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Arlington Redevelopment Board - Mar 30th, 2026

SteveR — Sat, 04 Apr 2026 18:36:47 GMT

initial revision

New page

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.

[[Category:Public Meetings]]

Public Meetings

SteveR — Sat, 04 Apr 2026 18:34:25 GMT

2026: Arlington Redevelopment Board - Mar 30th, 2026

← Older revision		Revision as of 14:34, 4 April 2026
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			* [[Arlington Redevelopment Board - Mar 30th, 2026]]
	* [[Comprehensive Plan Open House - Mar 26th, 2026]]		* [[Comprehensive Plan Open House - Mar 26th, 2026]]
	* [[Sustainable Arlington - Mar 25th, 2026]]		* [[Sustainable Arlington - Mar 25th, 2026]]

Comprehensive Plan Open House - Mar 26th, 2026

SteveR — Sun, 29 Mar 2026 13:30:59 GMT

initial revision

New page

Presentation given in the High School Cafeteria.

The effort to update the town's comprehensive plan has produced a
draft document. Stantec provides an overview, and there will be time
for the public to provide feedback on plan strategies.

(Steve Kearney, Stantec) Mr. Kearney says we're currently in the plan
development stage, which will include surveys to gather input on the
draft strategies. Outreach has included events, pop up tabling, focus
groups, and the project website. The goal is to represent the overall
vision of the community, which is a large and diverse set of people.

Mr. Kearney lists the chapter areas in the plan. They're interrelated
and none of them exist in a silo.

(Phil Schaeffing, Stantec) Mr. Schaeffing presents the vision
statement, which has evolved over the course of the process.

The land use chapter reflects how land is used. It recommends a
strategic reassessment of redevelopment uses, especially along Mass
Ave and Broadway. It also recommends reviewing zoning as an important
tool.

The economic development chapter recommends developing a strategic
economic plan, and streamlining regulations and the permitting
process. It also recommends looking at placemaking, communications,
and marketing.

The housing chapter recommends allowing more types of housing in more
locations, aligning housing with net-zero goals, and increasing the
development of ADUs.

The connectivity chapter recommends adopting a vision zero plan,
evaluating parking policies in light of other goals, improving
north-south connectivity, adding parking benefits districts, and
advocating for improved MBTA service.

The historic and cultural resources chapter suggests an update to the
arts and culture plan.

The natural resources and open space chapter focuses on sustainability
and resilience. Arlington should continue doing things that work. It
recommends mitigating heat islands and flooding, expanding the tree
canopy, and expanding the use of natives.

The public facilities chapter recommends reducing building-related
emissions, leveraging technology to improve resident interactions with
the town, improving field usage and maintenance, modernizing spaces,
and moving towards zero waste.

These chapters are followed by an implementation matrix, which is
meant to be a tracking tool for town staff. It identifies strategy
leads, partners, and suggested timeframes for implementation. Some
strategies can be done in the near term, while others are long-term
efforts.

There is a comment form on the town website, which will remain open
until April 12.

[[Category:Public Meetings]]

Public Meetings

SteveR — Sun, 29 Mar 2026 13:30:31 GMT

2026: Comprehensive Plan Open House - Mar 26th, 2026

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			* [[Comprehensive Plan Open House - Mar 26th, 2026]]
	* [[Sustainable Arlington - Mar 25th, 2026]]		* [[Sustainable Arlington - Mar 25th, 2026]]
	* [[Arlington Redevelopment Board - Mar 23rd, 2026]]		* [[Arlington Redevelopment Board - Mar 23rd, 2026]]

Sustainable Arlington - Mar 25th, 2026

SteveR — Sun, 29 Mar 2026 00:50:06 GMT

initial revision

New page

Meeting held via remote participation. Materials were available from
https://arlingtonma.primegov.com/Public/CompiledDocument?meetingTemplateId=1994&compileOutputType=1.

Tonight's meeting consisted of a series of short warrant article
presentations. These articles focus on sustainability, resilience,
and environmental issues.

=Article 22 - Protection of Parks=

(Elaine Crowder) Ms. Crowder says her article proposes a change to the
bylaw that protects town parks. Some people are damaging our parks,
by building tree-houses, attaching slides to trees, painting
graffiti, or digging large holes. The current fine in the bylaw is
$20. This article would update the list of things that are protected
along with adding four tiers of fines: $20, $50, $100, and $300.
The Select Board recommended favorable action, by a vote of 4--1.

=Articles 10 and 11 - Wetlands Protection and Enforcement=

(Jackie Yee) Ms. Yee is the town's conservation agent. Article 10
proposes changes to Arlington's wetlands protection bylaw, which
hasn't been updated in many years. This article would replace the
bylaw with a new version which adds more specific language around
wildlife protection, permit extensions, and enforcement. Violations
could be fined at up to $300/day. There are also new waiver
procedures.

Article 11 updates the schedule of fines for non-criminal enforcement.
It also adds the Conservation Agent and Conservation Administrator as
enforcing officers.

=Article 14 - Tree Committee Rules and Regulations=

(Steve Moore) Mr. Moore says the Tree Committee was first established
in 2003 with five members, and then re-established in 2010 with ten
members. This article would add committee details in the town bylaws.
It was proposed with the advice and consultation of town counsel.

=Article 23 - Tree Protection=

(Robin Bergman) Ms. Bergman says that Arlington has been losing tree
canopy, and has lost 7% in the last five years. The tree protection
bylaw protects trees of six inches in diameter breast height (DBH)
that are in setback areas. Her amendment would add protection to
trees of ten inches DBH anywhere on private property. Fees paid for
removing a protected tree would go into the town's tree planting fund.

Ms. Bergman says the Select Board voted to recommend no action, and
she will be filing a substitute motion.

=Articles 32, 96 - First Generation Anti-coagulant Rodenticides=

(Laura Kiesel) Ms. Kiesel says that Article 32 asks the town to file a
home rule petition to ban first generation anti-coagulant rodenticides
(FGARs). The goal is to prevent second-hand poisoning of predators
and other wildlife.

Article 96 is a non-binding resolution asking that use of these
pesticides be prohibited on public lands.

=Article 44 and 47 - Floodplains=

(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak starts with background information on
flood plains and the national flood insurance program. Flood plains
are designated by FEMA, and indicate areas where there is a 1% chance
of flooding in any given year. In addition to drawing these areas on
a map, FEMA also determines the base elevation of flood events.
Anyone with a mortgage on a property in a flood plan is required to
obtain flood insurance, and this is administered through the national
flood insurance program.

Article 47 changes the definition of building height in flood plains.
Normally building height limits are measured from the curb. Article
47 would measure heights from the curb or the base flood elevation,
whichever is higher. This would allow buildings to be elevated,
without running up against height limits.

Article 44 is an update to the Zoning Bylaw's floodplain overlay
district. It's essentially model language that federal agencies want
to see in the bylaws of communities that participate in the national
flood insurance program. These changes will be required for
Arlington's future participation.

=Article 92 - Transitioning to Clean Heat=

(Ann Boland) Ms. Boland says this is a resolution to encourage a
transition to clean heat in Massachusetts. The state's Department of
Public Utilities requires gas companies to look at alternatives before
replacing gas pipelines. This resolution proposes a coordinated
street-by-street conversion, and a gradual removal of gas lines.

=Article 8 - Regulation of Outdoor Lighting=

(David Morgan) Mr. Morgan says the Select Board has recommended no
action on this article, due to concerns over the costs involved. In
crafting the article, he tried to incorporate elements of the
International Dark Skies Model Legislation. It would set standards on
the number of lumens per foot for outdoor lighting. The goals is to
reduce the amount of light pollution.

Meeting adjourned.

[[Category:Public Meetings]]

Public Meetings

SteveR — Sun, 29 Mar 2026 00:49:42 GMT

2026: Sustainable Arlington - Mar 25th, 2026

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			* [[Sustainable Arlington - Mar 25th, 2026]]
	* [[Arlington Redevelopment Board - Mar 23rd, 2026]]		* [[Arlington Redevelopment Board - Mar 23rd, 2026]]
	* [[Arlington Candidates Night - Mar 18th, 2026]]		* [[Arlington Candidates Night - Mar 18th, 2026]]

Arlington Redevelopment Board - Mar 23rd, 2026

SteveR — Sat, 28 Mar 2026 22:14:00 GMT

Article 52 - Rezoning of Certain Parcels from R-1 to R-2

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	alteration. There's also a significant body of case law on the topic.		alteration. There's also a significant body of case law on the topic.

	==Article 53 - Administrative Clarification to Bonus Provisions for Multi-Family Development (mixed-use)}		==Article 53 - Administrative Clarification to Bonus Provisions for Multi-Family Development (mixed-use)==

	This article is a citizen petition to change the requirements for the		This article is a citizen petition to change the requirements for the

Arlington Redevelopment Board - Mar 23rd, 2026

SteveR — Sat, 28 Mar 2026 22:13:19 GMT

initial revision

New page

Meeting held at 27 Maple St. Materials were available from
https://arlingtonma.primegov.com/Portal/Meeting?meetingTemplateId=1897.

=Review Meeting Minutes=

The board approved minutes from their March 9th meeting.

=Discussion of 1207--1211 Mass Ave=

The board meets with the applicant for the proposed Lexington Hotel
at 1207--1211 Mass Ave for an update on project status.

(Mary Winstanley O'Connor, Attorney) Regarding the status of the
hotel, Ms. Winstanley O'Connor says that Mr. Doherty continues to look
for a company that's interested in operating a finished hotel.
Planning Director Claire Ricker may have identified someone who can
assist Mr. Doherty in finding an operator.

(Steve Revilak, ARB) Mr. Revilak is sorry to see that Mr. Doherty has
seen so many bumps in the road. The hotel pre-dates his time on the
board, but he thinks it's a good project. He's glad to see
Mr. Doherty continuing the effort.

(Vince Baudoin, ARB) Mr. Baudoin is glad to see Mr. Doherty continuing
his efforts.

(Shaina Korman-Houston, ARB) Ms. Korman-Houston hopes the project can
continue. She asks Mr. Doherty about potential timelines.

(Jim Doherty, Applicant) Mr. Doherty was hoping to find an operator by
last Thanksgiving, but that time has passed. He'd like to work with
Planning Department staff. The special permit for the hotel will
expire in 2027. Mr. Doherty might consider a residential use if he
has no luck in finding an operator.

(Rachel Zsembery, ARB) Ms. Zsembery says it would be okay to
parallel-path a residential project. She asks if there are any
impediments to that.

(Mary Winstanley O'Connor) Ms. Winstanley O'Connor says there aren't
any impediments. She says Mr. Doherty would like to work with staff
first. Ultimately, they're looking at the highest and best use for
the parcels.

(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery says this is an important site for
redevelopment, and she's interested in seeing that move forward.

(James Doherty) Mr. Doherty says he has a rendering of a possible
residential project, and it seems feasible.

(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery says she looks forward to seeing that
development move forward.

(Kin Lau) Mr. Lau encourages Mr. Doherty to continue pursuing the
hotel. The special permit will expire in 2027. He asks Mr. Doherty
to speak to the auto shop and ask them to keep their site tidy.

=Warrant Article Hearings=

This is the fourth night of warrant article hearings.

(Kin Lau) Mr. Lau outlines the hearing process. Applicants will have
up to seven minutes to make a presentation, after which the board will
ask questions. The chair will take comments from the public and
return the discussion to the board.

==Article 52 - Rezoning of Certain Parcels from R-1 to R-2==

This citizen petition proposes to rezone a handful of R1 parcels to R2
in the area near the Thompson school.

(Steve McKenna, Petitioner) Mr. McKenna says that Norcross St. has a
number of two- and three-family homes on parcels that are zoned R1.
He wants to adjust the zoning to make the area more consistent, rather
than spot-zoned. Mr. McKenna outlines several inconsistencies in how
the land is zoned versus what's actually built there. He'd like to
have the zoning more accurately reflect the actual land uses. After
sending notices to abutters, Mr. McKenna received generally positive
feedback. He also got requests from nearby owners to have their
properties included too.

(Rachel Zsembery, ARB) Ms. Zsembery says it would be helpful for Town
Meeting to have a list of parcels and how they're currently used, in
addition to a map.

(Steve McKenna) Mr. McKenna says he can provide a list of specific
parcels and their current uses.

(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery doesn't have any specific issues. She
understands the article is specific to parcels around Norcross and
Gardner. She asks why two nearby parcels on Gardner weren't included.
Likewise for nearby lots on Norcross Circle.

(Steve McKenna) Mr. McKenna says the parcels on Norcross circle
actually have their frontage on Granton Park Road. The two lots on
Gardner are on the other side of Prince Hall Cemetery, and he wanted
to focus on the ones around Norcross.

(Shaina Korman-Houston, ARB) Ms. Korman-Houston says she looked at
parcels on Michael and Silk streets, and asks why they weren't
included.

(Steve McKenna) Mr. McKenna agrees that there are inconsistencies
there. They could be part of a later discussion.

(Shaina Korman-Houston) Ms. Korman-Houston asks if Mr. McKenna has
spoken with everyone.

(Steve McKenna) Mr. McKenna says he sent letters and held two zoom
meetings. Some owners live out of state and have been hard to reach.

(Shaina Korman-Houston) Ms. Korman-Houston thinks that will be
important to mention during town meeting. She asks if Mr. McKenna has
satisfied the map change requirements in the bylaw.

(Steve McKenna) Mr. McKenna says he worked with the planning
department on that, and believes he's met the requirements.

(Vince Baudoin, ARB) Mr. Baudoin thinks Mr. McKenna's proposal is in
keeping with the neighborhood. He thinks that the warrant language
constraints Mr. McKenna from expanding the area further.

(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak says this area around the Thompson School
has a mix of R1, R2, R3, and R5 residential districts, so there are
single-, two-, and three-family homes, as well as townhomes and
apartments. It's a very diverse set of housing types. He asks how
much money Mr. McKenna spent to satisfy the certified mail
requirements.

(Steve McKenna) Mr. McKenna says it was between three and five hundred
dollars.

(Kin Lau, ARB Chair) Mr. Lau suggests giving town meeting some context
to understand how the properties are currently used. If this is
successful, the board may look at other areas of town. He thinks this
is a more thoughtful approach than changing district definitions.

The chair opens the hearing to public comment.

(Susan Elmore, 50 Norcross St) Ms. Elmore says these lots are variable
in size, and she can see this is going: someone will buy a home which
opens up the possibility for a tear down on a small lot. The lot
sizes are not consistent, and we need clarity in the enforcement of
zoning rules. She says that Norcross is a narrow street with no
street trees.

(Wynelle Evans) Ms. Evans asks if converting a one-family home on a
4800 square foot lot to a two-family home would be increasing the
nonconformity.

(Aram Hollman, Whittemore St) Mr. Hollman asks how wide the narrow
lots are. He questions the appropriateness of two family zoning on
narrow and deep lots.

There are no more comments from the public.

(Kin Lau) Mr. Lau says the zoning requirements for single and
two-family homes are the same, and it's okay if a lot can fit a smaller
two-family. He says that non-conforming lots can be changed, as long
as they stay within the non-conformity.

(Stephen Revilak) Mr. Revilak says that R2 requires 6000 square feet
and 60 feet of frontage for a two-family home, which is the same as
R1's requirement for a single-family home. There are non-conforming
lots all over Arlington, not just on Norcross St, and there are laws
governing how these lots are treated. State law treats non-conforming
single- and two-family dwellings exactly the same. Lots with 5000
square feet and 50 feet of frontage are given protections by state
law. Some changes to non-conforming lots have to go before the Zoning
Board of Appeals, who has to find that the changes are not
substantially more detrimental to the neighborhood before allowing an
alteration. There's also a significant body of case law on the topic.

==Article 53 - Administrative Clarification to Bonus Provisions for Multi-Family Development (mixed-use)}

This article is a citizen petition to change the requirements for the
mixed use bonus in the Mass Ave/Broadway multifamily district. The
board has interpreted the "60% of the ground floor" requirement for
commercial space to be relative to the interior of the ground floor.
The petitioner's motion would require the 60% to be measured relative
to the building's footprint.

(Joanne Cullinane, Petitioner) Ms. Cullinane says she's seen the board
adopt novel definitions of ground floor during site plan review, which
use zoning bylaw terms that never appear in the bonus section. She
thinks this robs the town of viable commercial space. She thinks the
board should base the 60% on the definition of "Building Area" in
the state building code, and that the board has misinterpreted by
bylaw by using gross floor area. She says developers can build four
stories of residential by right, and the commercial space initially
proposed by the developers of 126 Broadway was too small. She says
259 Broadway should have 1785 square feet of commercial space, but the
developers only proposed 1200. The developer of 126 Broadway has
purchased 128 Broadway and is planning to combine the sites. She says
they're proposing a larger building using arbitrary terms. It's
unclear how much commercial space there is. The loss of commercial
space will be cumulative. Ms. Cullinane wants the 60% measured
relative to the building footprint. She says the current process is
uncertain and sacrifices commercial space. She feels here
clarification will protect the letter and the spirit of the law, and
produce larger commercial spaces.

(Kin Lau, ARB) Mr. Lau objects to Ms. Cullinane's use of the words
"misinterpreted" and "misunderstood" in her presentation. The
board had a discussion about how to apply the requirements in the
bylaw and voted on their interpretation. A split vote does not mean
the board is misinterpreting the requirements; it means there was a
difference of opinion among board members. Mr. Lau notes that
Supreme Court decisions are rarely unanimous, which also reflects a
difference of opinion. He says the building code definition that
Ms. Cullinane is citing says nothing about ground floors, and that the
zoning bylaw's definition of building requires it to be enclosed by
exterior walls. When assessing the value of buildings, the assessors
consider interior areas, not exterior. He thinks the board's
interpretation was well-considered.

(Steve Revilak) Ms. Revilak asks Ms. Ricker to display the plan set
for 259 Broadway, which is a mixed use building in the Mass Ave
Broadway multifamily district that the board recently approved. As
approved, this building would not comply with the petitioner's main
motion. Mr. Revilak would like to talk through several modifications
that would allow it to become compliant with the main motion, and see
how folks feel about them.

The proposed building has 1785 square feet of commercial space, which
is slightly more than 60% of the ground floor interior. One option
would be to add approximately 500 square feet of commercial space at
the rear of the first floor. This would shift the parking area back
and leave insufficient space for a drive isle. One could reconfigure
the parking area for 2--3 spaces, but that would require more of a
parking reduction than the board could grant. In short, simply making
the commercial space larger would result in a configuration the board
could not approve.

Mr. Revilak gives a second scenario. One could shrink the upper
stories so they have the same footprint as the ground floor. The
commercial space would now be 60% of the building footprint, but it
would entail removing four to six apartments. Mr. Revilak asks the
petitioners if that's the kind of outcome they were hoping to see.

(Joanne Cullinane) Ms. Cullinane doesn't provide a yes or no answer.
She says she wants a strict interpretation of what she feels town
meeting approved in 2023.

(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak says this configuration complies with the
main motion, but the commercial space is the same size as what the
board approved, 1785 square feet.

(Joanne Cullinane) Ms. Cullinane says she's okay with a 1785 square
foot commercial space.

(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak gives a third set of modifications to
achieve compliance with the petitioner's main motion: remove the
commercial space and the top floor, and pull the building in to
provide 15' front setbacks. This would be a smaller building with
fewer apartments, and it would have +0 square feet of commercial space
instead of +1785. He asks the petitioners if this is the kind of
result they were trying to achieve.

(Petitioners) The petitioners don't provide a clear answer.

(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak has a final question for staff: do they
have any opinions on the viability or marketability of the 1785 square
foot commercial space that the board approved.

(Claire Ricker) Ms. Ricker believes the space would be attractive to
commercial tenants, because it's new and larger than a number of
spaces in the area.

(Larry Slotnick, Petitioner) Mr. Slotnick says that what happened with
259 Broadway is great.

(Vince Baudoin, ARB) Mr. Baudoin says he's a new member of the board
and isn't accustomed to resident cynicism. He thinks the language in
the petitioner's presentation is unhelpful. He says the petitioner's
way of seeing things is not the only way, and he notes there are
challenges with commercial and parking competing for space. He thinks
the main effect would be to reduce the area of the second floor and
the amount of residential developed. He's curious about how the
Executive Office of Housing and Liveable Communities would feel about
this. He thinks it would be good to clarify the requirement and
suggests "50% of the building footprint". Mr. Baudoin doesn't see
60% as being feasible, but 50% might be.

(Shaina Korman-Houston, ARB) Ms. Korman-Houston thinks there's a need
for clarification in the bylaw. The board prioritizes commercial
space but she doesn't support the interpretation that the petitioners
are putting forward. She feels the approach would reduce the amount
of residential space, and potentially the amount of commercial. She
doesn't think that builders will strive for 60% of the footprint.
She thinks the petitioner's interpretation is well-intentioned but
counter-productive.

(Rachel Zsembery, ARB) Ms. Zsembery agrees that there's a need for
tighter language, but she prefers the larger dimensional requirement.
She like's Mr. Baudoin's approach but thinks it may be out of scope of
the warrant language. She disagrees with the way the board was
characterized in the presentation. She thinks that developers aren't
creating viable commercial spaces in the way they're treating facades
and signage. She thinks the petitioners are mis-interpreting the
building code. She says that all board members push for viable
commercial space, and we take it seriously. She can't support the
main motion as written.

The chair opens the hearing to public comment.

(Gerry Leonard) Mr. Leonard says there's a price to pay in the
neighborhoods. That doesn't me we shouldn't build, but builders
should provide value. He says it's important to get meaningful
commercial space and there is ambiguity in the bylaw's language. He
doesn't think gross floor area reflects commercial space. Mr. Leonard
says he was in Lynn and saw apartment buildings with unenclosed
parking underneath. He'd like to see a stronger process to ensure
that we're ending up with real commercial spaces.

(Jeremiah Van Buren, 215 Mass Ave) Mr. Van Buren agrees that there's a
need to clarify the language. As written, this proposal would not be
achievable in a lot of districts. He thinks there needs to be an
exception for necessary infrastructure, and this goes a bit too far.

(Grant Cook) Mr. Cook remembers the debates at Town Meeting. 60% was
what we thought was appropriate. We have regulations on the first
floor, and until you untie the knot of parking, we'll have a battle
where commercial and residential lose to tarmac. If commercial and
residential are important, then we have to address parking.

There are no more comments from the public.

(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery says she found the public comment
helpful.

==Article 55 - Administrative Clarification to Bonus Provisions for Multi-Family Development (affordable housing)==

This article proposes to change the way that the percentage of
affordable units for the multi-family district overlay bonus is
converted to whole units. The petitioner would like all fractional
units to be round up, rather than rounding up at 0.5 of greater.

(Aram Hollman, Petitioner) Mr. Hollman says his proposal would clarify
the number of affordable units necessary to qualify for the
affordability bonus in Section 5.8.4.E(2). Arlington's base zoning
requires that 15% of units be affordable, and it rounds up at 0.5 or
greater. Mr. Hollman feels the 5.8.4.E(2) bonuses are unique in the
bylaw, and the words "at least" should be interpreted as always
going up to the next whole number. He thinks that rounding up or down
is a misreading. Mr. Hollman says this would have a very modest
effect. The number of affordable units required would change by zero
or one. He shows a spreadsheet to illustrate the differences. He
thinks the intent is to always round up, and in some cases this will
produce an additional affordable unit. Mr. Hollman says the
clarification is consistent with supporting affordable housing and
removing an ambiguity. He says that Arlington is not interested in
allowing unnecessary development.

(Steve Revilak, ARB) Mr. Revilak thanks Mr. Hollman for providing his
spreadsheet of calculations, and he agrees that the difference will
always be zero or one unit. Mr. Revilak asks Mr. Hollman if he has a
sense of how many additional affordable units would have been
permitted, had this language been included when the town adopted MBTA
Communities multifamily zoning in 2023.

(Aram Hollman) Mr. Hollman says he doesn't know.

(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak says the board has yet to approve any
projects using the affordable housing bonus, so the difference is
zero.

(Vince Baudoin, ARB) Mr. Baudoin notes a typo in Mr. Hollman's main
motion.

(Aram Hollman) Mr. Hollman acknowledges the typo and thanks
Mr. Baudoin for pointing it out.

(Vince Baudoin) Mr. Baudoin says he understands the main motion treats
the affordability bonus differently, and he could support it.

(Shaina Korman-Houston, ARB) Ms. Korman-Houston thinks it's
problematic to use different standards for different calculations. She
thinks we should have one standard. We already have an established
standard, and it would make sense to use that consistently. She could
consider language that says the affordability bonus requires at least
one unit more than the 15% base zoning.

(Rachel Zsembery, ARB) Ms. Zsembery appreciates the attempt at
clarification. She says the board debated the interpretation and she
doesn't agree with adding additional rounding provisions. She says
that board members had different interpretations and she suggests a
wording change.

There's back and forth on the wording.

(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery disagrees with the way the bonuses were
characterized in the presentation. She doesn't think they should be
characterized as sacrifices.

(Kin Lau, ARB Chair) Mr. Lau says he can't support this the way it's
written. He suggests changing the wording, or increasing the
percentage required for the bonus. He says the numbers chosen were
not arbitrary, and affordable housing means losing money on the
affordable units. There needs to be a certain number of market-rate
units to cover that.

There's more back and forth.

(Kin Lau) Mr. Lau says he's concerned about unintentional effects, and
the possibility that people might stop building affordable units.

The chair opens the hearing to public comment.

(Gerry Leonard, 44 Palmer St) Mr. Leonard says the board should be
stricter about commercial space if it wants to get more affordable
units. Market rate units will go for what they go for, and the
clarification seems straightforward.

(Joanne Cullinane, Newland Rd) Ms. Cullinane says that affordability
standards can be different and must be different. Base projects would
still have more affordable housing. The bonus rules are optional, and
she would prefer a strict standard.

(Carmine Granucci) Mr. Granucci says the bonuses exist to incentivize.
If they're not practical, they won't get used.

There are no more comments from the public.

(Vince Baudoin) Mr. Baudoin says he does agree with
Ms. Korman-Houston's point about having a consistent standard.

(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak also agrees. He would be open to
discussing changes to the percentage requirements.

==Article 56 - Development Standards – Off-Street Parking and Bicycle Parking==

This article proposes to give the ARB the ability to reduce long-term
bicycle parking requirements in the MBTA Communities district, when
the project involves 100% affordable housing.

(Neal Mongold, Petitioner) Mr. Mongold says that articles 56 and 57
were proposed by the Housing Corporation of Arlington (HCA). The
proposal wants to recognize the difficulties in developing 100%
affordable housing.

(Andrew Wofford, Housing Corporation of Arlington) Mr. Wofford says
the changes are related into indoor bike parking regulations, and
would allow a lower parking ratio for 100% affordable housing.
Mr. Wofford says that HCA's tenants don't take full advantage of the
bike parking they've been required to build. The Downing
Square/Broadway properties have 48 units, and the tenants have 31
bicycles and 72 long-term spaces. Emma's court has 40 units, and they
needed to build a separate bike parking structure which required
additional space and cost. Mr. Wofford thinks that one long-term
bicycle parking space per unit would work.

(Steve Revilak, ARB) Mr. Revilak says he understands the challenges in
funding affordable housing developments. One has to seek grants for a
land acquisition. Once you have the land, you'll have to look for
another set of grants to cover design and permitting costs. And once
you've got a permit, you'll have to look for another set of grants to
fund construction. He understands that there's a big gap between
HCA's costs and what they take in for rent, and that policies which
narrow that gap are beneficial.

Mr. Revilak has mixed feelings about a bike parking reduction. Both
Arlington and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts have emissions
reductions goals, and personal vehicles are a significant contributor
to emissions. By contrast, bicycles generate little to no emissions
and he believes that policy subsidies could encourage more people to
use them.

Mr. Revilak notes that projects that provide affordable housing get a
10% reduction in auto parking requirements, per Section 8.2 of the
bylaw. He would be in favor of increasing that number, or eliminating
parking minimums for 100% affordable housing projects.

(Vince Baudoin, ARB) Mr. Baudoin suggests wording changes, and he
generally agrees with Mr. Revilak. He asks why they've proposed the
change in Section 5.8.2, rather than in Section 8.2 where it could
apply more broadly.

(Andrew Wofford) Mr. Wofford says they didn't consider that
possibility. HCA encountered this as a challenge in the Mass
Ave/Broadway multi-family district and focused on the overlay.

(Vince Baudoin) Mr. Baudoin could see changing this in the affordable
housing overlay, and he doesn't think the extra flexibility hurts.

(Shaina Korman-Houston) Ms. Korman-Houston is sympathetic to the
challenges. She asks if the petitioners know what the office of
Housing and Liveable Communities (EOHLC) wants in terms of bicycle
parking.

(Neal Mongold) Mr. Mongold says that EOHLC typically wants one bicycle
parking space per dwelling, but they have the ability to be flexible
with that.

(Shaina Korman-Houston) Ms. Korman-Houston says she's sympathetic. She
thinks it would be optimal if there were an option to use EOHLC's
standards.

(Rachel Zsembery, ARB) Ms. Zsembery agrees with the request for
flexibility. She'd like to have this put into the base zoning, so the
board could use it to relax requirements more generally.

(Kin Lau, ARB Chair) Mr. Lau says he's generally supportive. He asks
if about half of the bicycle spaces at Downing Square/Broadway are
used.

(Andrew Wofford) Mr. Wofford answers in the affirmative.

(Kin Lau) Mr. Lau asks if the space is used for other storage, and
would more storage be necessary if some of the bike parking were
removed.

(Andrew Wofford) Mr. Wofford says there is some use of bike parking
for other kinds of storage, but that's not ideally operationally.

The chair opens the hearing to public comment.

(Larry Slotnick, Grafton St) Mr. Slotnick says he lives near 117
Broadway and the bike storage is long and skinny. There's a lot of
kid stuff and other paraphernalia stored there, and the space could be
used more efficiently. He thinks that statutory bike storage could be
reduced, and maybe better planned out.

There are no more comments from the public.

==Article 57 - Development Standards – Bonuses==

This article proposes to change the mixed-used bonus requirements in
the Mass Ave/Broadway multifamily district for projects that include
100% affordable housing.

(Andrew Wofford, Housing Corporation of Arlington) Mr. Wofford says
this article would reduce the ground floor commercial requirement for
the mixed use bonus from 60% to 30%, for projects that provide 100%
affordable housing. It would also allow non-profit missions as a
commercial use. This would provide additional relief for 100%
affordable housing projects. The setback relief in the mixed-use
bonus makes a big difference. Mr. Wofford believes that non-profit
organizations are the most likely to use this provision.

(Rachel Zsembery, ARB) Ms. Zsembery appreciates the challenges that
HCA had with Emma's Court, but she believes that setbacks are
importantly tied to commercial use. She doesn't think that non-profit
missions are an appropriate commercial use, but the majority of the
board already agreed that they are. Her goal is not to add redundancy
or additional complexity.

(Shaina Korman-Houston, ARB) Ms. Korman-Houston thinks the use
question is an interesting one, and she thinks that a non-profit use
is appropriate. She thinks that provision would be useful in the
bylaw regardless. She feels that the reduction in commercial space is
more than we could support. The bonus were added to the bylaw to
encourage things that met town goals. She thinks commercial needs a
robust amount of space, and we have to be mindful of what the next
tenant is. She thinks the reduction runs contrary to what we
considered when creating the bonuses.

(Vince Baudoin, ARB) Mr. Baudoin says the article has limited scope.
He thinks we need robust spaces that are lively and dynamic.

(Steve Revilak, ARB) Mr. Revilak reiterates his earlier remarks about
the benefits of policies that narrow the funding gap for affordable
housing projects. Last year, town meeting voted to establish a
committee to work on an affordable housing overlay. He thinks that
would be a much fit for Mr. Wofford's proposal. The Affordable
Housing Overlay working group is a town body that holds public
meetings. He encourages Mr. Wofford to take part in that process.

(Kin Lau, ARB Chair) Mr. Lau says he can't get behind setback relief
without having commercial space.

There are no comments from the public

==Article 58 - Frontage (Facade) Build-out Ratio for Single-Family Dwellings==

(Claire Ricker, Planning Director) Ms. Ricker says she received an
email from Article 58's proponents asking that the board suspend
discussion and make a recommendation of no action. They'd like to
work on their proposal and try again in 2027.

There are no comments from the board or from the pubic.

(Kin Lau) Mr. Lau says the board will discuss and vote on these
articles on March 30, but will not be taking public comment that
evening.

The board votes to continue the warrant article hearings to March
30th.

=Open Forum=

There are no speakers for tonight's open forum.

=New Business=

(Claire Ricker) Ms. Ricker says that next Monday, the board will have
an opportunity to vote to approve a new appointee to the Envision
Arlington Standing Committee.

There will be a Comprehensive Plan open house at 6pm on Thursday, in
the Arlington High School cafeteria.

The Arlington Heights Business District feedback session has been
rescheduled to April 14th.

(Shaina Korman-Houston) Ms. Korman-Houston notes that early voting has
started for the annual town election.

(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery asks if board comments will be
reflected in the draft comprehensive plan that's presented Tuesday
night.

(Claire Ricker) Ms. Ricker says the comments will be reflected.

(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery says she'd like to see a sample board
for Emma's Court.

Meeting adjourned at 21:35.

[[Category:Public Meetings]]

Public Meetings

SteveR — Sat, 28 Mar 2026 22:12:54 GMT

2026: Arlington Redevelopment Board - Mar 23rd, 2026

← Older revision		Revision as of 18:12, 28 March 2026
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			* [[Arlington Redevelopment Board - Mar 23rd, 2026]]
	* [[Arlington Candidates Night - Mar 18th, 2026]]		* [[Arlington Candidates Night - Mar 18th, 2026]]
	* [[Arlington Redevelopment Board - Mar 16th, 2026]]		* [[Arlington Redevelopment Board - Mar 16th, 2026]]

Arlington Candidates Night - Mar 18th, 2026

SteveR — Sat, 21 Mar 2026 19:54:56 GMT

initial revision

New page

Candidates Night is an event sponsored by the League of Women Voters.
Candidates for townwide office are given two minutes to make opening
statements. Candidates are each given one minute to answer the
moderator's questions, and two minutes for closing statements.

The Housing authority board was excluded from tonight's debate because
the race is contested and one of the candidates was unable to attend.

=Board of Assessors=

There is one candidate running for one seat.

(Mary Winstanley O'Connor) Ms. Winstanley O'Connor has served on the
board of assessors for several years and she says we'll continue to
have a strong board. She'd like to use her time to talk about tax
exemptions available to seniors. Chapter 41A is the senior tax
deferral. Seniors 65 or older may defer all of their real estate
taxes under certain criteria, until the house is sold or until they
pass away. There is interest charged on the amount deferred. This
policy is a way to ease the cash burden on struggling seniors.

(Moderator) How can a homeowner appeal their property assessment?

(Mary Winstanley O'Connor) Ms. Winstanley O'Connor says the owner must
file an abatement, and provide a justification for the lower assessed
value.

(Moderator) Is there tax relief for residents of limited means?

(Mary Winstanley O'Connor) Ms. Winstanley O'Connor says the benefits
are mostly for seniors, but there are also programs for vets, police
officers, and fire fighters.

(Moderator) What as been the tax impact of Accessory Dwelling Units?

(Mary Winstanley O'Connor) Ms. Winstanley O'Connor says there is no
tax impact on abutting properties, but there is an effect to the fair
market value of the home where the ADU is built. She encourages
people to call the assessor's office if they have questions about
their assessment.

=Select Board=

There are two candidates for two seats on the Select Board.

(Joe Solomon) Mr. Solomon grew up in Arlington then came back to start
a family. He built an ADU for his mom to live in, and learned how
Arlington works by volunteering. He's worked with neighbors on
community issues. Professionally, he's spent over 20 years doing
operational work in government. He thinks the main issues for
Arlington are the schools, the need for more housing, and thoughtful
development and growth.

(Diane Mahon) Ms. Mahon says it's been a privilege to serve as a
member of the Select Board and a member of town meeting. Arlington is
a great community. She'll take the time to listen and to find
solutions. She hopes people will vote yes in the override to protect
town services. There's a high circulation rate in our libraries.
When a community delays making hard choices, the impact can be lost
for years.

(Moderator) If the override fails and the budget has to be cut, what
are three areas where cuts could be made?

(Diane Mahon) Ms. Mahon says the override amount was cut to $14.8
million, and she's been part of many conversations about where cuts
should be looked at. The decision is ultimately up to the town
manager and school superintendent.

(Joe Solomon) Mr. Solomon says there would have to be cuts to the
schools, given the size of the school budget. He'd also consider cuts
in the road and vehicle budgets.

(Moderator) Describe actions the town could take to eliminate the
budget deficit.

(Joe Solomon) Mr. Solomon says that proposition 2.5 is a main factor
in our budget deficits, and the state has reduced unrestricted aid.
He would look for more ways to increase revenue.

(Diane Mahon) Ms. Mahon says she'd keep the hiring freeze in place and
look for ways to regionalize town purchases and maintenance. The
state is reducing aid through Chapters 70 and 90. Ms. Mahon doesn't
want to do things that would weigh on the backs of employees.

(Moderator) What are your plans for the MWRA and eliminating combined
sewer overflows in Alewife Brook?

(Diane Mahon) Ms. Mahon says she's worked on this issue for many
years. She would continue to enforce court orders against the MWRA,
to hold the MWRA accountable, and get them to clean up.

(Joe Solomon) Mr. Solomon says he'd keep tension on this, and make
sure the issue is in front of everyone. He'd look for sources in the
MWRA budget that could be used to close the combined overflows.

(Moderator) How would you align DEI with federal policies?

(Joe Solomon) Mr. Solomon says we shouldn't do that. He'd like to see
Arlington continue what it's been doing, and push back against the
bully.

(Diane Mahon) Ditto for Ms. Mahon. She'd work with the new DEI
coordinator to coordinate to identify communities to serve. She'd
continue outreach on policies.

(Moderator) The town has taken steps to reduce operational carbon.
What are your plans to reduce embodied carbon in new construction,
including the rebuilding of the Ottoson Middle School?

(Diane Mahon) Ms. Mahon says that (Town Manager) Jim Feeney has a
background in facilities. There's expertise there and elsewhere in
town when it comes to knowing what we need to do in order to get
state approval for building projects.

(Joe Solomon) Mr. Solomon says we can make choices in building design
and materials, and we can adopt the new building codes. We can also
apply for grants and rebates.

The candidates deliver closing statements.

(Diane Mahon) Ms. Mahon asks people to vote for her and for the
override. A failed override could result in the closing of the Fox
library, a reduction in transportation services for senior, and layoffs
in the schools. She says local government works when we all have a
voice.

(Joe Solomon) Mr. Solomon supports the override. He thinks we've
pushed hard to try to get the numbers down, but services depend on the
override passing. He wants people to feel a positive impact from town
services.

=School Committee=

There are three candidates for (3) three-year seats (Elizabeth Exton,
Paul Schlichtman, and Laura Gittelson) and three candidates for (1)
one-year seat (Dmitry Vasilyev, Crystal Copithorne, and Shaun Berry).

(Elizabeth Exton) Ms. Exton wants to continue to improve the schools.
The school district is in year three of a five-year plan. She's
committee to improving community relations. She's also committed to a
statement of interest to rebuild the Ottoson Middle School and for
competitive teacher pay. She'd also like to improve the teacher
retention rate.

(Paul Schlichtman) Mr. Schlichtman has spent 37 years in education.
Arlington delivers high quality education for less money than the
state average. We need the override to maintain services in our
schools. The cost of running the schools has gone up by about 5% and
the override will add 4% to the school budget.

(Laura Gittelson) Ms. Gittelson says her experience on the School
Committee has given her an appreciation for the complexity of the
work. She's interested in professional development and diversifying
the workforce. The challenges are better earning the trust of
families, and attracting and retaining teachers. He supports the
override. Understanding how the schools work is important.

(Dmitry Vasilyev) Mr. Vasilyev is a data scientist and engineer, and
he wants to bring the voices of kids to the School Committee. We need
to do a better job of listening to kids and understanding their needs.
He would do short surveys after each course and ask kids what they
think their goals should be. He'd like to improve the math curriculum
and accommodate high-achieving kids.

(Crystal Copithorne) Ms. Copithorne says the foundation we build in
schools shapes people for life. Education is both a ladder and a
mirror. She sees three issues that affect all families: equity and
excellence, representation, and smart stewardship. She thinks we need
new perspectives.

(Shaun Berry) Ms. Berry has professional experience as a teacher. She
says social justice begins in the classroom. She can decipher
educational data and has contributed to Arlington public schools
through participation in working groups. She's currently working on
the math pathways task force. There will also be renegotiations next
year.

(Moderator) Given the override, what are three areas that could be
subject to budget cuts?

(Paul Schlichtman) Mr. Schlichtman says we'll need to make cuts, even
if the override passes. He'd listen to the school community first,
and expand buffer zones to make elementary assignments more efficient.

(Laura Gittelson) Ms. Gittelson says the school committee has been
discussing this for months. We've trimmed the administrative staff,
reinstated athletic fees, and cut subject area heads. She doesn't
support doing this, and it's been a difficult decision.

(Dmitry Vasilyev) Mr. Vasilyev says we'll need to hear from
principals, parents, teachers, and children regarding cuts. We'll
need to prioritize. He'd consider cuts to administrative staff and
expanding class sizes.

(Crystal Copithorne) Ms. Copithorne would trim the central office.
She'd investigate public-private partnerships in order to bring in
more funds. She sees this as a "yes, and" effort. She'd also
institute a more robust grant process.

(Shaun Berry) Ms. Berry would like to maintain student-facing
positions. We'll need to comb through the budget and see where money
produces the best outcomes. She encourages a yes vote on the
override.

(Elizabeth Exton) Ms. Exton says the school committee has been working
with the superintendent on this. They're reinstating athletic and
music fees, but non-student-facing roles can't be stripped.

(Moderator) Would you support treating program fees as an enterprise
fund?

(Laura Gittelson) Ms. Gittelson says the School Committee has looked
at this. We need good data on the effect of eliminating fees and
who's effected.

(Dmitry Vasilyev) Mr. Vasilyev says he'd need to do data research.

(Crystal Copithorne) Ms. Copithorne says we need to have data and
pathways to equity.

(Shaun Berry) Ms. Berry think curriculum supplements shouldn't have
fees. Fees for sports programs could be an option, since only a
limited number of students participate. She says we're already doing
this with PTO funding.

(Elizabeth Exton) Ms. Exton says we were able to eliminate fees years
ago, but we're in a different position now. We should have a
conversation about that regarding extra-curricular activities.

(Paul Schlichtman) Mr. Schlichtman thinks we should look for
opportunities to rent school facilities and collect rental fees.
Mr. Schlichtman says that middle-income families often have trouble
with fees.

(Moderator) The school district has been criticized for a lack of
transparency. Would you support an ombudsman position?

(Dmitry Vasilyev) Mr. Vasilyev says we need to have open channels. We
need student feedback and we need to meet people where they are.

(Crystal Copithorne) Ms. Copithorne says an ombudsman is one way to
go. A diversity council connected to the school committee is another.
Right now, black and Latino students have significantly higher dropout
and suspension rates than white students.

(Shaun Berry) Ms. Berry says an ombudsman is a viable option.
Families want better two-way communications. We need to get more
information from parents and a mediation structure to address
conflicts.

(Elizabeth Exton) Ms. Exton says we've tried listening sessions, which
were well-attended at first but not over time. There has to be a
mechanism for getting this feedback to the superintendent.

(Paul Schlichtman) Mr. Schlichtman says it will be hard to add an
ombudsman when we're having to cut staff positions. The School Board
is a policy board, and this has to start with teachers, principals,
and administrators.

(Laura Gittelson) Ms. Gittelson says there are misconceptions about
what the school committee can do. The superintendent had 23 listening
sessions which prompted some good discussions.

(Moderator) Should the school develop policies around the use of AI?

(Crystal Copithorne) Ms. Copithorne says we can't deny that AI is
happening, and we'll need policies to teach students about it's
dangers. It's necessary to address.

(Shaun Berry) Ms. Berry says we don't know what the best practices are
yet, and we need conversations about what works and what doesn't. She
thinks it can be helpful with project-based learning.

(Elizabeth Exton) Ms. Exton says we need to work on how to use AI and
when. Bias and critical thinking are major issues, and teachers need
the freedom to make decisions.

(Laura Gittelson) Ms. Gittelson says that policy moves slowly but AI
does not. The role of the School Committee is to ask questions and
work with educators to navigate issues.

(Dmitry Vasilyev) Mr. Vasilyev says that AI is not Earth-shattering
and it does not invalidate math. He says students need to know how to
use it, and how to check the results.

(Moderator) Would you support the legislature's proposal to make the
schools bell-to-bell phone-free?

(Shaun Berry) Ms. Berry says there's been an uptick in phone use. She
thinks phone-free is appropriate for kindergarten to eighth grade, but
it's harder in high schools.

(Elizabeth Exton) Ms. Exton says we need to teach students how to
moderate use. Pouches are expensive and difficult to manage. We
should listen to teachers on how it's going.

(Paul Schlichtman) Mr. Schlichtman thinks this is an inappropriate use
of the legislature. This kind of policy needs to come from teachers,
parents, and schools.

(Laura Gittelson) Ms. Gittelson says she hopes we get funding if the
legislature does this. Phones are a reality for kids and they need to
learn how to use them responsibly.

(Dmitry Vasilyev) Mr. Vasilyev says it's important to educate parents
on how to educate students. Phones should be put away during class
time. My kids use flip phones, voluntarily.

(Crystal Copithorne) Ms. Copithorne says parents need to buy in.
Parents will need the ability to communicate with their kids.

On to closing statements.

(Shaun Berry) Ms. Berry thinks the School Committee has a proven track
record of working in Arlington to improve school outcomes.

(Crystal Copithorne) Ms. Copithorne says the schools are strong and
the community cares about kids. We need equity and actionable
results, not working in silos. She would bring executive leadership
and community organizing experience to the School Board.

(Dmitry Vasilyev) Mr. Vasilyev would put children's needs front and
center in the School Committee. Without love, physical and
intellectual powers will not develop.

(Laura Gittelson) Ms. Gittelson cares deeply about the schools, and
the work is very personal to her. Strong schools don't happen by
accident and we have work to do.

(Paul Schlichtman) Mr. Schlichtman says that understaffing causes
brown-outs, where services are not available. The override is about
the values for our community.

(Elizabeth Exton) Ms. Exton says the work of the school committee is
complex. She supports the five-year plan, the Ottoson feasibility
study, and managing the fiscal challenges.

[[Category:Public Meetings]]

Public Meetings

SteveR — Sat, 21 Mar 2026 19:54:32 GMT

2026: Arlington Candidates Night - Mar 18th, 2026

← Older revision		Revision as of 15:54, 21 March 2026
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	= 2026 =		= 2026 =

			* [[Arlington Candidates Night - Mar 18th, 2026]]
	* [[Arlington Redevelopment Board - Mar 16th, 2026]]		* [[Arlington Redevelopment Board - Mar 16th, 2026]]
	* [[Arlington Redevelopment Board - Mar 9th, 2026]]		* [[Arlington Redevelopment Board - Mar 9th, 2026]]

Arlington Redevelopment Board - Mar 16th, 2026

SteveR — Sat, 21 Mar 2026 14:54:19 GMT

initial revision

New page

Meeting held at 27 Maple St. Materials were available from
https://arlingtonma.primegov.com/Portal/Meeting?meetingTemplateId=1854.

=Review Meeting Minutes=

The board approves minutes from their March 2nd meeting.

=Warrant Article Hearings=

This is the third night of warrant article hearings.

==Article 49 - Home Occupations==

(Claire Ricker, Planning Director) Ms. Ricker says this is a citizen
petition to amend the rules for home occupations.

(James Fleming, Petitioner) Mr. Fleming says that there aren't many
spaces available for staring a business. Spaces are expensive to rent
and hard to find. Commercial leases often run for several years. For
these reasons, it's often easier to start a business as a home
occupation.

Under today's bylaw, home occupations can't have additional employees;
the proposed changes would allow one. It would also allow the sale of
goods on site and a two square foot sign. The article would set
operating hours, set standards for vehicular traffic, and storage of
hazardous materials. It also moves some material out of the
definitions section and into regulations.

Mr. Fleming shows a summary table, highlighting home occupation rules
in neighboring communities.

(Rachel Zsembery, ARB) Ms. Zsembery notices that this is a different
version than the applicants submitted last year. She asks if the
petitioners had any conversations with Inspectional Services (ISD).

(James Fleming) Mr. Fleming says the only conversations he's had with
ISD were to the effect of "the home occupation rules aren't enforced".

(Andy Greenspon, Petitioner) Mr. Greenspon believes there are a number
of residents running home occupations that aren't allowed. He recalls
last year's town meeting when one town meeting member was describing
what he'd done for a home business, and Director Ciampa said "stop".

(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery asks if Ms. Ricker has spoken with (ISD
Director) Mike Ciampa about this article.

(Claire Ricker) Ms. Ricker says no.

(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery says she'd like to have Director Ciampa
weigh in. She asks why sign regulations are in the home occupation,
rather than in Section 6.2 with the rest of the sign regulations.

(James Fleming) Mr. Fleming says that signs aren't allowed for home
occupations under the current bylaw. Section 6.2 simply references
the prohibition in the home occupations section.

(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery would like to have that cleaned up, so
that all sign regulations appear in Section 6.2. She agrees with many
of the provisions but thinks section 8 might be overly specific with
examples. She asks about the limit of one student for music
instruction.

(James Fleming) Mr. Fleming says the current bylaw limits music
instruction to one student at a time.

(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery suggests allowing up to three students,
to match non-music tutoring.

(Shaina Korman-Houston, ARB) Ms. Korman-Houston asks about the
restriction on conducing business in the front yard.

(James Fleming) Mr. Fleming says the current bylaw is inside-only. He
wanted to provide an option for allowing some business activities to
be conducted outside, such as drying a canvass. He's open to allowing
business activity to take place in the front yard but was trying to
keep the changes incremental.

(Shaina Korman-Houston) Ms. Korman-Houston suggests leaving out the
limitation on front setbacks.

(James Fleming) Mr. Fleming asks if outdoor allowances should be less
specific, or should activity be indoor only.

(Shaina Korman-Houston) Ms. Korman-Houston suggests being less
specific. She asks why hours would be limited to 8:00 am to 6:00 pm.

(James Fleming) Mr. Fleming says those are the hours where
construction is allowed to take place. And kid bedtime is usually
after 6 pm.

(Shaina Korman-Houston) Ms. Korman-Houston notes that restriction
would prohibit evening tutoring.

(Vince Baudoin, ARB) Mr. Baudoin states that he signed the petition
for this warrant article, but that was before becoming a member of the
ARB. Mr. Baudoin occasionally does side projects as an architect,
and might be affected by this article. He asks if Mr. Fleming and
Mr. Greenspon have talked to people that have expressed interest in
this article.

(James Fleming) Mr. Fleming says he has talked with people, but none
of them would be motivated to start a home business because of this
article.

(Vince Baudoin) Mr. Baudoin asks about a few words that appear to be
new, but aren't underlined.

(James Fleming) Mr. Fleming agrees that's a markup error.

(Vince Baudoin) Mr. Baudoin suggests simplifying. He appreciates how
5.9.1.B tries to address negative externalities.

(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak says he's surprised by the number of
people he's met that run businesses out of their homes. There are
book keepers, tour guides, and designers. He confesses that he may
have done a bit of freelance software development at home at one
point. He feels the article provides more flexibility than the
current bylaw and is supportive.

(Kin Lau) Mr. Lau says he's generally supportive, but asks how this
would work with a large apartment building. For example, a customer
buying a piece of artwork from someone who lives in a large apartment
building.

(James Fleming) Mr. Fleming says the bylaw wouldn't allow disruption.
He says that rental agreements generally prohibit tenants from
conducting a business from their apartment. Master deeds for
condominiums generally do as well. He says that's a private matter,
and the bylaw doesn't address private restrictions.

(Kin Lau) Mr. Lau suggests running that by town counsel to check.

(Andy Greenspon) Mr. Greenspon believes the question came up last
year, and town counsel weighed in then.

(Mary Winstanley O'Connor) Ms. Winstanley O'Connor says that a lease
would take priority over the bylaw.

The chair opens the hearing to public comment.

(Carl Wagner, Edgehill Rd) Mr. Wagner says that something similar came
to town meeting last year. He says it wasn't good for Arlington, and
would weaken the town's residential and business districts.
Mr. Wagner says the great cities of the world, like New York and
London keep residential and business uses separate. He thinks there's
a cohesion to separating uses.

There are no more comments from the public.

==Articles 50--51 - Map, Dimensional and Density Regulations==

These articles involve zoning and map changes that would permit an
assisted living service to be built near St. Camillus church.

(Claire Ricker, Planning Director) Ms. Ricker says this is a citizen
petition to amend the zoning of a particular parcel from R1 to R6.
There is also a petition to provide dimensional regulations for an
"Assisted Living Facility over 20,000 square feet".

(Mary Winstanley O'Connor, Attorney) Ms. Winstanley O'Connor says
she's representing HYM Investments. The parcel is intended to be
subdivided, with 4.5 acres being used for an assisted living
facility. St. Camillus owns the church and the sale has been approved
by the Vatican.

The property is currently tax exempt. If redeveloped as an assisted
living facility, the property would likely provide a significant tax
benefit to the town. Ms. Winstanley O'Connor says her client have
already held a number of meetings with staff, residents, and Town
Meeting members that represent the precinct.

(Kin Lau) Mr. Lau notes that this hearing is only about the zoning
change. The board will not review the proposed design at this time.

(?, HYM Investments) A representative of HYM Investments says they're
proposing to rezone a portion of the church property, but not the
church itself, and not the property the church owns across the street.
Experience Senior Living will operate the facility. They've held two
meetings -- one for the parish and one for the neighborhood. They're
requesting R6 because that is the only district that allows assisted
living. The facility would have 145 beds.

They're planning on building three stories, and there would be 0.7
parking spaces per bed, which is well above what the zoning bylaw
requires. They're asking for a 50' height in order to have a pitched
roof above the third story.

(Mary Winstanley O'Connor) Ms. Winstanley O'Connor says there were
concerns about the property being redeveloped as something other than
an assisted living facility, and she's currently working on an
agreement between HYM Investments and the town.

(Steve Revilak, ARB) Mr. Revilak thinks the dimensional changes are
narrow and targeted. He notes that the proposed Assisted Living use
copies the regulations for "all other permitted structures", and
only changes height and floor-area ratio.

He asks if there's a plan B, should town meeting not approve the
zoning change.

(Mary Winstanley O'Connor) Ms. Winstanley O'Connor says there isn't a
plan B. At one of the meetings, the Father said this project was
integral the financial viability of the church.

(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak notes that the applicants have provided
the board with a conceptual design of what they plan to build, but
that design is not what the board is discussing tonight. Tonight we
are focused on a zoning change that would allow the petitioners to
propose an assisted living facility at a later time.

(Vince Baudoin, ARB) Mr. Baudoin thinks the project could provide
local jobs. He suggests providing less parking and more green space.

(Shaina Korman-Houston) Ms. Korman-Houston asks if abutters have
received notice of the proposed map change.

(Mary Winstanley O'Connor) Ms. Winstanley O'Connor says abutters were
noticed.

(Shaina Korman-Houston) Ms. Korman-Houston asks why the use table
entry contains the words "on 20,000 square feet or more".

Board members discuss this. There's precedent in the R6 use table for
that language.

(Rachel Zsembery, ARB) Ms. Zsembery says she's in support of finding a
way to support the overall concept.

(Kin Lau, ARB Chair) Mr. Lau is also supportive. He appreciates that
the petitioners have med with department heads, the neighbors, and the
church. He notes that this is only the first step of the process.

(Jon Gersh, Kipling Road) Mr. Gersh has lived here for 25 years and is
one of the founders of Friends of Poet's Corner. Development of this
site is inevitable. He's been getting questions from neighbors and
funneling them to the developers. Neighbors are supportive in
general, but have specific questions they'd like answers to. Overall,
this seems like a positive. Two main concerns were (1) that the
church remain a church, and (2) that the capped landfill across the
street not be dug up.

(Donald Cassidy, 272 Florence Ave) Mr. Cassidy says this isn't Poet's
Corner. He was never notified, and thinks it will cost $7000 or
$8000 a month to live here. It's a for-profit business. We're
talking about 145 new toilets flushing and new plumbing. 60 health
care workers will work in the facility. The church is leasing part of
its space to contractors, and it's been a mess. Anything that goes in
there will be a mess. The company offers nothing to the community and
this will devalue properties.

(Bill Finnerty, 806 Mass Ave) Mr. Finnerty says his family has been
here for generations and he was an altar boy at St. Camillus. He
wants the beautiful holy church kept as it is and urges a no vote from
the board. He says this will be a massive three-story nursing home,
and we need another nursing home like we need another hold in the
head. It will be high end, expensive, and cost $16,000/month. This
monster density plan will wipe out the R1 district. The parking lot
is beautiful open space. We don't want a Pottersville in our town.

(Elena Bartholemew) Ms. Bartholemew asks if the property would still
say R6 is the nursing home didn't work out.

(Susan Silva) Ms. Silva says the big hope of the Archdiocese and the
church is to keep the church. She asks if the church will become R6
if that doesn't happen.

(Kin Lau) Mr. Lau says the church isn't part of the map change article
and would remain R1.

(Donald Cassidy) Mr. Cassidy asks what kind of covenants are on the
property, and whether the foundation of the nursing home could sustain
more height.

There are no more comments from the public.

(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery appreciates the discussions that the
proponents had with staff and the town manager. She says there are no
covenants in zoning.

(Kin Lau) Mr. Lau wants to address the comments on plumbing.
Arlington's sewer and stormwater systems are separated, and you can't
dump stormwater into a sewer. The town engineer will perform capacity
calculations when the permit is actually filed.

Regarding open space, the assisted living facility will have to meet
those requirements. It appears to have less paved surface than the
current parking lot.

==Article 54 - Traffic Visibility==

This article proposes changes to the rules for traffic visibility
around corners. It would allow corner lots to have fences over 3' in
height, as long as they didn't impede visibility.

(Claire Ricker, Planning Director) Ms. Ricker says this is a citizen
petition to amend 5.3.12.A.

(Caitlin Monaghan, Petitioner) Ms. Monaghan says her goal for this
article is to preserver the intent of the bylaw while alleviating
conflicts with other regulations. The goal of 5.3.12.A is to provide
visibility for drivers and it prohibits visually opaque fences around
corners. There are types of fences that are opaque and taller than
3', and these are not allowed.

Ms. Monaghan says the department of early education requires 4'
fences, and our bylaw requires 5' fences around swimming pools. The
corner visibility requirements are also hard for people in historic
districts because the guidelines for these districts can conflict with
the law. Her goal is to provide an exception for cases where
visibility isn't hindered by the fence, similar to the exception in
5.3.12.B.

There are three elements to her proposal: (1) that the fence doesn't
impede the field of vision for drivers, (2) that the fence is
maintained free of vegetation, and (3) the opacity of the fence is
less than 35%. She's tried to make these elements clear for
inspectional services, so there's no ambiguity in how to apply them.

(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak says that privacy fences on corner lots
are common in his area of town. They're taller than he is, and
completely opaque. One of these was installed a while back, and
Mr. Revilak had a conversation with someone who lives on his street
who was grumbling about it. Their gripe: having to slow down when
driving through the intersection, in order to look around the corner.
In effect, that corner lot privacy fence acts as a form of traffic
calming.

Mr. Revilak thinks that section 5.3.12.A is based on last century's
thoughts about road safety: provide a wide field of view with the
expectation that drivers will be able to see things and respond to
them. Today, we know that a wide field of vision encourages faster
driving, which makes accidents more likely, and increases the amount
of damage when they do happen.

Mr. Revilak thinks that Ms. Monaghan has really thought through the
details, and he supports the article.

(Vince Baudoin, ARB) Mr. Baudoin isn't particularly convinced that not
being able to have a fence along a property line creates a hardship,
but he doesn't see why this should go to town meeting. Regarding the
presentation, some of the transparent fences look like they're only
three feet high. He suggests finding ones that are four feet or
taller.

(Shaina Korman-Houston, ARB) Ms. Korman-Houston asks Ms. Monaghan if
she's spoken with (Director of Inspectional Services) Mike Ciampa.

(Caitlin Monaghan) Ms. Monaghan has spoken with Mr. Ciampa, who had
two comments. First, he doesn't like the article, but did request a
provision that requires fences to be free of vegetation. Second, no
one follows the law anyway. Ms. Monaghan understands that 5.3.12.A is
not likely to be enforced, given that few people know about the
provision. Banning fences that don't block visibility doesn't improve
public safety.

(Shaina Korman-Houston) Ms. Korman-Houston is inclined to feel like
Mr. Baudoin and thinks this could go to town meeting.
Ms. Korman-Houston says that seeing this article caused her to measure
the bushes along her driveway, and trim them back because they were
too tall.

(Rachel Zsembery, ARB) Ms. Zsembery isn't in favor of the article and
doesn't think we should clutter town meeting's schedule. She's not
interested in seeing 6' chain link fences around corner lots.

(Kin Lau, ARB Chair) Mr. Lau asks if this would affect any R districts
along Broadway or Mass Ave.

The chair opens the hearing to public comment.

(David Bean, 50 Jason St) Mr. Bean has seen fences along property
lines that are five or six feet tall. He thinks the town enforces
this bylaw occasionally, as one resident had to trim their hedge.

(Carl Wagner, Edgehill Rd) Mr. Wagner says there are rules for the
height of fences and the existing law works well. He says many people
spoke against this two years ago and thinks that safety issues
shouldn't go to town meeting. Mr. Wagner says that a child or pet
could be running very fast along a fence. He suggests Ms. Monaghan
ask the ZBA for permission to put up her fence.

There are no more comments from the public.

(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak says we've had to article hearings tonight
where that had some gist of "this isn't enforced, so it's fine". He
says that's not very gratifying.

=Open Forum=

There are no speakers for tonight's open forum.

=New Business=

(Vince Baudoin) Mr. Baudoin asks if there's an update on the Arlington
Heights Neighborhood Action Plan.

(Claire Ricker) Ms. Ricker says there is a committee that meets
regularly. Mr. Lau and Ms. Zsembery are committee members
representing the ARB. The committee's next meeting is on Monday
evening.

(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery believes there is a date for a future
public meeting.

(Kin Lau) Mr. Lau says the committee will be asking the public to
provide feedback on design images.

(Vince Baudoin) Mr. Baudoin asks if the heights rezoning will come to
town meeting in 2027.

(Kin Lau) Mr. Lau answers in the affirmative.

(Claire Ricker) Ms. Ricker says there will be a comprehensive plan
open house on at 6:00 pm on March 26th.

Meeting adjourned at 8:45.

[[Category:Public Meetings]]

Public Meetings

SteveR — Sat, 21 Mar 2026 14:53:55 GMT

2026: Arlington Redevelopment Board - Mar 16th, 2026

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			* [[Arlington Redevelopment Board - Mar 16th, 2026]]
	* [[Arlington Redevelopment Board - Mar 9th, 2026]]		* [[Arlington Redevelopment Board - Mar 9th, 2026]]
	* [[Arlington Redevelopment Board - Mar 2nd, 2026]]		* [[Arlington Redevelopment Board - Mar 2nd, 2026]]

Arlington Redevelopment Board - Mar 9th, 2026

SteveR — Sun, 15 Mar 2026 00:08:01 GMT

initial revision

New page

Meeting held at 27 Maple Street. Materials were available from
https://arlingtonma.primegov.com/Portal/Meeting?meetingTemplateId=1593.

=Affordable Housing Overlay District Discussion=

This agenda item involves a board discussion with the Affordable
Housing Overlay District Working Group (AHOD).

(Carol Kowalski, AHOD Co-chair) Ms. Kowalski says the group has been
at work for the last several months. They're doing the planning part
of the work, which includes identifying geographic locations for the
overlay district. The base zoning will stay in place. The working
group plans to do more public outreach over the upcoming months.

(Steve Revilak, ARB) Mr. Revilak appreciates the amount of effort the
working group has put into this project so far. He'd like to answer
the questions listed in their memo to the board.

Mr. Revilak thinks it makes sense to have to sub-districts, one for the
corridors and one for the neighborhoods. This follows the model we
used for the MBTA Communities multi-family districts.

Limiting mixed use to the corridor sub-district is reasonable. Given
the restrictions that are typical for funding funding affordable
housing, Mr. Revilak expects those spaces to be primarily occupied by
community service organizations, such as Arlington EATS. He's fine
with that because those organizations tend to provide valuable
community services.

Mr. Revilak understands the mixed use bonus allows a 0' front setback,
but no increase in height. He feels that feel that's a reasonable
starting point.

He suggests removing the phrase "but not limited to" from Section
5.9.3, given the AG's comments to Arlington's MBTA Communities zoning.
The AG's office felt that site plan review couldn't be based on an
unbounded set of criteria.

Mr. Revilak thinks 0.5 parking spaces/dwelling is reasonable, and in
line with the Housing Corporation of Arlington's current parking
utilization.

Finally Mr. Revilak would like to see yards regulated through
setbacks, and avoid a separate open space requirement. Residential
land in Arlington tends to be valued in the millions of dollars per
acre, making yards a very expensive luxury. He feels that's the right
tradeoff for affordable housing.

(Vince Baudoin, ARB) Mr. Baudoin says the sites seem like a
comprehensive list of larger parcels and they make sense for
inclusion.

Mr. Baudoin suggests defining the acronym "AHO" before it's used in
section 5.9.1.3. He notes that the structure and language are similar
to the multi-family overlay district and he wonders if that language
could be extended. Mixed-use makes the most sense in
pedestrian-oriented areas, but office use would be up for discussion.
The corridors are an appropriate place to have buildings come up to he
sidewalk. He's generally supportive, as a way to get more affordable
housing.

(Shaina Korman-Houston, ARB) Ms. Korman-Houston suggests swapping
5.9.1 and 5.9.2 to maintain consistency with the multi-family
district. She notes the site list has several houses of worship, and
she suggests adding all of them. The state legislature is considering
a bill that would allow multi-family uses on religious sites, but it's
not clear what will happen there.

(Rachel Zsembery, ARB) Ms. Zsembery appreciates the website that was
shared with the board. She thinks it's important to remove business
and industrial sites unless there's a requirement for a mixed use
component. She thinks that affordable housing shouldn't erode the
town's commercial base. She'd also remove the Russell common parking
lot, which would be a loss as a single-use redevelopment. She's
struggling with the complexities of two overlay districts. She would
only support a 0' setback for mixed-use buildings with an active use
on the ground floor.

Ms. Zsembery questions whether the dispersion of affordable housing
should be a goal in 5.9.1.4. She would also remove single-room
occupancy buildings and group homes. Ms. Zsembery thinks those should
require special permits. She suggests not excluding 5.3.7 so that
parking lots have screening and would not eliminate the requirement
for an upper story step back. She's also concerned with removing the
requirements for solar energy systems.

(Kin Lau, ARB chair) Mr. Lau agrees that the bylaw might have too many
overlays, noting that Arlington has very complex regulations. He'd
like to take a broader look at the parcels involved and the funding
available. He asks if the working group has looked at opportunities
for smaller projects or taking advantage of new building codes, such
as ones that allow for single stairs. Mr. Lau thinks that housing
will support commercial uses and suggests looking at the next ring
outside of the MBTA communities overlay.

(Shaina Korman-Houston) Ms. Korman-Houston says it's exceptionally
difficult to develop 100% affordable housing at under 30 units.
There's not funding for projects at smaller scales.

(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak is okay with removing solar requirements.
Affordable housing developments have to follow the state's qualified
action plan and that dictates what sustainability measures a project
has to fulfill. He asks if this is an effort to have the zoning
follow funding guidelines.

(Carol Kowalski) Ms. Kowalski answers in the affirmative.

(Vince Baudoin) Mr. Baudoin asks if mixed-use buildings are equally
doable.

(Carol Kowalski) Ms. Kowalski says "no". The state requires a
marketing plan for any non-residential space and low income housing
tax credits can't be used to fund a commercial space. Ms. Kowalski
would consider a mixed use requirement a poison pill. She notes that
the housing corporation of Arlington has been successful at creating
space for non-profits, but there are only so many non-profits that can
fund their own space.

(Kin Lau) Mr. Lau thinks it would be difficult to discuss all of the
individual sites at a board meeting. He'd like to hold a retreat for
future discussions. He doesn't want to give up on commercial space
and thinks that needs a broader discussion.

(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery notes that board members visited each
of the sites proposed for the MBTA Communities multifamily district.
She's okay with a workshop but would like the list to be whittled down
beforehand.

(Kin Lau) Mr. Lau has visited all of the sites and has given the
working group his opposition to some.

(Shaina Korman-Houston) Ms. Korman-Houston thinks that a workshop is a
reasonable process.

(Vince Baudoin) Mr. Baudoin is happy to participate, though he's not
likely to object to sites. He asks what the board would consider as
ground rules for inclusion.

(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak says that low income housing tax credits
are a main funding source for affordable housing, and one generally
needs 30 or more units to qualify. For him, the main question is
"where can you get to 30 units?". That usually means parcels of
half an acre or larger.

Mr. Revilak doesn't object to the inclusion of business district sites
because the districts are small and zoning limits what can be built
there. He's skeptical that Arlington can attract more commercial
development without significantly changing the zoning map. He
understands the tradeoffs between putting the affordable housing
overlay near bus lines vs further into the neighborhoods where there's
less public transit. Mr. Revilak says there's a certain amount of
economic segregation built into our zoning map, and he wouldn't mind
rolling some of that back.

(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery says the challenge is parking
requirements, and we may want different minimums for more car-dependent
areas. She thinks the amount of nuance might be too much for as
of-right permitting. The goal is ultimately to make the best projects
we can get. She's struggling with different needs and whether a more
targeted overlay would be feasible.

(Laura Wiener, AHOD Co-chair) Ms. Wiener says that was one of the
reasons for proposing two different sub-districts: one for the corridors
and one for neighborhoods off the corridors.

(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery could imagine different treatment along
route 2. She questions whether as of-right permitting would be best.

(Laurie Shampine, 40 Hopkins Rd) Ms. Shampine asks who looks at
affordable housing in the context of the overall development plan.
She thinks these sites could be developed in other ways. If
affordable housing were developed on all of the sites, it would
increase density.

(Kin Lau) Mr. Lau says the Affordable Housing Overlay District
committee was formed by town meeting, and we are just checking in with
them tonight. He suggests that Ms. Shampine attend their meetings if
she has opinions to contribute.

(Shaina Korman-Houston) Ms. Korman-Houston notes that an overlay
district doesn't mandate what gets built. It only provides an option.

=Docket 3883 - 840--846 Mass Ave and 17 Newman Way=

This docket involves site plan review for the Housing Corporation of
Arlington to build two apartment buildings; one at 840 Mass Ave and
one at 17 Newman way.

(Claire Ricker, Planning Director) Ms. Ricker says this is an
application for site plan review by the Housing Corporation of
Arlington (HCA) for a six-story building at 840 Mass Ave and a
three-story building at 17 Newman Way.

(Mary Winstanley O'Connor, Attorney) Ms. Winstanley O'Connor says
she's provided the board with a memo regarding legal issues and parking
demand data for HCA's other sites. She says that HCA is under a time
constraint -- if the board does not render a decision by March 19th
then HCA will miss the annual funding cycle and will have to wait
another year.

(Nick Burrens, Architect) Mr. Burrens says the site plan is largely
unchanged. They've make one of the parking spaces accessible and are
still proposing thirteen new spaces. They've worked on refining the
architecture of building one and redesigned the storefront and
commercial areas. They'll file a separate permit for signage.
Mr. Burrens says they've tried to create a hierarchy of different
levels. The new renderings show more details of the masonry, brick
patterning, and textures in order to add interest to the facade.
They've also refined window placement. There will be subtle color
variations in the brick from top to bottom. They've added wood-style
siding around the entry of building two. Building one will have
different colors of brick and a pre-cast water table. They've
reworked the ground floor of building one in order to get to 60%
commercial space and have swapped the locations of the bike and
laundry rooms, as the board suggested during the last hearing.

(Rachel Zsembery, ARB) Ms. Zsembery asks about the room labeled
"common" on sheet A1-01A.

(Nick Burrens) Mr. Burrens says that's a flexible meeting room.

(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery is concerned that room isn't labeled
"commercial". She says that office uses aren't permitted commercial
uses in the MBTA Communities overlay, and she doesn't think they meet
the 60% requirement. This will prevent her from voting to approve
the project. She says the building lacks a sign band.

Ms. Zsembery asks if the building meets the 60% ground floor
transparency requirement.

(Nick Burrens) Mr. Burrens says it does.

(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery thinks this is a fantastic project but
the mixed-use bonus is a sticking point for her. She says the
applicants are right at 60% and if the number falls below that
they'll have big problems getting their certificate of occupancy. She
asks about solar.

(Nick Burrens) Mr. Burrens says they've provided a solar study to the
board.

There's back and forth about solar.

(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery says there will be lots of new
impervious surface in the courtyard. She asks the applicants to think
about adding shading structures, as an amenity.

(Shaina Korman-Houston, ARB) Ms. Korman-Houston says she had a
different read of "business services" than Ms. Zsembery, and is
largely satisfied with the updates. She wasn't sure if the list of
TDM measures is in line with the bylaw but thinks the measures
proposed are appropriate. She suggests adding signage for the
residential entry on Newman Way along with additional lighting around
the entry to the commercial space.

(Vince Baudoin, ARB) Mr. Baudoin has no issues with the building's
aesthetics. He doesn't think the two-driveway requirements in section
6.1.10 apply to multi-family buildings. He suggests adding space for
one or two cargo bikes and he's comfortable with the parking
proposal. He asks how HCA intends to manage parking as the building
population changes over.

(Erica Schwarz, HCA Director) Ms. Schwarz says that 846 Mass Ave will
not be used for construction. There will be a population transition,
and not all units in the existing buildings are income-restricted.
She expects parking demand to decrease as the number of
income-restricted units increases.

(Vince Baudoin) Mr. Baudoin suggests talking to the town about public
way improvements. For example, getting a bump-out at the bus stop.

(Claire Ricker) Ms. Ricker says she could consider that.

(Vince Baudoin) Mr. Baudoin is comfortable with the mixed-use
component. The bylaw gives examples of business services, but it
doesn't define them. He thinks the key is that the service is more
than office space and involves people walking in and out.

(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak agrees with Mr. Baudoin about the
commercial component. He notes that sheet A1-0A1 shows 44 bike
parking spaces, and asks where the rest of the spaces will be.

(Nick Burrens) Mr. Burrens says there will be a bike storage shed.

(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak asks the applicants to confirm that there
will be 62 bicycle parking spaces.

(Nick Burrens) Mr. Burrens says there will be 62.

(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak is okay with the TDM plan, even though it
proposes measures that aren't enumerated in the bylaw. For example,
there is a measure that offers to assist residents in applying for
reduced fare MBTA passes. He thinks that's useful, and in line with
the services that HCA applies.

(Kin Lau) Mr. Lau asks why the applicants are proposing the same brick
all the way up building one, as opposed to breaking it up.

(Nick Burrens) Mr. Burrens thinks that having fewer materials helps
buildings feel more cohesive. He feel that changing materials would
bring too much attention to the top floors.

(Vince Baudoin) Mr. Baudoin notes that they are proposing to vary the
brick color at the top.

(Kin Lau) Mr. Lau says he discussed the definition of "business
services" with town counsel, and he felt that HCA's proposal met that
definition.

(Claire Ricker) Ms. Ricker concurs.

The chair opens the hearing to public comment.

(Carol Band, 57 Bartlett Ave) Ms. Band thinks this is a good project
but would like to see the upper stories be different. She asks why
the Newman Way building is so bright and suggests a darker color.

(Amy Duke, 33 Newman Way) Ms. Duke says she asked for a meeting with
HCA which was done two weeks ago. She's concerned about parking and
would like to know about construction plans. She says the people who
will have to look at 17 Newman Way don't like it. In the future,
she'd like applicants to meet with neighbors before they have designs.
She suggests changing the yellow colors to rust, and adding lintels.

(Alex Bagnall, Wyman St) Mr. Bagnall says that the MBTA Communities
zoning was criticized for not being an affordable housing policy, and
he's happy to see affordable housing being built here. He says the
town has been blocking affordable housing for the last 50 years and he
hopes this can move forward. Mr. Bagnall says there's a multi-family
building on his street. Residents throw a block party each year and
it's great.

(Laurie Shampine, 40 Hopkins Road) Ms. Shampine says she lives on a
street with multi-family housing and she would invite the board to
delay this project as long as necessary. She wants to make sure we
don't get bad architecture, because everyone will have to look at it.
She can't understand how the design was even remotely informed by the
community. She says it could be Anywhere, USA. She says the board
needs to consider the overall look of the town.

(Ken Gordon) Mr. Gordon is a member of HCA's board, and he says
there's a need for affordable housing.

There are no more comments from the public.

(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery asks if there's a sample board. She
doesn't think the rendering shows a differentiation in the brick. She
also has issues with the commercial space. Ms. Zsembery thinks the
sample board could be administratively approved.

(Shaina Korman-Houston) Ms. Korman-Houston is comfortable with the
commercial space, but suggests more accentuation around it.

(Vince Baudoin) Mr. Baudoin suggests adding a few cargo bike spaces.

(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak asks if 17 Newman Way was inspired by the
UU church at the corner of Mass Ave at Pleasant St. He thinks the
roof lines of the two buildings have a similar feel.

(Nick Burrens) Mr. Burrens says there wasn't a conscious inspiration.

(Rachel Zsembery) In looking at building one as a whole and taking the
courtyard side into consideration, Ms. Zsembery thinks that one color
is appropriate.

The board discussion conditions for approval, which include:
* Providing a sample board for administrative approval
* Looking at signage and lighting for the commercial entrance.
* Having a substantial number of activities in the commercial space be open to non-tenants
* Resubmitting the plans and removing "Community room"
* Having all venting through the roof
* Signage will require a separate permit

Permit approved, 4--1 (Ms. Zsembery voted in the negative).

=Warrant Article Hearings=

This is the second night of warrant article hearings for the spring
town meeting.

==Article 42 - Parking and Loading Standards==

Article 42 proposes to reduce drive isle widths from 24' to 22'

(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak would have liked to have gone down to 20'
but he thinks 22' feet is an improvement. He notes the motivation for
this article: reducing drive isle widths in order to allow for a
little more ground-floor commercial space in mixed-use buildings.

(Vince Baudoin) Mr. Baudoin supports 22'.

(Shaina Korman-Houston) Ms. Korman-Houston also supports 22'.

(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery suggests that the report to town
meeting mention that the board had reviewed drive isle widths in other
communities.

(Kin Lau) Mr. Lau also feels that 22' is appropriate.

No members of the public wish to speak on Article 42.

==Article 43 - Marquee Signs==

Article 43 proposes to allow electronic displays on marquee signs.

(Claire Ricker) Ms. Ricker says the purpose of this article is to
update the bylaw for Marquee signs. Any digital display on a Marquee
sign would require a special permit.

(Katie Luczai, Economic Development Coordinator) Ms. Luczai says this
article was motivated by the two theaters in town. They have older
marquee signs that are in needed of renovation. The theaters would
like to move to digital displays, rather than manual placing of
letters.

(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak notes that Arlington's sign bylaw was
re-written in 2019 rather than 2015. He has no issues with the
article.

(Vince Baudoin) Mr. Baudoin has no issues with the article.

(Shaina Korman-Houston) Ms. Korman-Houston has no issues with the
article.

(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery says there are offensive and
inoffensive digital signs. She thinks the board should weigh in on
brightness. There should be a requirement for auto-dimming, so that
brightness is adjusted between daytime and nighttime. She'd also like
to ensure that the displays are integrated into the architecture of
the canopy. She asks if there are other jurisdictions that allow this
kind of display.

(Katie Luczai) Ms. Luczai says the Cabot theater in Beverley is an
example.

(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery is concerned about dimming and
brightness, architectural integration, and making this specific to
theaters.

(Kin Lau) Mr. Lau notes that these signs will have to be reviewed by
the redevelopment board, and the board isn't giving up that
jurisdiction.

(Katie Luczai) Ms. Luczai says that was the intention. Both of the
town's theaters are over 100 years old. She assumed that the special
permit process would discuss how often sign features would be allowed
to change.

(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery offers to take a pass at some
additional language.

(Shaina Korman-Houston) Ms. Korman-Houston notes that the existing
bylaw already has rules around illumination.

There are no comments from the public.

==Article 45 - Portable and Temporary Signs==

This article proposes changes to the rules surrounding temporary
signs.

(Katie Luczai, Economic Development Coordinator) Ms. Luczai says this
article will modify the rules for temporary sign types. The current
bylaw doesn't limit the number of temporary signs a business can have,
including A-frame signs. The article would reduce the amount of time
that a temporary sign could be used.

(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery asks if the intent is to allow one
A-frame and one other kind of temporary sign.

(Katie Luczai) Ms. Luczai says the article would allow an A-frame sign
or a temporary wall sign. The area of these signs would be counted
towards the square foot maximum.

(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery thinks we may need a wording change in
the section that gives total limits on the number of signs. She asks
if this will help with enforcement against businesses that have too
many window signs, like liquor stores.

(Katie Luczai) Ms. Luczai says the town sent a number of violation
letters to businesses that have too many window signs.

(Shaina Korman-Houston) Ms. Korman-Houston wonders about changing the
length of time that temporary signs can be displayed from 60 to 30
days. She wonders if 30 days/year is the right amount, and if that
might be too short.

(Vince Baudoin) Mr. Baudoin says he's mostly not in support of the
article. He questions the 30 day/year restriction on A-frames. A lot
of businesses put these signs out when they open and take them down
when they close, and the signs usually have some sort of up-to-date
information. He thinks those purposes are valid. He'd prefer to
leave 6.2.6.A(2) as it is.

(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak agrees that A-frame signs serve a useful
purpose, and he thinks it would be very difficult to enforce a 30
day/year restriction. He asks about the motivation for limiting
temporary wall signs to 30 days instead of 60.

(Katie Luczai) Mr. Luczai says the intent is to encourage businesses
to replace temporary signs with real ones.

The board agrees to leave section 6.2.6.A(2) as-is, and to reword a
section so that temporary signs count towards to square footage limit.

There are no comments from the public.

==Article 46 - Animal Daycare Uses==

This article proposes to allows animal daycare by right in the B4
district, and by special permit in other business districts.

(Katie Luczai, Economic Development Coordinator) Ms. Luczai says this
article will add a definition of "animal daycare" and expand the
area where the use is allowed. There have been multiple requests to
start animal daycare businesses, but these are only allowed in the
industrial district.

Mr. Revilak, Mr. Baudoin, and Ms. Korman-Houston are okay with the
article.

(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery questions whether the use would be
appropriate in the B3 and B5 districts.

(Kin Lau) Mr. Lau asks Ms. Luczai to elaborate on what the use it.

(Katie Luczai) Ms. Luczai says that overnight boarding would not be
allowed.

(Kin Lau) Mr. Lau asks if there are areas where we'd want to allow
overnight boarding.

(Katie Luczai) Ms. Luczai says the definition was taken from
Wellesley's bylaw. A commercial kennel is for overnight care. She
thinks that use could also be allowed as a home occupation, as there
are many independent contractors who provide overnight care out of
their homes.

There are no comments from the public.

==Article 44 - Floodplain District==

This article proposes to update the Floodplain Overlay District, to
comply with new FEMA requirements.

(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak has a number of comments on the proposed
article. He asks if we can say "the most current FEMA maps", rather
than giving a specific date in the bylaw.

(David Morgan, Conservation Agent) Mr. Morgan says that FEMA prefers
that dates be in the bylaw.

(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak notes that the terms "Functionally
Dependent Use" and "Highest Adjacent Grade" are defined but not
used. He asks if the definitions are necessary.

(Dave Morgan) Mr. Morgan says those definitions come from the model
code that FEMA would like municipalities to adopt.

(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak notes the definition for "new
construction" references the date of the first floodplain management
code. He asks if that date is in the future, and if not, could the
date be specified.

(David Morgan) Mr. Morgan says he'll have to look into that.

(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak suggests re-wording a reference in the
definition of "substantial repair of a foundation" and moving the
definition of "variance" into section 5.7.9. He suggests striking a
sentence in 5.7.4 that appears to conflict with the definition of
"floodplain". He suggests checking with town counsel on section
5.7.12; the sections starts off like a severability clause but doesn't
actually mention severability. He suggests that Section 1.6 might
already cover this.

(Vince Baudoin) Mr. Baudoin notes that most districts are not spelled
out in the definitions section. He suggests moving the definition of
"floodplain" to 5.7.2. He suggests removing the reference to th
building code, and asks what Section 60.3 refers to. He sees
"floodway" being defined twice. Mr. Baudoin thinks the purpose
section is very lengthy and wonders if item (E) could be eliminated.

(Shaina Korman-Houston) Ms. Korman-Houston says this article addresses
concerns she previously raised about how the floodplain overlay
district was defined in terms of FEMA maps.

(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery asks if a definition should be both
struck out and added, when it's moved to a different place in the
bylaw.

There are no comments from the public.

The board votes to continue warrant article hearings to March 16th,
5--0.

=Open Forum=

(Wendy Richter, 12 Brattle Place) Ms. Richter was a member of the
committee that developed the residential design guidelines for
single- and two-family homes. She asks if there will be something
like that for multi-family housing.

(Kin Lau) Mr. Lau says the ARB doesn't use the residential design
guidelines because the board generally doesn't deal with single- and
two-family homes. He thinks they're mostly used by the ZBA.

(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery says that multi-family guidelines have
come up before. There's a committee looking at the Arlington Heights
Business District, and some of that work will involve developing
design guidelines.

(Vince Baudoin) Mr. Baudoin says it would depend a lot on what's
proposed, and whether it took the form of being a carrot or a stick.

(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak has mixed feelings about design
guidelines. There are very technical aspects to architecture, like
following building and safety codes, but there's also an aesthetic
element. That aspect of design and architecture is a lot like art,
and it's not easy to regulate art. Mr. Revilak says he occasionally
hears complaints about "cookie cutter buildings", and design
guidelines are basically a menu of cookies.

(Shaina Korman-Houston) Ms. Korman-Houston has seen compendiums of
design elements and thinks they can be more helpful than design
guidelines. Sites can be very unique and specific, and dictated
guidelines can be a challenge.

(Claire Ricker) Ms. Ricker says the department is about to issue an
RFP for the development of commercial and mixed-use design guidelines.
She says there are questions about the enforceability and usefulness
of design guidelines, but can look at that.

=New Business=

(Claire Ricker) Ms. Ricker says the ARB's report to town meeting will
be due on April 13th. The board is scheduled to vote on the report on
April 6th.

She says that the town plans to adopt two-factor authentication for
access to town email. The IT department will provide more information
about this in the coming weeks.

(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak would like to talk about 230 Mass Ave,
which crossed his radar twice in recent weeks. In one case, a town
meeting member that Mr. Revilak follows on social media posted and ad
for the apartment building there, which ran in the Arlington Advocate
in November 1926. The advertisement described the building as
"Arlington's first modern three room apartments", complete with
stoves, refrigerators, and laundry facilities in the basement. The
second case happened when he was perusing the Warren Group's list of
real estate sales and one of the apartments was sold.

230 Mass Ave has 13 apartments which are around 550 square feet in
size. The building sits on a 6700 square foot lot with five or six
parking spaces. Mr. Revilak was struck by how closely this resembles
some of the projects the board has permitted under the MBTA
Communities act. 100 years ago, people built apartments like this
because they made sense and filled a need. He likes the fact that
we're able to do it again.

Meeting adjourned.

[[Category:Public Meetings]]

Public Meetings

SteveR — Sun, 15 Mar 2026 00:07:40 GMT

2026: Arlington Redevelopment Board - Mar 9th, 2026

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			* [[Arlington Redevelopment Board - Mar 9th, 2026]]
	* [[Arlington Redevelopment Board - Mar 2nd, 2026]]		* [[Arlington Redevelopment Board - Mar 2nd, 2026]]
	* [[AMPUp Advisory Committee - Feb 26th, 2026]]		* [[AMPUp Advisory Committee - Feb 26th, 2026]]

Arlington Redevelopment Board - Mar 2nd, 2026

SteveR — Sun, 08 Mar 2026 20:26:35 GMT

Warrant Article Hearings

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	=Warrant Article Hearings=		=Warrant Article Hearings=

	This is the ~~second~~ night of warrant article hearings for the spring		This is the first night of warrant article hearings for the spring
	town meeting.		town meeting.