISD about this.

(Jon Murphy) Mr. Murphy says that ISD had them hire a company to do traffic management during construction, and ISD signed off on the way that signal was handled. The fencing will be brought back once the foundation work is finished.

(Steve Revilak, ARB) Mr. Revilak says the applicants are asking for eight compact spaces, where the bylaw would normally allow six. He's okay with this, because the compact spaces they've proposed are larger than normal compact spaces. The change in square footage is comparable.

Mr. Revilak notes that the median size of one-bedroom apartments in this building is 600 square feet. He's under the impression that the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (EOHLC) would accept one-bedroom units that are smaller than 700 square feet, as long as they're similar in size to other one-bedroom apartments. He suggests using unit 409, which is 602 square feet, provided that EOHLC approves.

(Kin Lau, ARB Chair) Mr. Lau thinks the applicants have tightened up the elevation and detail. He appreciates that they've kept the size of the commercial spaces and are willing to provide larger affordable units. He asks where the sprinkler and elevator rooms will be located.

(David Barsky) Mr. Barsky says the elevator machine room will be on the roof. There is approximately 430 square feet of space for mechanicals on the first floor, and he thinks that will be enough. The area is consolidated in the drawings submitted to the board, but it could be subdivided if necessary. There are also utility rooms on each floor.

(Kin Lau) Mr. Lau questions whether ship's ladder access to utilities will be sufficient, but that's ISD's department. He asks about the garage elevations. The garage will need two louvers for ventilation and he'd like to see the location of the exhaust vent. He doesn't want the exhaust louver venting into someone's back yard. He asks the applicants to look at the layout of the upper-right unit on the upper floors; he thinks the layout is bad. Mr. Lau notes that the earlier plans had a roof garden around the fourth floor; he asks if the applicants are still planning to do that.

(David Barsky) Mr. Barsky says that element wasn't intentionally removed. They'll add it back to the plans.

(Kin Lau) Mr. Lau asks about the parapet returns.

(David Barsky) Mr. Barsky says the element Mr. Lau is referring to is there to provide headroom for a stairway. It will be set back from the edge of the roof.

(Kin Lau) Mr. Lau asks if the applicants are planning to use a CMU base in the rear of the building.

(David Barsky) Mr. Barsky says it will be pre-cast, and extend around the corner.

(Kin Lau) Mr. Lau suggests reinforced EIFS on the first floor.

(David Barsky) Mr. Barsky says there will be reinforcing mesh anywhere the EIFS exposed to people.

(Kin Lau) Mr. Lau asks if the sign locations are just conceptual.

(David Barsky) Mr. Barsky says "yes".

(Jon Murphy) Mr. Murphy understands they'll need to apply for separate sign permits later.

(Kin Lau) Mr. Lau likes the new cornice. He'd be okay with the inclusionary unit Mr. Revilak suggested, provided that EOHCL approves.

The chair opens the hearing to public comment.

(Maureen Stevens) Ms. Stevens asks where trash will be stored. She says there's a rat problem in the area.

(Kin Lau) Mr. Lau says the trash area is inside, on the first floor.

(Jon Murphy) Mr. Murphy says they'll have a service pick up trash as often as needed. It won't be stored outside.

There are no more comments.

The board discusses findings and conditions. These included:

• A finding that the increased number of compact spaces is acceptable.
• Selecting an affordable unit sized such that it can be approved by EOHLC
• Ensuring that there's black iron exhaust venting from the first floor to the roof, to accommodate a restaurant
• Returning to the board with details of the garage louvers
• Providing a roof terrace on the fourth floor, as approved in previous plans
• Using reinforced mesh for the EIFS on the first floor.
• Meeting the bylaw requirements for solar energy systems
• Confirming that the utility room dimensions are acceptable to ISD
• Ensuring that long-term bicycle parking racks are installed according to the manufacturer's recommendations for clearance.
• A finding that a 22' drive aisle is acceptable.

The board approves the modifications, 5--0.

(Kin Lau) Mr. Lau asks when construction will start.

(Jon Murphy) Mr. Murphy says they plan to start as soon as ISD issues a building permit.

Open Forum

There are no speakers for tonight's open forum.

New Business

(Claire Ricker) Ms. Ricker says that she and the Town Manager have interviewed five candidates for the Redevelopment Board vacancy. They're recommending Michelle Shortsleeve, who will appear before the Select Board for confirmation.

(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak recalls doing parking counts in Capitol Square earlier in the year, as part of a project to assess the feasibility of a parking benefits districts. He asks where that project stands.

(Claire Ricker) Ms. Ricker says the department's Economic Development Coordinator will make a presentation to the Select Board in the near future.

Meeting adjourned at 20:18.