Arlington Redevelopment Board - Mar 9th, 2026

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.