Arlington Redevelopment Board - Mar 17th, 2025

Meeting held at 27 Maple Street. Materials were available from https://arlington.novusagenda.com/agendapublic/MeetingView.aspx?MeetingID=2229&MinutesMeetingID=-1&doctype=Agenda.

Docket 3831 - 1323 Mass Ave

Docket 3831 involves a sign permit for a restaurant.

(Claire Ricker, Planning Director) Ms. Ricker informs the board that the applicants haven't provided any updated materials, and that staff continues to work with the applicants. Ms. Ricker proposes continuing the hearing until May 5th.

The board votes to continue the hearing to May 5, 2025.

Warrant Article Hearings

The board held hearings for citizen petitions that don't involve changes to the zoning map.

(Rachel Zsembery, ARB Chair) Ms. Zsembery says this is the third of five nights of warrant article hearings. She outlines how the hearings will proceed: proponents will have 5--7 minutes to present; board members will ask questions of proponents; members of the public will be given an opportunity to comment; and board members will discuss the article. The board will not vote on articles until April 7th.

Ms. Zsembery says she intends to allot 30 minutes for each article hearing.

Article 36 - No Net Loss of Commercial Space

(Kristin Anderson, Proponent) Ms. Anderson says she runs a business in Arlington Heights and there isn't enough commercial space in town. Her company outgrew their space in Somerville and moved to Malden in 2003. It took them ten years to relocate to Arlington Heights.

Ms. Anderson says her article would affect mixed-use buildings in commercial districts, and require that 60% of the building footprint be used for businesses on the ground floor. She'd like to provide more amenities in town, and reduce car dependence.

Ms. Anderson says that only 4% of Arlington's parcel area is zoned for business; this is down from 7% in 1924. Only 3% of land is actually used for businesses, and we are not protecting these areas. For example, the former Brighams plant was in a business district, and it was redeveloped as an apartment building. Cambridge gets lots of smart growth, but the Toroya block lost commercial space when it was redeveloped.

Ms. Anderson says that Arlington doesn't have many empty storefronts, and that her proposal has the same 60% requirement as the MBTA Communities bonus provisions. She says there's enough room for everyone in Arlington.

(Wynelle Evans, Proponent) Ms. Evans thinks Article 36 aligns with several town plans and echoes the analysis of the industrial district that was done several years ago. She notes that the Industrial district doesn't allow residential uses on the ground floor.

(Steve Revilak, ARB) Mr. Revilak thinks there's a difference between this article and the Mixed use bonus provisions in the Mass Ave Broadway multi-family district. The bonus provisions require a commercial use on 60% of the ground floor, which he interprets as 60% of the ground floor's gross floor area. This proposal would require 60% of the building footprint, which is very different. Mr. Revilak asks if the proponents really intended to say "building footprint".

(Kristin Anderson) Ms. Anderson answers in the affirmative.

(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak asks staff to display a plan set from 1513 Mass Ave, which is a mixed use-building the board approved in January. It's two stories with four apartments on the second floor, an accessible apartment on the ground floor, an office, and five parking spaces. The developers plan to use the office for their company, which means that we'll be getting a new business in town. Mr. Revilak says this building doesn't comply with the 60% footprint requirement; he'd like to talk through some schematic changes to the layout that would make it comply, to see if that's what the proponents had in mind.

The ground floor space under the building is approximately 50% parking, 25% office, and 25% residential. Expanding the office space to 60% would involve taking 200 square feet from the accessible apartment, and removing three of the five parking spaces. Mr. Revilak says this would create a situation with an accessible apartment but no accessible parking space. We could restore the accessible space by moving things around, and taking another 100 or so square feet from the accessible apartment. The end configuration is a larger office, an accessible apartment that's 300 square feet smaller, and two parking spaces. The applicants would have to request -- and the board would have to grant -- a 60% parking reduction. Mr. Revilak asks if this is the result the petitioners had in mind.

(Wynelle Evans) Ms. Evans says she can't say for sure.

(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak says there's another way to change the building to comply with the 60% footprint requirement -- instead of enlarging the office space, we could reduce the building footprint. That would entail removing two of the four apartments on the second floor, removing the facade in front of the parking area, and shifting 200 square feet from the accessible apartment to the office. Mr. Revilak asks if this is what the petitioners had in mind.

(?) One of the petitioners says she's not sure. They think this project is a special case, and had larger buildings in mind.

(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak says the challenge with the ground floor is parking, and parking is a constant rather than a special case. He says that many of Arlington's commercial buildings were built before the town had off-street parking requirements for businesses. Any time one of these parcels is redeveloped, there will be a loss of ground floor space in order to accommodate parking requirements.

(Eugene Benson, ARB) Mr. Benson also thought about 1513 Mass Ave, and he thinks this article would make it impossible to build. Mr. Benson says he's taught zoning, and knows that it can be too restrictive. He thinks the applicants need to add some flexibility.

Mr. Benson also thinks this is different than the bonus provisions for the MBTA Communities multi-family districts. People have the right to build multi-family on these parcels, and mixed use provides a bonus for extra height. He thinks this change will make it impossible to build mixed use in the business districts.

(Kristin Anderson) Ms. Anderson thinks this is an opportunity to bring more businesses in.

(Eugene Benson) Mr. Benson asks what would happen if someone wanted to use 30% of the second floor for commercial space, rather than 40%. He encourages the petitioners to use enumerated lists rather than bullets, to add flexibility, and work on the parts that are worded ambiguously.

(Shaina Korman-Houston, ARB) Ms. Korman-Houston asks about residential uses in the business district, and what would happen if one of those owners wanted to build a large addition. It seems like that would require changes to existing space. Ms. Korman-Houston says that some building management areas are typically situated on ground floors. She suggests the wording in the main motion is not consistent.

(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery understands that the petitioners are trying to maximize the creation of desirable space. She wonders if this could be applied to buildings of a certain size, say four stories. She says there are cases where parking is an issue. She suggests using categories in the language that describes residential spaces on the first floor.

(Kin Lau, ARB) Regarding growing the number of businesses in town, Mr. Lau suggests looking at changes that could be done harmoniously in or near residential areas. Mr. Lau says he's been talking to local businesses. Some feel there aren't enough transportation options to encourage more businesses in town. Restaurants want more foot traffic, and they might benefit from parking meters. Denser housing could also provide more foot traffic. He suggests encouraging changes to the town's alcohol regulations.

(Kristin Anderson) Ms. Anderson says this is just a specific zoning bylaw amendment, and not a master plan.

The chair opens the hearing to public comment.

(Laura Weiner, 73 Jason St) Ms. Weiner has a different view of Mass Ave. Most of Mass Ave could be better. She suggests planning to enhance the three business centers, and then planning and zoning for the areas in-between. She'd like business districts where people could park once and go everywhere. She's uncomfortable with freezing the B districts in place.

(Steve Moore, Piedmont St) Mr. Moore says the example that Mr. Revilak gave wasn't designed with this requirement in mind. He thinks the building could have been designed differently. Underground parking is also an option. Mr. Moore says that developers might make less profit from underground parking, but he's okay with that.

(John Worden, 27 Jason St) When mixed use was first proposed, Mr. Worden had concerns that the buildings would be apartments with some token commercial space on the first floor. He was told they'd have thriving shops, but that isn't what happened. He thinks Ms. Anderson's proposal could address that.

(Ratnekar Venkati, Adams St.) Mr. Venkati thinks that encouraging more businesses is a noble idea, but there's a correlation between the size of the population and the number of businesses it can support. Arlington's population is down 15% since the 1970's, and we should encourage more housing. Mr. Venkati says that Arlington can only support so many businesses with its current population.

There are no more comments from the public.

(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery summarizes the suggestions she's heard from board members.

(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak suggests making the requirement 60% of the first floor's gross floor area, rather than 60% of the building footprint.

(Eugene Benson) Mr. Benson says the board intended to go to town meeting in 2026 with rezoning proposals for Capitol Square and Arlington heights. He thinks it would be good for the petitioners to get involved in that process.

(Kin Lau) Mr. Lau asks how the petitioners would encourage commercial uses on the second floor.

(Kristin Anderson) Ms. Anderson says they're trying to encourage commercial uses on the second floor, but that wouldn't be a requirement.

Article 27 - Multi-family parking reduction

(Vince Baudoin, Petitioner) Mr. Baudoin says his article would provide an alternate way for applicants to receive a parking reduction, in conjunction with a transportation demand management (TDM) plan. He's proposing eight TDM measures, including providing storage for cargo bikes, electric charging facilities, transit passes, unbundling parking, offsite parking, and the option to pay a fee in lieu of parking where money would go into a sustainable transportation fund. Unlike zoning bylaw section 6.1.5, this parking reduction could be done through administrative approval.

Mr. Baudoin says the goal of this article is to provide relief for the parking mandates that are holding Arlington back. He says that parking demand is not static, and that car dependence is costly to society and to human life. The cost of parking ends up being bundled into everything, and 10% of Arlington residents don't own cars.

Mr. Baudoin would like to enable more car-lite development but thinks that Arlington warrants a measured approach. The town doesn't have even levels of walkability. He says the intent is to fill one of the recommendations from the 2015 Master Plan.

(Kin Lau) Mr. Lau thinks that a by-right reduction of 75% is aggressive, but 25--50% might be okay. He thinks that greater reductions should require a special permit. Mr. Lau suggests that Mr. Baudoin consider tying in affordability, and says it would be a big lifestyle change.

(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery is concerned that the point system is a complex formula and very prescriptive. She notes that one of the ARB's articles is proposing changes to the TDM provisions in Section 6.1.5, in order to expand the number of TDM options. She's concerned about allowing parking reductions given the town's prohibition on overnight parking.

(Vince Baudoin) Mr. Baudoin says the town has an overnight parking pilot, and the Select Board has said they have no intention of ending the program.

(Shaina Korman-Houston) Ms. Korman-Houston also thinks a 75% reduction is aggressive. She thinks there are different needs in different parts of town, and this may not be reflected in the article text. She thinks the board may want to consider some kind of alignment between this and the Board's TDM article. She suggests clarifying the percentage requirements for cargo and electric bike parking. She's also concerned about the one-year requirement for subsidized transit passes.

(Eugene Benson) Mr. Benson is unclear about how this would interact with section 6.1.5. He thinks it might be fine for things that don't require a special permit. He thinks cargo bike parking should require outlets and suggests some changes in terminology.

Mr. Benson isn't sure about tying points to MBTA routes, or how this would work with condominiums arrangements where spaces are deeded. He doesn't understand how fee in lieu of parking works, because it doesn't reduce the demand side. He'd like to see some evidence to support the point scheme that Mr. Baudoin is proposing. He's concerned that the point scores aren't additive.

(Vince Baudoin) Mr. Baudoin says the point system is essentially the same thing that Section 6.1.5 does with the base parking requirements. It creates tradeoffs, and he spent time looking at different building configurations. He acknowledges that the point system doesn't cover every situation.

(Eugene Benson) Mr. Benson says that during the Arlington Brewing Company special permit hearings, abutters claimed the tenants of the Artemis are parking on the street. There's also a need to deal with fractional spaces.

(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak asks if Mr. Baudoin's proposal would create three options for handling parking: (1) provide parking spaces as required, (2) seek a parking reduction through Section 6.1.5 and a special permit, and (3) seek an administrative parking reduction via the point system.

(Vince Baudoin) Mr. Baudoin answers in the affirmative.

(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak notes that the TDM provisions in Section 6.1.5 are in fact a point system; each item is worth one point, and applicants need three points in order to get a reduction. Mr. Revilak likes the idea of having fee-in-lieu of that's paid into a sustainable transportation fund. He thinks people are interested in pedestrian and safety improvements, and this could help to fund them.

The chair opens the hearing to public comment.

(Liz Reisberg, 20 Shawnee Road) Ms. Reisberg loves the idea of fewer cars, but fewer spaces does not mean fewer cars. She thinks there will be more demand for parking on the streets. Brighton had more cars that off-street parking spaces. She says that people move to Arlington but don't understand our parking problems.

(Carl Wagner, 30 Edgehill Rd) Mr. Wagner says the ARB already has the ability to grant parking reductions. He thinks Article 37 would reduce the board's flexibility. The reductions are wishful thinking. Arlington people own more than one car per unit, and Cambridge residents own 0.87 cars per unit.

(John Worden, 27 Jason St) Mr. Worden says the idea that people will use transit is a fantasy. He says the Healey administration has eviscerated the system and we're lucky to get a 77 bus every fifteen minutes. Anyone who has to go to Boston won't rely on public transit. The MBTA also discontinued trolley service in North Cambridge.

(Tristan Boyd) Mr. Boyd is in favor of options for reduced parking, such as being able to share a car with another household. There's a demand for a car-lite lifestyle, and this article is getting at a larger issue. He thinks it's an excellent first step.

(Kristin Anderson, 12 Upland Road West) Ms. Anderson likes the idea of incentives and alternate means of transportation.

There's no more comments from the public.

(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery summarizes what she's heard from board members: some of the scores seem high, adding a reduction for affordable housing, alignment with existing TDM measures, cargo bikes and electric chargers, the length of time that subsidized transit passes are provided, the term used to refer to multi-family dwellings, how key bus routes are defined, and evidence for the point scheme.

(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak thinks the idea is well though out. He's heard his colleagues express reservations about a 75% reduction and he suggests considering something less.

(Eugene Benson) Mr. Benson says the proposal is not well though out. MAPC conducted a parking study and found a general need of one parking space per dwelling. He thinks the Zoning bylaw provides the board with enough flexibility, and that Mr. Baudoin hasn't shown support for a point system.

(Shaina Korman-Houston) Ms. Korman-Houston thinks a 75% reduction by right is aggressive. She says the plan has strong elements and encourages Mr. Baudoin to refine it.

(Kin Lau) Mr. Lau suggests that Mr. Baudoin get some examples to back up what he's proposing.

(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery agrees with Mr. Benson.

(Vince Baudoin) Mr. Baudoin says that planning staff sent him a detailed list of comments earlier today, but he hasn't had a chance to go through them.

(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery says the board will need an updated main motion by April 2nd, in order to have it considered when voting.

Article 38 - Use Regulations for Residential Districts

(Andy Greenspon, Proponent) Mr. Greenspon says the motivation for his article came from a meeting where people were bemoaning the lack of small businesses in Arlington. His article would permit small neighborhood-scale businesses in the town's residential districts, but dimensional regulations would not change.

One of the reasons is a lack of space for businesses. The town's vacant storefront registry lists eight vacant properties, which is around 1% of the business parcels.

Mr. Greenspon spoke with the Chamber of Commerce who said that many parcels are old and in disrepair. He wants to provide equitable access to goods and services, especially to people who can't drive due to disability. His goal is to make Arlington less car dependent and more walkable.

Many of Arlington's businesses are already adjacent to residential properties, mostly because our zoning mapped districts to what was there at the time. Our zoning map is not a vision for a more coherent community. Mr. Greenspon says it's more affordable to start a business in your own home, and then move to a larger space. He shows examples of B district parcels that abut R districts.

(Kin Lau) Mr. Lau wouldn't agree to allowing businesses in all residential areas, but ones that adjoin a B-district are okay. He couldn't see a gym in the middle of a residential block, but in the middle might be okay. The question is whether it would be a map change.

(Shaina Korman-Houston) Ms. Korman-Houston agrees with Mr. Lau's idea of restricting this to areas near existing business districts.

(Eugene Benson) Mr. Benson doesn't think Mr. Greenspon's proposal would be a map change, but he wonders whether Mr. Lau's proposal would violate the state's uniform districts requirement. Mr. Benson suggests including recreational facilities. He asks if Mr. Greenspon meant to include all of the types of personal service establishments that are allowed in the bylaw.

(Andy Greenspon) Mr. Greenspon says the use categories were taken directly from the B district use table.

(Eugene Benson) Mr. Benson thinks there are defects in the B district use table, and they shouldn't be reproduced in the R districts.

Mr. Benson suggests limiting the number of employees that could work in an office or catering service in the R district. He also suggests limiting the types of artistic creative production.

(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak noticed the addition of "Retail, less than 1500 square feet" and asks if that's essentially a corner store.

(Andy Greenspon) Mr. Greenspon answers in the affirmative.

(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak asks why that use wouldn't be allowed in R0, R1, or R2.

(Andy Greenspon) Mr. Greenspon says that came out of discussions with the town's Economic Development Coordinator.

(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery thinks the example of a speech pathologist with one or two employees would be great for a residential district. There are probably nodes in the town where some of these might be interesting, but maybe not on every street. She thinks the B district use tables contemplate different sizes of businesses.

(Eugene Benson) Mr. Benson suggests Mr. Greenspon get an opinion from town counsel regarding the uniform district provision in the state zoning act. He doesn't know what case law says in this area.

The chair opens the hearing to public comment.

(Eileen Cahill, 48 Dickson Ave) Ms. Cahill asks the board to consider subsurface utilities like sewers, and whether they would have sufficient flow. She says the board has to look at sewers.

(Steve Moore, 64 Piedmont St) Mr. Moore is pleased to hear the board acknowledge that this is a broad proposal. The existence of a transitional area doesn't justify allowing businesses throughout the entire residential districts. He suggests that people who live in residential districts might not expect to have businesses nearby. He asks why the proponent thinks there is support for this.

(Kristin Anderson, 12 Upland Road West) Ms. Anderson is in favor.

There are no more comments.

(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak has been thinking about the 1924 zoning map that was shown in an earlier presentation. The commercial areas were anchored around a freight railroad, and surrounded by farms on each side. The railroad is gone and so are the farms, but today's zoning map still has the same general form. Mr. Revilak questions whether the map meets current needs.

Mr. Revilak says that Arlington has the least number of commercial amenities of any place that he's lived in Massachusetts. He wishes there were more businesses in Arlington. In order to do that, we'll need to expand the areas where businesses are allowed.

(Eugene Benson) Mr. Benson says thinks this is too large a brush, and that it can be cut back.

(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery suggests thinking about the main goal: allowing businesses in a wider area of town, and perhaps focusing on R3--R7. She thinks that may lead to a more coherent proposal.

(Kin Lau) Mr. Lau suggests Mr. Greenspon continue to work on the proposal.

Article 40 - Two Family Construction allowed by right in R0 and R1

(David Levy, Proponent) Mr. Levy says this is similar to the two-family article that was proposed in 2022. He says there are around 7,300 single-family homes in the R0 and R1 districts, and the staff memo from 2022 identified several areas of potential redevelopment. Mr. Levy is in favor of increasing housing. This won't be a silver bullet. Arlington has approximately 277 single-family home sales per year, and around 80 of those are under 1750 square feet. There are typically 27 permits per year for new single-family construction. He says these are small numbers, and not a lot has changed since the 2022 staff memo.

As far as schools go, we have lower enrollment than in 2022, and enrollment is down 10% from 2019. Mr. Levy estimates that we'd need to build 80 new homes a year, each with two students, just to get back to 2019 enrollment levels.

Traffic has gotten worse over the years. Mr. Levy doesn't expect this article to make a difference in terms of traffic, given the small number of properties that turn over each year. The two-family article failed 112--113 in 2022, and Mr. Levy voted "no" then. Since 2022, he's continued to see people struggle with being able to afford to live here. We do see older small houses turned into new large ones, which generally sell for upwards of two million dollars. If the new home were a two-family of the same size, each of the units would be less expensive.

(Kin Lau) Mr. Lau asks if the R0 and R1 setbacks would remain.

(David Levy) Mr. Levy answers in the affirmative.

(Kin Lau) MR. Lau asks if the goal is to create more modest housing.

(David Levy) Mr. Levy answers in the affirmative.

(Kin Lau) Mr. Lau agrees that the elementary school population is lower, and he doesn't see an issue there. But he thinks that people who bought homes in single-family districts may have done so for a reason.

(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery has asked if Mr. Levy has been able to find areas where this was done, which involve towns rather than cities.

(David Levy) Mr. Levy says he found an example in Durham, North Carolina. But that is a city.

(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery asks if Mr. Levy has done any outreach.

(David Levy) Mr. Levy says that everyone who signed his warrant article papers lives in a single-family district.

(Shaina Korman-Houston) Ms. Korman-Houston understands the language is similar to a warrant article that came up in 2022. She asks Mr. Levy why he thinks this will be a better environment.

(David Levy) Mr. Levy says he's seen a lot of examples of how it's hard to live in Arlington. There are lots of jobs where workers can't afford to live here. The housing shortage is also a national issue. The Biden-Harris administration estimated that the US needs at least three million more homes.

(Eugene Benson) Mr. Benson says the board received several emails suggesting that we wait a few years to see how things turn out with the MBTA Communities zoning. He asks Mr. Levy to respond.

(David Levy) Mr. Levy says that MBTA Communities was a great solution, which provides people with more options. Given the pace of permitting, he things both can work in tandem.

(Eugene Benson) Mr. Benson asks how many two- and three-family homes are in the R0 and R1 districts.

(David Levy) Mr. Levy says there are about 180.

(Eugene Benson) Mr. Benson asks about non-conforming lots, and whether there should be a carve-out.

(Dave Levy) Mr. Levy says our bylaws have a provision that allows energy efficient homes to be built on non-conforming lots.

(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak says that the Massachusetts Executive Office of Housing and Liveable Communities released a housing needs assessment and statewide housing plan in February. Mr. Revilak asks Mr. Levy if he's seen those documents.

(David Levy) Mr. Levy answers in the negative.

(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak says the needs assessment expects Massachusetts's population to decrease by 0.4% over the next ten years. Despite the slight decrease to meet demand, we'll still need 220,000 new homes to meet the demand. Much of this is driven by demographics: people living longer, forming households, and smaller household sizes.

Mr. Revilak says that "where am I supposed to live is not a rhetorical question". Adults aged 25--45 are leaving the state by the thousands because they can't afford to live here. People are moving to places where they can afford the housing; primarily Texas and Florida. Mr. Revilak says that Austin is notable in this regard because they built so much multifamily housing that rents went down, and apartment-backed REITs are providing smaller dividends than expected.

Regarding the MBTA Communities act: the changes have been in effect for about a year, and only one project has come before the board for review. That applicant was converting a two-family home to a pair of two-family homes, for a net increase of two dwellings. That's it.

(David Levy) Mr. Levy says he's heard some questions about the possibility of having a two family home with two ADUs. Given Arlington's small lot sizes, he'd expect to see on or the other, but not both.

The chair opens the hearing to public comment.

(Andy Greenspon, 89 Palmer St) Mr. Greenspon says he didn't care about one-family or two-family districts when he moved to Arlington, as long as it had the right number of bedrooms. Duplexes are more affordable, and they're already mixed with single-family homes in residential neighborhoods. He doesn't think this will change the character of Arlington. He says that Arlington is losing population, and thinks we could lose representation after the 2030 census.

(Carole Springer, 29 Hawthorne Ave) Ms. Hawthorne is a 40-year resident of Arlington. She loved East Arlington when she lived there, but moved to a single-family district because it was quieter and more family-oriented. She says there's no room for more houses, and not a lot of space. There are a lot of cars. She understands that people can't afford to live here, but you can't tell her that building two-family homes will lower prices. She says that $1,200,00 is too much for young families.

(Grant Cook, 16 Wollaston Ave) Mr. Cook says the idea that single-family districts are more family-friendly is a bunch of malarkey. Arlington has changed, but two-family zoning is the way Arlington used to be. He supports this, because it may keep prices from going up. By itself, building more housing is a social good.

(Carl Wagner, 30 Edgehill Rd) Mr. Wagner says that most of Arlington is single- and two-family homes. He thinks that allowing more two-family homes will raise prices and reduce affordability. The state allowed ADUs during the last year, and Arlington has a diverse housing stock. Mr. Wagner thinks this will get rid of housing diversity in Arlington.

(Vince Baudoin, Silk Street) Mr. Baudoin hopes the board will allow town meeting to deliberate this article. He appreciated the YourArlington piece where Mr. Levy talked about what changed his mind since 2022. He says the MBTA Communities Act was a small, incremental change and this is just another incremental option to add housing.

(Karen Gold, 18 Hawthorne Ave) Ms. Gold says this is a very complex issue. She asks the board to consider the impact on schools.

(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak says that brand new construction is always more expensive, and it's not reasonable to think that new construction will somehow cost less than an 80 year old building. One of Mr. Levy's slides showed a smaller old home that was replaced with a larger new one. Those new homes typically sell over $2,000,000 and that's our status quo. Mr. Revilak would rather see the two units in the same sized building, where each sold for $1,200,000.

(Eugene Benson) Mr. Benson doesn't expect there to be a loss of green space, as the dimensional regulations aren't changing.

(Shaina Korman-Houston) Ms. Korman-Houston says that when a house goes on the market, you can tell if it's likely to be re-used or replaced. The question is what it's replaced with.

(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery's biggest concern is outreach. She thinks the idea should be discussed with people who live in these areas.

(Kin Lau) Mr. Lau says we should look at the number of properties and try to extrapolate th amount of growth. He says we're not talking about a large number of units.

(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery says it will be important to provide data.

Article 43 - Public Shade Trees

(Susan Stamps, Proponent) Ms. Stamps is proposing a change to the Zoning Bylaw's shade tree requirements. She's reviewed her proposal with the tree warden, who is in favor. The new standard would have the tree warden review each proposed shade tree, because they know the right tree for the right place.

Ms. Stamps would remove the requirement for minimum height of ten feet, as the two-inch caliper is more important. She wants to clarify that we're looking for large shade trees, except when there are utility wires overhead. Marisa Lau of the Planning Department suggested changes to the watering and maintenance requirements, for consistency with another section of the bylaw. This article would add a three year maintenance requirement, along with a requirement for annual reports to the department of planning and community development.

(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak is aware that residents can ask the town to plant a street tree in front of their property. He asks if recipients of those trees have a three-year reporting requirement.

(Susan Stamps) Ms. Stamps answers in the negative.

(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak thinks the reporting requirement is not even-handed. It would put a reporting requirement on someone who paid for a street tree -- even indirectly -- while someone that received a tree for free would have no reporting requirement.

(Eugene Benson) Mr. Benson says that property owners would be responsible for maintaining and watering trees, not the party that installed them. He's also concerned about the reporting requirement. He thinks that section 6.3.4.E provided the board with a degree of flexibility, and he sees that flexibility being removed. He notes that trees planted elsewhere on a property would not be considered public shade trees.

(Shaina Korman-Houston) Ms. Korman-Houston is also concerned about the reporting requirement. She'd like the board to have some flexibility with regard to location.

(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery disagrees with several things. She thinks the article is unnecessary, and she doesn't see the need for tree warden approval in addition to the tree committee's list of approved species. She'd want to take out all of the changes proposed for section 6.3.4.E.

(Kin Lau) Mr. Lau thinks the article is silent when it comes to solar.

(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery thinks that's out of scope for this article.

The chair opens the hearing to public comment.

(Alan Jones, 1 Leigh St) Mr. Jones thinks the requirements should be put on who ever waters the tree.

There are no more comments.

(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak disagrees with the reporting requirement.

Article 44 - Affordable Housing Overlay

(John Worden, Petitioner) Mr. Worden says that Arlington's master plan says that the only housing Arlington needs is affordable housing, and housing with services for seniors. Otherwise, we don't need it here. He says we're the eleventh-densest community in the state and the second-densest town. He says this article is a reaction to Mr. Newton's plan, and that it will promote affordable housing that respect the scale of the town, preserves historic buildings, and preserve trees. Mr. Worden says he hasn't provided details yet, and will need technical assistance. He's hoping to engage the board with this idea.

(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery says it's hard for the board to discuss the article without a main motion.

(Eugene Benson) Mr. Benson says that as an overlay district, Mr. Worden will have to notice all of the affected property owners, as Mr. Newton will be required to do. He believes this article will make it harder to develop affordable housing, as it would prohibit it from being done on sites with historical buildings or mature trees. He says it's adding impediments.

(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak says that affordable housing is below market-rate; it's effectively housing that loses money. As a result, affordable housing can't be built without subsidies and the main subsidies will only fund larger buildings, on the order of thirty dwellings or more. Affordable housing developers also look for a clear permitting path, like the overlay district enacted in Cambridge.

Mr. Revilak says that an affordable housing proposal has to address subsides, the kind of buildings that can be funded and built, and the permitting process. It's not as simple as adding "affordable housing" to a use table and keeping all of the other restrictions.

(Shaina Korman-Houston) Ms. Korman-Houston agrees with Mr. Benson, in that this article would add restrictions.

(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery says she's glad to see multiple concepts for how to bring more affordable housing to Arlington. She thinks there's a lot of interest, and this deserves an effort for 2026.

(Kin Lau) Mr. Lau doesn't think the article is ready to go, but he's willing to work on it in the future.

(John Worden) Mr. Worden says his idea was to use pre-existing large buildings, and allowing them to be divided into smaller units. He wasn't thinking about building anew.

(Wynelle Evans, 20 Orchard Place) Ms. Evans hopes the board will follow through on this. She'd like to see an aggressive approach to creating smaller units for seniors. Arlington needs housing for seniors. She hopes to see a focus on smaller units for older people.

(Carl Wagner, 30 Edgehill Road) Mr. Wagner says that Mr. Worden speaks from a place of wisdom. He thinks that Mr. Revilak shouldn't be able to vote on this article, because he helped another citizen petitioner with their affordable housing proposal.

(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery says there are no conflicts of interest that would require Mr. Revilak to recuse himself.

The board votes to continue warrant article hearings to March 24th.

New Business

(Claire Ricker) Ms. Ricker has an item that involves the demolition of 821 Mass Ave. Inspectional services has ordered the immediate demolition of the building due to health and safety issues, and their order supersedes condition five of the CVS permits. Ms. Ricker says the basement will be back-filled after the building is demolished.

Meeting adjourned.