Arlington Redevelopment Board - Mar 16th, 2026

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.