Arlington Redevelopment Board - Mar 30th, 2026
Meeting held at 27 Maple St. Materials were available from https://arlingtonma.primegov.com/Portal/Meeting?meetingTemplateId=2023.
Review Meeting Minutes
The board approved minutes from their March 16th meeting.
Envision Arlington Standing Committee
(Claire Ricker, Planning Director) Ms. Ricker would like to nominate Ammarah Rehman as the board appointee to the Envision Arlington Standing Committee. Ms. Ricker says that Ms. Rehman was very enthusiastic about serving in the position.
(Rachel Zsembery, ARB) Ms. Zsembery asks if Ms. Ricker can provide any background information about the nominee.
(Claire Ricker) Ms. Ricker says she's receive a resume and a letter of intent. That material wasn't included with tonight's board packet, but she can provide it.
(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery would like to now more about the nominee's background and interest.
Other members of the board agree.
(Kin Lau) Mr. Lau says the board will table this discussion until the following week.
Arlington Heights Neighborhood Action Plan Implementation Committee
(Claire Ricker) Ms. Ricker says she'd like to nominate Steve McKenna for a seat on the Arlington Heights Neighborhood Action Plan Committee. Mr. McKenna is a real estate professional who's interested in working on the business district subcommittee.
(Kin Lau) Mr. Lau has known Mr. McKenna for many years, and feels he would have good insight.
(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery says she has met Mr. McKenna, but would like to see his statement of intent.
(Shaina Korman-Houston) Ms. Korman-Houston thinks it would be helpful to have more background information.
(Vince Baudoin) Mr. Baudoin agrees.
(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak would like to see the board treat appointees evenly, so he'd also like to see Mr. McKenna's background materials.
(Kin Lau) Mr. Lau says the board will postpone this discussion as well.
Review Materials board for 190 Mass Ave
The board reviews material samples that the applicants for 190 Mass Ave have provided.
(Kin Lau) Mr. Lau would like to have the applicants come in and give short presentation about their material choices.
(Shaina Korman-Houston) Ms. Korman-Houston would like to have the applicant talk through their choice of materials, and to verify that there are no material changes from what the board approved.
Warrant Article Hearings
The board will hold a hearing on Article 38 tonight. They will also discuss and vote on recommended actions for articles 39--58, which are this year's zoning articles.
Article 38 - Affordable Housing Overlay Committee
(Claire Ricker) Ms. Ricker says that Article 38 is a non-zoning article, and town counsel suggested the ARB hold a hearing and report on it. The article would extend the charge of the Affordable Housing Overlay committee until 2027.
(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak would support the extension, but the materials for Article 38 don't include a main motion.
(Kin Lau) Mr. Lau suggests coming back to Article 38 at the end of the night.
Other board members agree.
Article 39 - Administrative Clarification to Accessory Dwelling Units
(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery thinks the article proposes a simplification of language.
(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak recalls that last year, the Attorney General's municipal law unit informed the town that ADUs must be allowed by right, and there cannot be circumstances where a special permit is required. As written, Arlington's ADU bylaw requires a special permit when the ADU is within required yard setbacks. This provision was put in place to allow non-conforming garages to be converted to ADUs. Changing the requirement from a special permit to a finding brings us in line with state requirements, and it follows a suggestion made by the municipal law unit.
The board votes to recommend favorable action, 5--0.
Article 40 - Zoning Map Change Requirements
(Claire Ricker) Ms. Ricker says this would change the notification requirements for map changes from certified or registered mail to first class mail. She believes this will be less cost-prohibitive for petitioners.
(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery thinks this is a small but important change, and it preserves the requirement that notice be given.
(Shaina Korman-Houston) Ms. Korman-Houston thinks it's reasonable.
(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak says that when this provision was added to our bylaw, it contained no requirement to notify property owners, only abutters. It seems like the intent was to require property owners to notify abutters if they wanted to change their own property's zoning. He don't think this provision contemplated warrant articles where a non-owner requested a map change.
There are citizen petitioners that are interested in proposing map changes. Certified mail costs around $10/letter, which is an expensive proposition for all but the smallest amendments. What we've seen as a result is requests to change entire districts, where a map change might have been more appropriate. That's understandable; the financial cost steers petitioners in that direction.
Changing to first class mail means the requirement will be much less burdensome.
The board votes to recommend favorable action, 5--0.
Article 41 - Administrative Correction to Multi-Family Housing Overlay District Standards
(Claire Ricker) Ms. Ricker says the current wording in the bylaw because Arlington was waiting for EOHLC to approve the town's request to use the existing 15% inclusionary zoning requirement in the MBTA Communities multifamily district.
(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery feels this is an administrative change, and the language proposed to be struck is no longer needed.
(Shaina Korman-Houston) Ms. Korman-Houston agrees.
(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak categorizes this article as good hygiene. The language was necessary when the MBTA Multifamily district was adopted because EOHLC hadn't approved our request to use existing IZ requirements. Having gotten that approval, the language is no longer necessary.
The board votes to recommend favorable action, 5--0.
Article 42 - Parking and Loading Standards
(Claire Ricker) Ms. Ricker says this article would reduce drive isle widths from 24' to 22'.
(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak says there is always a tug of war between ground floor commercial space, which we'd like more of, and parking requirements.
Narrowing the drive isle is a small change, but it does create an opportunity for slightly larger commercial spaces. People say that's important, and he support this.
(Kin Lau) Mr. Lau thinks that 22' is more in line with contemporary development standards.
The board votes to recommend favorable action, 5--0.
Article 43 - Marquee Signs
(Claire Ricker) Ms. Ricker says this article would allow the use of electronic displays on marquee signs.
(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery says she worked with Economic Development Coordinator Katie Luczai to add several standards.
(Shaina Korman-Houston) Ms. Korman-Houston thinks it would be beneficial if the presentation to town meeting included some sort of rendering, or a photograph of such a marquee sign.
(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak understands that this article was inspired by the town's two theaters: the regent and the capitol. These are historic Arlington institutions, and they have old marquee signs that the venue owners would like to update to use more modern digital display technology. He thinks this is an example of updating our bylaws to change with the times, and it will help two significant businesses in town.
The board votes to recommend favorable action, 5--0.
Article 44 - Floodplain District
(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak feels this is another example of updating our bylaws to change with the times. Arlington has floodplains along the Alewife and Mill Brooks. People who own properties in these floodplains are required to carry flood insurance as a condition for getting a mortgage.
As he understands, we're proposing to adopt model language the the National Flood Insurance Program administrators want to see in bylaws of participating communities, and doing so will be a requirement for continued participation in the national flood insurance program.
At Mr. Revilak's suggestion, the board discusses changing "permit" to "special permit" in two places, but settles on leaving the main motion as-is.
Mr. Baudoin offers a small wording change for clarity.
The board votes to recommend favorable action, 5--0.
Article 45 - Portable and Temporary Signs
(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak says this article limits the number of temporary signs that a business can display. He think it's a reasonable refinement that's in line with the spirit of our sign bylaw. Hopefully it will provide some motivation for business owners to replace temporary wall signs with permanent ones.
(Shaina Korman-Houston) Ms. Korman-Houston would not advocate for reducing the 60 day limit on temporary signs to a 30 day limit, but this will not stop her from supporting the article.
(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery asks why the language exempting window signs from the square footage limit was not struck.
(Claire Ricker) Ms. Ricker isn't sure. The believes it was left in order to allow stores to advertise sales.
The board revises some language relating to total sign area. The main motion will limit businesses to one temporary wall banner per business.
The board votes to recommend favorable action, 5--0.
Article 46 - Animal Daycare Uses
(Claire Ricker) Ms. Ricker says this article will allow animal daycare by special permit in all business districts, except for B4 where it will be allowed by right.
(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak thinks there's a demand for animal daycare services in town, and there are people who'd like to start these kinds of businesses. He thinks it makes sense to expand the area where this use is allowed.
(Vince Baudoin) Mr. Baudoin thinks it makes sense to allow this use by right in B4.
The board votes to recommend favorable action, 5--0.
Article 47 - Definition of Building Height
(Claire Ricker) Ms. Ricker says this article would change the baseline for measuring building height in the floodplain overlay district.
(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak says this is a resiliency measure. A main benefit will be to make it possible for homeowners to elevate their buildings, so they're above the base flood elevation.
In the past, we've talked about more comprehensive zoning for flood resiliency, and it would be nice to do that at some point. But this is a meaningful incremental step in the right direction.
(Shaina Korman-Houston) Ms. Korman-Houston thinks the ZBA case will be a valuable bit of background to present to town meeting.
The board votes to recommend favorable action, 5--0.
Article 48 - Residential Parking
(Claire Ricker) Ms. Ricker says this article would clarify residential parking regulations in the multifamily overlay districts.
(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak says the board discovered a gap in parking regulations while permitting multifamily projects in the MBTA Communities overlay, and Article 48 tries to fill that gap. He feels the substance is consistent with the position the board has been taking.
(Vince Baudoin) Mr. Baudoin doesn't agree with having 6.1.10.A(2) apply to all multi-family buildings.
The board votes to recommend favorable action, 4--1 (Mr. Baudoin voted in the negative).
Article 49 - Home Occupations
(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak likes this. We all know that commercial space is in short supply in Arlington, and there are mismatches between what's available and what small businesses are looking for. For example, we have a brewing company that operated out of the owner's home for several years before they found a space.
There are a number of people who run businesses out of their home, and Mr. Revilak feels that Article 49 will provide them with some extra flexibility. For example, being able to hire a second person. And he think it preserves the quiet enjoyment that people expect from residential districts.
(Vince Baudoin) Mr. Baudoin suggests a wording change so that the limit on pupils for non-music instruction matches the limit on pupils for music instruction.
(Shaina Korman-Houston) Ms. Korman-Houston feels the time-of-day restrictions are too limiting. They would prohibit evening tutoring, for example. She suggests extending the hours. She also suggests striking one of the "by way of example" clauses.
(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery thinks this article is substantially different than the one proposed last year. Last year's version would have allowed commercial uses in R districts, and this version is only about home occupations.
The board suggests a number of changes which James Fleming, the proponent, is willing to accept.
The board recommends favorable action, 5--0.
Article 50 - Amendment to the zoning map (0 Lot Concord Turnpike)
(Claire Ricker) Ms. Ricker says this article proposes to rezone a portion of a lot at 0 Concord Turnpike from R1 to R6.
(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak is supportive of the zoning changes, and for the long-term plan to establish an assisted living facility at the site. People are living longer, and over time, he sees the need for assisted living facilities growing.
(Vince Baudoin) Mr. Baudoin thinks this should allow for a beneficial development and more jobs.
(Shaina Korman-Houston) Ms. Korman-Houston is in favor of the change.
The board votes to recommend favorable action, 5--0.
Article 51 - Amendment to Zoning Bylaw Table of Dimensional and Density Regulations
(Claire Ricker) Ms. Ricker says this article would add dimensional regulations for assisted living centers in R6.
The board votes to recommend favorable action, 5--0.
Article 52 - Rezoning of Certain Parcels from R1 to R2
(Claire Ricker) Ms. Ricker says there's a map exhibit on page 39 of staff's memo to the board. It proposes to change several properties on Norcross St, Granton Park Road, North Union St, and Gardner St from R1 to R2.
(Vince Baudoin) Mr. Baudoin supports the article.
(Shaina Korman-Houston) Ms. Korman-Houston is not opposed. The applicants were candid about their strategies and she'd like to take a broader look at addressing the inconsistencies in residential districts.
(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery favors moving forward. She'd like to look at incremental zoning more broadly.
(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak thinks this is a targeted measure to rezone a handful of parcels in a way that provides flexibility to the property owners, and eliminates some non-conforming uses.
Prior to Arlington Redrawing the zoning map in 1975, these parcels were zoned for two-family homes. He have no concerns with going back to that.
The board votes to recommend favorable action, 5--0.
Article 53 - Administrative Clarification to Bonus Provisions for Multi-Family Development
(Claire Ricker) Ms. Ricker says this is a citizen petition, where the petitioner seeks to clarify the meaning of "60% of the ground floor".
(Kin Lau) Mr. Lau says he's received a number of emails about this article. Contrary to the petitioner's assertions, the Redevelopment Board has not arbitrarily reinterpreted the bylaw. He says the definition of building area in the state building code doesn't apply to the ground floor in the way the petitioners are asserting it does. The board had a discussion on how to interpret the 60% requirement, and decided on that interpretation by a 3--2 vote. He doesn't appreciate the petitioner's false narrative.
(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak says this article is strikingly similar to last year's "no net loss of commercial space" petition. He objects to this year's proposal for the same reasons he opposed last year's version. He thinks it will reduce the opportunities for mixed use development on the Mass Ave and Broadway corridors.
The bonus provisions were intended to be incentives. During community engagement for the MBTA-C zoning (and subsequently for the master plan), a lot of people expressed a desire to have more spaces for small businesses, and the mixed use bonus was intended to encourage builders to build them. At the end of the day, Mr. Revilak thinks people would like to see these spaces built.
(Vince Baudoin) Mr. Baudoin says this is not an administrative change. He believes this is likely to reduce the amount of new residential and commercial spaces, or would discourage mixed use altogether. It also redefines the ground floor as including unenclosed spaces as well as enclosed. He understands the concerns about small token commercial spaces, but this hasn't happened in practice. He could support some version of this article, but not within the scope of what's proposed.
(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery supports the article. She'd like to see meaningful-sized commercial spaces.
(Vince Baudoin) Mr. Baudoin notes that we put a lot of demands on the ground floor in commercial spaces.
The board votes to recommend no action, 4--1 (Ms. Zsembery voted in the negative).
Article 54 - Traffic Visibility
(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak is supportive. He feels the petitioner put a lot of thought into this proposal, and appreciates that it gives 5.3.12.A a visibility standard similar to 5.3.12.B.
(Vince Baudoin) Mr. Baudoin says he'd be supportive.
(Shaina Korman-Houston) Ms. Korman-Houston says the petitioner has done an excellent job, but she can't get beyond (Director of Inspectional Services) Mike Ciampa's objections.
(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery still has concerns. She thinks this may create more problems than it solves.
(Kin Lau) Mr. Lau isn't in favor, but he gives the applicant credit for heir work. He doesn't see this as much of an issue.
The board votes to recommend no action, 3--2 (Mr. Baudoin and Mr. Revilak voted in the negative).
Article 55 - Administrative Clarification to Bonus Provisions for Multi-Family Development
(Claire Ricker) Ms. Ricker says this article seeks clarification on the number of affordable housing units that should be required for the affordable housing bonus.
(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery says the board had different reads when discussing this provision, but not the one proposed here. She doesn't favor having different ways of rounding.
(Shaina Korman-Houston) Ms. Korman-Houston doesn't agree with having two rounding metrics.
(Vince Baudoin) Mr. Baudoin shares the goal of having a meaningful option available for affordable housing. If town meeting agrees to change the percentages, they should do so. It's not clear that "at least" was intended to change the rounding requirements.
(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak says this is a rounding change, which would require an applicant to provide either zero or one more affordable dwelling unit in order to qualify for the affordability bonus in the Mass Ave/Broadway district.
Our bylaw has an existing standard for converting percentages into whole units. He would rather have a single uniform standard throughout the bylaw than different standards in different places. To the extent there's a desire to require a different amount of affordable housing for the bonus, he thinks that altering the percentages would be more meaningful.
(Kin Lau) Mr. Lau concurs. He can't vote for the article as written.
The board votes to recommend no action, 5--0.
Article 56 - Development Standards – Off-Street Parking and Bicycle Parking
(Claire Ricker) Ms. Ricker says this article proposes a bicycle parking reduction for projects in the multi-family overlay district that have 100% affordable housing.
(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery supports the intent, but thinks this is the wrong section of the bylaw. She thinks such a provision should apply to affordable housing more generally.
(Shaina Korman-Houston) Ms. Korman-Houston suggests the board should consider allowing bicycle parking reductions in age-restricted housing.
(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak understand the financial challenges in developing affordable housing. The rental income these homes generate isn't enough to offset the cost of building them. There is a funding gap, policies that help narrow that gap are beneficial.
With the town's sustainability goals, he's hesitant to reduce the bicycle parking requirements. He thinks broadening the parking reductions in Section 8.2 would provide more bang for the buck, while being more broadly applicable, and not limited to the MBMF district.
(Kin Lau) Mr. Lau thinks this article would be better if resubmitted.
The board votes to recommend no action, 5--0.
Article 57 - Development Standards - Bonuses
(Claire Ricker) Ms. Ricker says this article relates to the mixed use bonus in the Mass Ave/Broadway multifamily district. It would relax the requirement for ground floor commercial where the proposal includes 100% affordable housing.
(Kin Lau) Mr. Lau asks if Town Counsel has reviewed this motion.
(Claire Ricker) Ms. Ricker says that Town Counsel has no opinion on this article.
(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak believes the affordable housing overlay would be a better fit. Or Section 8.2, where it has the potential to benefit affordable housing more broadly. He suggests the board may want to consider non-profit uses as being acceptable for a commercial space.
(Shaina Korman-Houston) Ms. Korman-Houston isn't able to support the article as written, but she supports the sentiment She thinks it's important not to sacrifice one priority for another.
(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery that it's important to hold up the intent of the commercial bonus. She disagrees with allowing setback relief for smaller commercial spaces.
(Kin Lau) The way the article is written, Mr. Lau isn't sure who would build it.
The board votes to recommend no action, 5--0.
Article 58 - Facade Build-out Ratio for single-family homes
(Claire Ricker) Ms. Ricker says she's received an email from the petitioners. They'd like to withdraw their proposal and they've asked the board to recommend no action.
The board votes to recommend no action, 5--0.
The board votes to close hearings on zoning warrant articles, 5--0.
Article 38 - Affordable Housing Overlay Committee
The board returns to Article 38. They discuss and propose language for a main motion.
The chair opens the hearing to public comment. There is none.
The board votes to recommend favorable action, 5--0.
Open Forum
There are no speakers for tonight's open forum.
New Business
(Claire Ricker) Ms. Ricker says the Arlington Heights Business District open house has been reschedule to April 15th, from 6:30 to 8:00 pm.
(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak if anyone has approached the planning department about 36R Dudley St.
(Claire Ricker) Ms. Ricker says she hasn't heard anything about that property.
(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak says it's an industrial parcel with a garage on about 15,000 square feet of land. According to the Warren Group, it recently sold for $1,750,000.
(Vince Baudoin) Mr. Baudoin asks for an update on the Comprehensive Plan.
(Claire Ricker) Ms. Ricker says there was an open house last Thursday. We'll be accepting comments on the draft plan until April 12th and she's hoping to bring the plan before the ARB on May 4th. Ms. Ricker says the event was reasonably well-attended and people were supported.
Meeting adjourned at 21:17.