Town Meeting - May 4th, 2026

Night three of Arlington Town Meeting. Materials were available from https://www.arlingtonma.gov/town-governance/town-meeting.

Voting results: https://www.arlingtonma.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/77564/639135829635800000.

Article 3 - Reports of Committees

Town Meeting receives the report of the Fiscal Resources Task Group (FRTG).

(Gordon Jamieson, FRTG) Mr. Jamieson believes we're being over-assessed by the MBTA, to the tune of $2.5M/year. That's cost the town $50M since 2000. A legislative solution would be to reclassify Arlington via state law, and senate bill S.2629 would do this, and the bill has been referred to committee. Mr. Jamieson encourages people to ask our senator to support it.

Article 30 - Repeal MBTA Prohibition

Article 30 will be postponed until May 13th.

Article 31 - 61B Exemption

(John Hurd, Select Board Chair) Mr. Hurd says this article would authorize the Select Board to file home rule legislation asking for a Chapter 61B exemption. The Select Board voted to recommend favorable action, 3--1--1 with Mr. DeCourcey voting no.

(Carmine Granucci, Petitioner) Mr. Granucci says that Chapter 61B is a state law that provides for reduced assessments of recreational land. There are two country clubs in Arlington that take advantage of this. Removing the exception would add approximately $18,000/year in tax revenue. It's a home rule petition, so the state legislature would have to approve it as well. Belmont and Swampscott have filed similar home rule petitions. The Board of Assessors unanimously supported this article.

(Al Tosti, Precinct 17) Mr. Tosti says he doesn't play golf. He asks if this could incentivize the clubs to close, and why Mr. DeCourcey voted no.

(Steve DeCourcey, Select Board) Mr. DeCourcey says there are good things in recreational land law. The 61B exemption is open to non-profits, which these country clubs are. He doesn't know what's in the future for these clubs.

(Sam Polk, Precinct 12) Mr. Polk says he's a former JV golf bench-warmer. He asks how Chapter 61B works.

(Dana Mann, Director of Assessments) Mr. Mann says Winchester applied for an exemption in 2025, which gave them a $24,964 discount in taxes. Belmont's discount was around $18,000.

(Sam Polk) Mr. Polk asks what services were provided.

(Jim Feeney, Town Manager) Mr. Feeney says there's no exemption for services.

(Sam Polk) Mr. Polk says he's support the article.

(Carl Wagner, Precinct 15) Mr. Wagner says this isn't a slam dunk. Multifamily housing costs the town money and a 75% tax exemption may be too little. He suggests studying the issue and cutting less. There are no children that live in the grass and no roads. He guarantees that these clubs will close and turn into multifamily housing if this article passes.

(Matt Miller, Precinct 11) Mr. Miller says grass is good for the environment but golf courses uses a lot of water. He asks if Belmont or Winchester could do something retaliatory to us.

(Andrew Fischer, Precinct 6) Mr. Fischer is sympathetic because golf courses don't cost us as much as families with children. He asks what would happen if someone from the country clubs caught him throwing a frisbee on their golf course.

(Greg Christiana, Town Moderator) Mr. Christiana says the country clubs are private organizations.

(Gordon Jamieson, Precinct 12) Mr. Jamieson says this is private land and they don't provide access at will to Arlington residents. He doesn't agree with treating them as gated communities. He believes the Winchester Country Club has an $80,000 initiation fee.

(Andy Greenspon, Precinct 5) Mr. Greenspon suggests that golf courses do not have beneficial environmental effects. He asks what could happen if the property were subdivided.

(Jim Feeney, Town Manager) Mr. Feeney says the country clubs are zoned R0 and R1, which only allow single-family homes.

(Michael Ruderman, Precinct 9) Mr. Ruderman says that Chapters 61A and 61B were enacted to prevent development pressure on recreational lands. But we don't have to afford that protection if we don't want to. He questions whether the public benefit is worth it.

(Pi Fisher, Precinct 6) Mr. Fisher moves the question.

Article passes, 198--18--2.

Article 32 - Prohibit First Generation Anticoagulant Rodenticides (FGARs) in Arlington

(John Hurd, Select Board Chair) Mr. Hurd says this article was submitted by Laura Kiesel. It's a home rule petition asking for permission to ban FGARs. The Select Board voted to recommend favorable action on Article 32, 4--0--1.

(Laura Kiesel, Petitioner) Ms. Kiesel says we need to file this article as a home rule petition, due to state pesticide law. Arlington was the first community to file a home rule petition to ban second generation anticoagulant rodenticides (SGARs). FGARs interfere with blood clotting and have a profound affect on wildlife. FGARs killed a fox in Arlington last year. They are also dangerous to pets and children. Not a single study has shown that FGARs or SGARs reduce rodents. Sanitation is a more effective form of prevention. California has a moratorium on all anticoagulant rodenticide. This article has gotten support from numerous organizations.

(Adam Lane, Precinct 3) Mr. Lane is philosophically supportive of the article. He asks how enforcement would work.

(Laura Kiesel) Ms. Kiesel says the home rule petition is intended to push the state to work on this. The Senate's bond bill would allow the pesticide board to provide guidance in this area.

(Gordon Jamieson, Precinct 12) Mr. Jamieson asks if we've already banned SGARs.

(Michael Cunningham, Town Counsel) Mr. Cunningham says we passed a home rule petition to ban SGARs, but the legislature has not acted on it.

(Gordon Jamieson) Mr. Jamieson thinks a moratorium would be interesting to consider. He asks if there are any endangered animals at risk. He's a strong proponent.

(Guillermo Hamlin, Precinct 14) Mr. Hamlin moves the question.

Motion to end debate passes by voice vote.

Article passes, 211--3--1.

Article 35 - Endorsement of CDBG Application

(John Hurd, Select Board Chair) Mr. Hurd says this article asks town meeting to endorse this year's CDBG application. He offers an amendment to the main motion: changing the word "FY2026" to "program year 52".

(Claire Ricker, Planning Director) Ms. Ricker says that Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) are a federal program administered by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). They intend to support viable, healthy communities. The demand for these funds have increased but HUD's budget is flat. Each year, we submit an action plan to HUD. If additional funds are received, they will go to support ADA programs. The total funding recommendation for this year is $1,254,000. The proposals include the Housing Corporation of Arlington's capital program, and a range of community services. There were lots of infrastructure-related requests this year.

(Gordon Jamieson, Precinct 12) Mr. Jamieson commends the Select Board for including fringe benefits in their reports.

(Ed Trembly, Precinct 19) Mr. Trembly asks where the stairs to the Minuteman are.

(Claire Ricker) Ms. Ricker says they're near Mill Brook.

(Jennifer Litowski, Precinct 3) Ms. Litowski notes that each item in the report has a requested amount and a recommended amount. She asks which of these applies to the number of individuals served.

(Jim Feeney, Town Manager) Mr. Feeney believes it's the actual dollar amount.

(Jennifer Litowski) Ms. Litowski asks what category the community garden falls under.

(Jim Feeney) Mr. Feeney says it's categorized as community open space.

Vote on the Hurd amendment passes, 208--0--5.

Vote on the article passes, 210--0--3.

Article 36 - Revolving Funds

(John Hurd, Select Board Chair) Mr. Hurd says this article is a request to reauthorize the town's revolving funds. The Select Board voted to recommend favorable action, 5--0.

(Jim Feeney, Town Manager) Mr. Feeney notes that higher limits are being requested for two funds: private way repairs, and field use.

(Beth Benedikt, Precinct 21) Ms. Benedikt asks about the funds for the Robbins House and the Board of Health. The amount allocated is larger than the amount spent. She asks what will happen to the excess.

(Jim Feeney) Mr. Feeney says these are fund expenditure caps, not appropriations. No money is being taken from the general fund. Money goes into the fund through fees on programs.

(Beth Benedikt) Ms. Benedikt asks why there's no money allocated for the Conservation Commission's revolving fund.

(Julie Wayman, Deputy Town Manager) Ms. Wayman says that fund is not actively being used.

(Beth Benedikt) Ms. Benedikt asks what the white goods recycling fund is for.

(Jim Feeney) Mr. Feeney says the fun collects fees from recycling, and the costs are what the town pays to dispose of these items.

(Charlie Foskett, Precinct 10) Mr. Foskett says he's trying to reconcile the amount spent by these funds with a line item in another budget document. He asks if that includes the parking benefits district in Arlington Center.

(Jim Feeney) Mr. Feeney says he doesn't have an explanation for what the auditor put into the line item that Mr. Foskett is referring to, but he offers to do due diligence.

(Gordon Jamieson, Precinct 12) Mr. Jamieson notes that the next to last page of the Select Board report has a more detailed list of expenditures.

Article passes, 211--2--2.

It's around 21:30, and town meeting takes a ten minute break.

Article 38 - Extend the Charge of the Affordable Housing Overlay Committee

(Note: I'm presenting these articles and answering questions posed by town meeting members, and there are gaps in my notes as a result).

(Steve Revilak, Redevelopment Board) In 2025, a citizen group filed an Article to create an Affordable Housing Overlay District. This article didn't make it to town meeting. However, town meeting voted to create the Affordable Housing Overlay District Committee. Their charge included: "conducting outreach to the community", "sharing draft proposals", "soliciting community feedback", and "submitting zoning and map amendments to the 2026 Town Meeting" in order to establish an affordable housing overlay district.

It takes some time to get committees formed, and the affordable housing overlay district committee began meeting in September 2025. They've been holding regular public meetings, they've organized one community forum, and they've made two presentations to the Arlington Redevelopment Board.

Planning efforts like this are not easy -- they take a lot of time and effort. While the affordable housing overlay district committee has made significant progress and developed some general ideas, they would like more time to share them with the community, gather feedback, and refine their proposal. This is what we're seeking with Article 38 -- allowing the committee to continue their work for another year, in anticipation of bringing a proposal to town meeting in 2027.

The Redevelopment Board's Recommendation to town meeting is That the charge of the Affordable Housing Overlay Committee be extended to 2027 Annual Town Meeting. The Arlington Redevelopment board voted to recommend favorable action on Article 38, 5--0.

(Carl Wagner, Precinct 15) Mr. Wagner says he didn't want to go to these meetings but he did. The committee was formed last year by a motion to commit. There are seven people on the committee but one didn't attend. He thinks town meeting should let the committee expire. Six of the committee members have experience developing affordable housing. This could change our community dramatically and we need a broader range of stakeholders. Mr. Wagner asks town meeting for a no vote, and says this should have been a broader-based effort.

(Max Palmer, Precinct 2) Mr. Palmer is a member of the committee, and they're looking for an extension to continue their work. The committee is considering things like how affordable housing is funded and they're focused on identifying viable sites. They'd like more time to craft a careful proposal.

(Andrew Fischer, Precinct 6) Mr. Fischer asks if this is an ad-hoc committee.

(Greg Christiana, Town Moderator) Mr. Christiana says "no", it was created by town meeting. The creation of study committees is an inherent power of town meeting.

(Andrew Fischer) Mr. Fischer asks for a no vote.

(Guillermo Hamlin, Precinct 14) Mr. Hamlin looked at the draft site list. He asks if we can extend the committee beyond 2027.

(Greg Christiana) Mr. Christiana says no.

(Guillermo Hamlin) Mr. Hamlin says the committee has plenty of work to do, and he'll vote in favor of the extension. He supports the work they're doing.

(Jess Ahearn Luma, Precinct 12) Ms. Luma notes that 77% of town meeting voted in favor of forming the committee last year. She supports what they're doing and would like to see what they come up with.

(Andrew Greenspon, Precinct 5) Mr. Greenspon moves the question.

Motion to end debate passes, 164--46--1.

Article passes, 169--41--4

Article 39 - Administrative Clarification to Accessory Dwelling Units

(Steve Revilak, Redevelopment Board) Last year, Town meeting voted to adopt changes to our ADU bylaw, for the purpose of bringing it into compliance with new state requirements.

When reviewing the changes, the attorney general's municipal law unit noticed a problem. It wasn't in the text that we changed, but they still noticed it. That problem was a special permit requirement for ADUs within 6 feet of a lot line. And the AG's office sent us a long memo about it, which you can find in the annotated warrant.

State regulations for ADUs only permit the use of a special permit for Accessory Dwelling units in two circumstances: (1) when a municipality has elected to allow additional ADUs on a lot, a special permit can be required for the additional ADUs. And (2) for the development of a Protected Use ADU in a floodplain or aquifer protection overlay. The special permit requirement in Arlington's ADU bylaw meets neither of those provisions, which essentially means it's unenforceable.

The municipal law unit recommended changing the special permit requirement to a finding, and that is what Article 39 proposes.

The main motion strikes the text "acting pursuant to Section 3.3, grants a Special Permit upon its finding", and replaces it with the word "finds". The redevelopment board voted to commend favorable action on Article 39, 5-0.

(James Fleming, Precinct 4) Mr. Fleming would like to amend the main motion, to change "Special Permit" to "finding" in Section 8.1.3.

(Greg Christiana) Mr. Christiana says the warrant language cited Section 5.9.2.B.(1)(e)(iii) specifically, so a change to Section 8.1.3 would be out of scope.

(Wynelle Evans, Precinct 14) Ms. Evans asks if we have to follow the advice of the Attorney General's Office.

(Michael Cunningham, Town Counsel) Mr. Cunningham believes that we do.

Article passes, 198--8--5.

Article 40 - Zoning Map Change Requirements

(Steve Revilak, Redevelopment Board) Section 1.5 of Arlington's zoning bylaw contains a requirement that someone petitioning for a map change has to send notice to all property owners and immediate abutters by certified or registered mail. This is an Arlington-specific requirement, which does not have a counterpart in state law.

Certified and Registered mail is significantly more expensive than first class. Certified mail costs $5.30, in addition to postage, for a total of $6.08/letter. First class mail is $0.78/letter. The requirements can be cost prohibitive for anything beyond the smallest map changes, and there's no guarantee that they produce better notifications. The recipient gets the same notice in the mail, regardless of how it's delivered.

Article 40 proposes to change the certified or registered mail requirement to first class. This will be less of a cost burden, while still preserving the requirement that notice be given.

The main motion proposes to strike the words "certified or registered mail", and replacing them with the words "first-class mail, postage prepaid".

The redevelopment board voted to recommend favorable action on Article 40, 5-0.

(Kristin Anderson, Precinct 11) Ms. Anderson says that she treats certified letters differently than regular mail. She doesn't believe the additional cost is a burden.

(Elaine Cahill, Precinct 13) Ms. Cahill urges a no vote. People need to realize what map changes are about and nobody knows these things are happening. She says there was a reason this law was put on the books.

(JP Lewicke, Precinct 2) Mr. Lewicke asks about the requirements for map changes vs other zoning changes.

(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak says the notice requirement only applies to map changes. There is no notice requirement for other changes to the zoning bylaw.

(Gordon Jamieson) Mr. Jamieson asks how much we spend on certified mail.

(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak says the town doesn't spend anything on certified mail. The mailing requirement only applies to citizen petitioners, not to map changes proposed by the redevelopment board.

(Gordon Jamieson) Mr. Jamieson asks how much citizen petitioners spend.

(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak isn't sure, because the money is paid by the petitioners. There is a citizen petition for a map change that town meeting will hear. During the warrant article hearings, Mr. Revilak asked the petitioner how much he'd spent on mailing, and the answer was "under $500".

(Andy Greenspon, Precinct 5) Mr. Greenspon asks for more information about the notice process.

(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak says there are two notice requirements. First, the petitioner has to send notice by certified or registered mail. In addition, the Planning Department is required to send noticed by first class mail.

Article passes, 146--64--3.

Article 42 - Parking and Loading Standards

(Steve Revilak, Redevelopment Board) Article 42 was motivated by mixed-use projects that have come before the ARB. There's always a tug of war between interior space on the ground floor -- which includes commercial space -- and space needed to satisfy parking requirements. We'd like the commercial spaces to be bigger, but the bylaw also has dimensional requirements for parking lots that we have to satisfy. Parking spaces have to have certain dimensions, drive aisles have to have certain dimensions, and buildings have to fit in around them.

Narrowing the drive aisle allows the parking area become a little smaller, and ground floor -- with the commercial space -- to become deeper. This is what Article 42 proposes to do: reduce the required width of drive aisles from 24' to 22'. This allows for a modest increase of commercial space, probably between 100-200 square feet.

When considering this change, the Board looked at Drive aisle requirements for some of our neighboring communities. They ranged from 20 to 24', and what we're proposing is right in the middle of that.

The 24' drive aisle width requirement appears in two places, and Article 42 would change them both to 22'. The redevelopment board voted to recommend favorable action on Article 42, 5-0.

(Ed Trembly, Precinct 19) Mr. Trembly thinks this will be a disadvantage to people with commercial driver's licenses. Drive aisles need to be wide for delivery trucks.

(Melitta Marx, Precinct 12) Ms. Marx thinks this article would create ridiculously small spaces that are difficult to pull in and out of. She says the main problem is that we're trying to shoe horn too many building units in town. People need cars, and the solution is to build a larger building.

Article passes, 144--58--3.

Article 43 - Marquee Signs

(Steve Revilak, Redevelopment Board) Article 43 was motivated by the town's two theaters: the Capitol and the Regent. These are historic Arlington institutions that have been around forever. They've also got old marquee signs that they're interested in updating.

Article 43 proposes to allow digital display technology on Marquee signs. It provides a modernization path where these businesses could show what's playing via a programmable digital display board, rather than by needing someone to go up on a ladder and swap out individual letters.

To provide an idea of what this might look like, here are some pictures of the Cabot Theater in Beverly, whose marquee sign has a digital display. The display being used in a very traditional sense - to show what's playing at the theater.

Digital displays would only be allowed on marquee signs, and only by special permit. The displays would have to be architecturally integrated into the marquee signs. Displays would be limited to events happening on the premises; they could not be used for general advertising. Displays would have to be equipped with auto-dimming technology to adjust brightness, and would have to be static -- no motion, animations, or flashing.

The redevelopment board voted to recommend favorable action on Article 43, 5-0.

(Adam Lane, Precinct 3) Mr. Lane says the Capitol Theater is wonderful, but the current economic environment is challenging for theaters. He thinks we should help these businesses.

(Elaine Crowder, Precinct 19) Ms. Crowder asks how this relates to the town's dark sky bylaw. She's concerned about uplighting, and the effect it might have on birds.

(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak says the displays would be on the sides of marquee signs. The lights would project horizontally, not vertically.

(Michele Phelan, Precinct 4) Ms. Phelan asks if the displays could include images.

(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak thinks they could, as long as they were static images.

(Michele Phelan) Ms. Phelan asks what the board would do to prevent the these displays from being too bright.

(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak says the displays would have to be auto-dimming, so they'd be less bright at night. The ARB often asks applicants to provide photometric studies for outdoor lighting, and he could foresee the board doing something similar here.

Article passes, 190--12--3.

Article 44 - Floodplain District

(David Morgan, Environmental Planner) Mr. Morgan says he's been working with the Conservation Commission on this article, and one of the goals is to bring things up to date. The article adds a number of new standards for floodplain protection, and specifies where Flood Insurance Rate Maps can be found. It adds definitions of "structure" and "variance" that are specific to the floodplain district and prohibits encroachments on the regulatory floodway. There are requirements for securing and anchoring recreational vehicles. There's a requirement that the town be notified of anything that changes elevations in the floodplain district. Mr. Morgan says the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation reviewed and approved this language.

(Eugene Benson, Precinct 10) Mr. Benson has an amendment to add a definition for "Base Flood".

It's 23:00, and town meeting adjourns until Wednesday.