Arlington Redevelopment Board - Dec 16th, 2024

Meeting held at 21 Maple Street. Material were available from https://arlington.novusagenda.com/agendapublic/MeetingView.aspx?MeetingID=2177&MinutesMeetingID=1521&doctype=Agenda.

Review Meeting Minutes

The board approves minutes from their December 2, 2024 meeting, 5--0.

2025 Warrant Articles

The board included this agenda item to hear from town boards and residents that were interested in submitting zoning articles for the spring town meeting.

(Claire Ricker, Planning Director) Ms. Ricker says she has not been contacted by individual community members. The ZBA is interested in including a few articles, and one property owner would like their parcel included in the Neighborhood Multi-Family District.

ZBA Recommendations

(Christian Klein, ZBA Chair) Mr. Klein wants to speak about "Building Coverage" and "Lot Coverage". The former is a defined term, which is used once in the bylaw. The latter is used often, but never defined.

(Rachel Zsembery, ARB Chair) Ms. Zsembery asks if the ZBA would like to make a recommendation here.

(Christian Klein) Mr. Klein says the ZBA has been using the terms interchangeably. He thinks they should consider both primary and accessory buildings. One could question whether parking should be included; it currently is not.

(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery thinks this is something the board should take up.

(Christian Klein) Mr. Klein's next request would be to overhaul the parking regulations in Section 6.1.10.A, particularly the paragraph about second driveways. Mr. Klein says the guidance in the bylaw isn't helpful. He'd like to see a better set of conditions regarding when a second driveway should be permitted.

(Steve Revilak, ARB) Mr. Revilak agrees that the second driveway criteria are nebulous.

(Eugene Benson, ARB) Mr. Benson asks about the conditions where the ZBA would permit a second driveway.

(Christian Klein) Mr. Klein says they're generally requested for two-family homes. He says the ZBA's decisions depend on how much space there is on the lot and the characteristics of the street. He thinks the town's Transportation Planner could provide guidance in this area.

(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery thinks it would be helpful for the ZBA to propose the language they'd like to see.

(Kin Lau, ARB) Mr. Lau asks if this is about the reasons for allowing a second driveway.

(Christian Klein) Mr. Klein answers in the affirmative. He's also working with Ms. Ricker on the conditions for artists mixed use. The Arlington Commission for Arts and Culture hasn't published guidelines yet. Mr. Klein says that Mr. Revilak attended the last ZBA meeting and discussed how the ADU bylaw might need to change.

(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery asks if Mr. Revilak could summarize that.

(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak says that Arlington's bylaw requires the property owner to sign an affidavit, saying that they'll live in the primary dwelling or ADU; state law doesn't allow an owner-occupancy requirement, and he believes that provision will have to go.

State law requires that the first ADU on a property be allowed by right; Arlington requires a special permit if an ADU is within 6' of a lot line, so we'll have to figure out how to resolve that discrepancy.

Finally, the state law has the notion of a "Protected Use ADU" -- it's the first ADU on a property and must be allowed by right. A second ADU would not be a Protected Use ADU, and state law requires a special permit for that. He says our bylaw would need to reflect this concept.

(Christian Klein) Mr. Klein says we could allow ADUs up to the property line, or we could require the 6' setback for accessory structures. However, a 6' setback requirement could prohibit garage to ADU conversions, as many garages are within 6' of a property line. He suggests having a discussion with emergency services, to understand what their considerations are.

(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery says the board has been having discussions about bringing the ADU bylaw into compliance with state law.

(Kin Lau) Mr. Lau believes that garages can be built within 6' of a property line, as long as they have a certain type of construction.

(Christian Klein) Mr. Klein agrees; that's covered in section 5.4.2.B.7 of the bylaw.

(Kin Lau) Mr. Lau says the building code has extra requirements for buildings within 5' of a property line, and we should consider those as well.

(Eugene Benson) Mr. Benson thinks there are places where the board will need to figure out options.

(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery agrees that there are nuances. Right now, we're looking at things which aren't congruent.

Ms. Zsembery has a question for Mr. Klein. In the last few years, the ARB has heard several cases that involve renovations of single- and two-family dwellings that abut the Minuteman Bikeway. She thinks it would make more sense to have those cases heard by the ZBA, and asks if Mr. Klein has any concerns about that.

(Eugene Benson) Mr. Benson says this is specific to single- and two-family dwellings in the R1 and R2 districts.

(Christian Klein) Mr. Klein agrees that changes to single- and two-family dwellings shouldn't require environmental design review.

Street Tree Standards

(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery says the board received a correspondence from Susan Stamps, regarding a potential change to the street tree planting standards in Section 6.3. She invites Ms. Stamps to discuss this with the board.

(Susan Stamps, 39 Grafton Street) Ms. Stamps notes that the bylaw requires street trees to be planted every 25', either in a tree strip or in a tree well. She says the bylaw doesn't account for situations where there's no tree strip and no sidewalk. She says that MGL Chapter 87 allows tree wardens to plant trees on private property, within 20' of the public right of way. She suggests incorporating something similar into Section 6.3.

(Eugene Benson) Mr. Benson says that the bylaw allows applicants to propose tree planting locations within the lot, or to pay into the town's tree fund. The tree fund is for cases where planting isn't possible. Mr. Benson questions whether street trees are being planted in front of new single-family homes. He doesn't know if Inspectional services is checking for compliance with that requirement.

(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak has a hypothetical question. Suppose a property owner agrees to let the tree warden plant a tree in their front yard. Sometime later, the tree becomes diseased and has to be removed. Mr. Revilak asks if the owner would need to have a tree hearing.

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

(Shaina Korman-Houston, ARB) Ms. Korman-Houston would like to see examples from other communities that have tried this approach. She wonders if "back of the sidewalk" trees could be part of landscaping requirements.

(Susan Stamp) Ms. Stamps says that would be up to the ARB.

(Kin Lau) Mr. Lau asks how this would work with some of the town's setback requirements. He doesn't want tree planting requirements to curtail housing or new development. He says the board wants to encourage active sidewalks, and he asks Ms. Stamps to consider how that would fit in. He also has questions about liability, and who'd be responsible for the tree.

(Susan Stamps) Ms. Stamps says the DPW is working on a contract for homeowners. They'd be required to care for and water the tree for the first year. After that, they'd own the tree.

(Kin Lau) Mr. Lau suggests looking at something more permanent.

(Susan Stamps) Ms. Stamps says she just wants to see trees planted on private property.

(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery feels like the bylaw already covers this case. She's concerned about cases where the front setback requirement is less than 20'.

(Susan Stamps) Ms. Stamps says the tree could be planted anywhere within the front 20'.

(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery would like Ms. Stamps to consider these scenarios.

Demolition Moratorium

(Karen Samuelson, 18 Tower Road) Ms. Samuelson is concerned about the lack of affordable single-family homes in Arlington. She says that a huge monstrosity was built in her neighborhood with only a ten-foot setback. She says it's a nightmare. Ms. Samuelson says she contacted Inspectional services, and they said it fit the zoning. She thinks it's worthwhile to preserve smaller single-family homes, and says that she couldn't afford to downsize in town. She says that Winchester recently passed a teardown moratorium.

(Kin Lau) Mr. Lau understands the desire to have more affordable housing, but he doesn't see a moratorium as a way to get there. He believes the high costs are due to supply and demand, and a moratorium sounds like a way to limit supply. Older homes aren't very energy efficient, but new ones are. And building further out is likely to mean more driving.

(Shaina Korman-Houston) Ms. Korman-Houston says she did a very quick skim of the Winchester moratorium. To her, it appeared as though they wanted a more thorough review of changes to historic homes. She thinks they're trying to create a more thoughtful review process.

(Eugene Benson) Mr. Benson agrees that new large homes are very expensive, but the older ones aren't very energy efficient. He says that state law doesn't allow municipalities to limit the size of single-family homes. He also thinks that moratoriums have to be done with a goal in mind. He thinks Ms. Samuelson could advocate for larger setbacks or a two-story height limit, but that would create many new nonconformities. Or, consider allowing multiple smaller homes to be built on a single lot.

(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak has a few things he'd like Ms. Samuelson to consider. First is the definition of "teardown". He says that many homes are renovated within their existing footprint, and asks whether that should be considered a teardown.

The second consideration is cost. Mr. Revilak agrees that single-family homes are expensive. Last year, the average assessed value of Arlington's single-family homes broke the million-dollar mark. He recently saw a 900-ish square foot single family home sell for $830k. Mr. Revilak asks Ms. Samuelson to consider whether $830k to $1M is an adequate level of affordability.

Finally, Mr. Revilak suggests that Ms. Samuelson look at allowing things like townhomes on smaller lots, as smaller lot sizes tend to limit building sizes.

Inclusion in Multi-family District

(John Herrily, 17 Palmer Street) Mr. Herrily would like to have his property at 17 Palmer Street included in the Neighborhood Multifamily Overlay District. His property is directly adjacent to the district. He owns a three-family home, with 45' of clearance on the side of the house. Mr. Herrily says he contacted an architect about adding housing to the property and the architect felt there was room for three more dwellings, if his property were included in the overlay. He'd like to be part of the solution by adding additional housing.

(Claire Ricker) Ms. Ricker displays a map of where the property is located, and it's relation to the multi-family overlay districts.

(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery says she'd like to see the underlying zoning, and to understand why this parcel wasn't included in the first place.

(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak is supportive of Mr. Herrily's request. He suggests looking at section 1.5 of the bylaw, which lists the procedural requirements for making a map change. Mr. Herrily will need to send certified or registered mail to each abutter.

(Eugene Benson) Mr. Benson notes that this property is next to a parcel that's in the overlay district, and there is a precedent for adding adjacent properties. He suggests speaking with planning staff about the notice requirements.

(Kin Lau) Mr. Lau asks if Mr. Herrily's architect felt that he could add three dwellings.

(John Herrily) Mr. Herrily answers in the affirmative.

(Kin Lau) Mr. Lau says that the MBTA Communities act would allow this housing to be built as-of right, rather than needing a variance or a special permit.

(John Herrily) Mr. Herrily says he discussed this with his architect. The architect said that a special permit would not be an option, as his three-family dwelling is a non-conforming use.

Open Forum

(David Brecht, 55 Norfolk Rd) Mr. Brecht would like to ask about the affordable housing overlay proposal.

(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery says that proposal is coming from a citizen group, and they didn't come to present tonight. She says that any group of residents can submit a warrant article; the redevelopment board will hold hearings for each article and make recommendations to town meeting.

(Eugene Benson) Mr. Benson explains the difference between warrant article and main motions. He says the group working on the overlay will have to present a final proposal during the hearings.

(Karen Samuelson, 18 Tower Road) Ms. Samuelson asks if the affordable housing overlay proposal is coming from a group of private citizens.

(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery answers in the affirmative.

(Karen Samuelson) Ms. Samuelson thinks that's really astounding.

(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery says that anyone can submit a warrant article to change the zoning bylaw. The board holds hearings and makes recommendations to town meeting.

There's some back and forth about this.

(Claire Ricker) Ms. Ricker says the residents working on the overlay proposal are affordable housing professionals, and some that want to see more affordable housing in town.

(Carl Wagner, 30 Edgehill Road) Mr. Wagner says he still can't hear in this room, and the board needs a PA system or hybrid meetings. He says he attended the ARB's retreat and heard something about expanding the MBTA density overlay. He thinks the board should consider reducing height limits, since we over-delivered on the multi-family overlay.

(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery says the board has asked to have the HVAC issues in this space resolved, and the space is not set up for hybrid meetings. She says the Redevelopment Board hasn't identified a final list of articles for town meeting.

Regarding hybrid meetings, the Redevelopment Board felt their meetings were most productive when held in person. She says that in-person meetings are best for engagement when the technology to facilitate hybrid meetings isn't available.

(Mark Rosenthal, 62 Walnut St) Mr. Rosenthal remembers there being a hybrid meeting study committee. He says he'd quarrel with the idea that the ARB didn't need hybrid meetings.

(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery says that she was a member of that study committee. She notes that each town board can set a decision on how it wants to meet.

New Business

There is no new business tonight.

Meeting adjourned.