AMPUp Advisory Committee - Nov 18th, 2025
Meeting held via remote participation. Materials were available from https://www.arlingtonma.gov/Home/Components/Calendar/Event/37894/.
Stantec Update
(Phil Schaeffing, Stantec) Mr. Schaeffing would like to start with a recap of the public workshop.
(Alison LeFlore, Stantec) Ms. LeFlore tells the committee that 50 people attended the event in-person, with 18 more attending on-line. There are been 97 survey responses so far, and the survey will remain open until November 23.
(Phil Schaeffing) Mr. Schaeffing notes that people came and went throughout the meeting, which was the atmosphere that Stantec was hoping to create.
(Alison LeFlore) Ms. LeFlore notes that a fair number of people came in later, after an event in the high school had finished.
(Rebecca Gruber, AmpUP) Ms. Gruber says she saw a number of new faces, people she hasn't seen at previous public meetings.
(Phil Schaeffing) Mr. Schaeffing presents the results of public participation, both via the workshop and the survey. 80% of workshop attendees and 77% of survey results show somewhat or high agreement with the revised vision statement. 70% somewhat or highly agree with the goals for land use. Many attendees felt that all of the land use and housing goals were very important, which will make them a challenge to prioritize.
(Rebecca Gruber) Ms. Gruber asks if advocates tend to focus on their specific issue rather than a holistic picture.
(Alison LeFlore) Ms. LeFlore answers in the affirmative. She says that many groups will see something reflected though no-one will get what they want. High level priorities from different groups tend to bubble up, and people seemed to understand the need for balance.
(Phil Schaeffing) number of people were concerned about mixed-use development reducing the amount of space for businesses. People were supportive of context-sensitive density increases. Leveraging town owned assets generated the least interest. There were mixed responses to allowing two-family homes throughout town, with 70% saying "yes" or "maybe". 80% gave "yes" or "maybe" support to 3--6 story buildings on Mass Ave.
In area of economic development, there was support for streamlining permitting and enhancing the public realm and commercial districts.
For transportation, residents were interested in being connected to more destinations. There was interest in improving pedestrian and bicycle safety and mixed feelings about the overnight parking ban.
On the topics of historic and cultural resources and public facilities, there was support for all of the cultural strategies. There was agreement on growing the town's commercial tax base but moderate to low support for new growth. Many emphasized the need to maintain public facilities.
(Dave Fatula, AmpUP) Mr. Fatula said he tried to have conversations with people around growth, but felt like people were having a hard time understanding the concept.
(Rebecca Gruber) Ms. Gruber asks about the educational piece on what new growth means. She thinks we're likely to get small businesses, but not big money makers. She wants people to understand the realities behind this.
(Phil Schaeffing) Mr. Schaeffing says the draft plan will set the stage for what the strategies are. It will have to be realistic about what Arlington's physical constraints are.
(Alison LeFlore) Ms. LeFlore notes that the survey will be open for another week.
(Phil Schaeffing) When going from analysis to draft strategies, Mr. Schaeffing says there was support for more housing and for attainable housing. There was tension around open space and recreation; some wanted more space for active recreation and sports while others preferred more space for passive recreations. In conversations with town staff, Stantec heard that maintaining what the town has today is a challenge. Mr. Schaeffing thinks the draft strategies should recognize this.
The next steps will involve getting to the level of specific medium and long-term strategies. Mass Ave and Broadway are the biggest opportunities for redevelopment over time, though there are also opportunities along the bikeway.
For town-owned sites, Russell Common and the Fox library have opportunity, though it may take time to build support for a plan for Russell Common.
Mr. Schaeffing suggests having strategies for accommodating small, irregularly-shaped lots and for streamlining ADU permitting via pre-approved plans.
Stantec heard a lot about regulatory and permitting impediments to economic development, as well as use tables that don't recognize more contemporary business types. Mr. Schaeffing recommends that each of the three business districts remain distinct, but thinking about the visitor experience for each one. He suggests building a more formalized support structure to build the capacity for economic development within each district.
(Rebecca Gruber) Ms. Gruber asks how committee members can give feedback. For example, should we have subcommittee groups discuss the strategies and provide feedback as a group? That might be a good way to validate the strategies and to offer suggestions.
(Claire Ricker) Ms. Ricker believes she could set up separate conversations, but that effort would need to happen quickly. She offers to discuss this offline with Ms. Gruber.
(Dave Fatula) Mr. Fatula notes that we held an economic development forum and there was a good turnout. He asks if Stantec has received the feedback for that event. One of the findings was a desire to have a better communications system for the small business community to use.
(Phil Schaeffing) Mr. Schaeffing says he hasn't gotten the notes from that event.
(Claire Ricker) Ms. Ricker will follow up with the town's Economic Development Coordinator, regarding notes from the event.
(Grant Cook, AmpUP) Mr. Cook says the strategies sound good but they're not very specific. He asks when we'll get the next level of detail. He's looking for things that are specific and measurable. He'd like to get to the point where we're discussing specifics.
(Rebecca Gruber) Ms. Gruber says that some people are concerned about why some corridors are never talked about, like Park Ave and Pleasant St. She thinks the committee is a place to have hard conversations about this topic, and to use the expertise of committee members.
(Grant Cook) Mr. Cook says the MBTA Communities working group eventually got to the point of voting on specific aspects of the zoning recommendation. He's like to see this committee get to that point.
(Ann LeRoyer, AmpUP) Regarding economic development, Ms. LeRoyer thinks that one of the problems involves landlords and the spaces available. She's not sure how to address that. She shares the concerns about process, and when we'll get to more specifics.
(Phil Schaeffing) Mr. Schaeffing says Stantec will discuss specific strategies with staff, to get feedback on what's already on their radar. For landlords, the town may have to be in more of an advocacy role. Ditto for transportation.
On the topic of transportation, goals that resonated included making streets welcoming for all users, connecting residents to destinations, and treating parking as a resource to support larger goals. For open space and recreation, people are supportive of expanding the tree canopy, stormwater management, and maintaining existing natural landscapes. For historic and cultural resources people wanted improved communications for promoting events. For town building and services, people were interested in making sure that we can maintain what we have, and considering lifecycle costs for facilities.
(Ann LeRoyer) Ms. LeRoyer thinks that economic development should be stretched north and south, not everything winds up on Mass Ave.
(Steve Revilak, AmpUP) Mr. Revilak suggests a set of corridors to consider: River St, Gray St, Lowell St, and Mystic St.
(Arthur Prokosch, AmpUP) Mr. Prokosch says he'd like to look at this creatively.
(Phil Schaeffing) Mr. Schaeffing says there will be one more open house to look at the draft plan. He says Stantec is getting to the point of looking at details.
Approval of Minutes
The committee approved minutes from their meetings on September 25 and October 23, 2025.
New Business
(Claire Ricker) Ms. Ricker says she'll think about way to have productive reviews of the comprehensive plan strategies.
The committee's next scheduled meeting would fall on Christmas, so she'll send a poll for a different meeting date.
Ms. Ricker says she may have someone to replace Mr. Roubenoff as chair. She will share details at the next committee meeting.
(Ann LeRoyer) Ms. LeRoyer suggests having in-person meetings for strategy and goal discussions.
Open Forum
There were no speakers for tonight's open forum.
Adjourn
Meeting adjourned at 19:43.