Arlington Redevelopment Board Retreat - Oct 24th, 2026
Meeting held in the Community Safety building. Materials were available from https://arlingtonma.primegov.com/Portal/Meeting?meetingTemplateId=18837.
Accessory Dwelling Units
The state has developed a set of pre-approved ADU plans. Staff is working to update the town website with more ADU resources.
There's some uncertainty about how tall an ADU can be. State law says that dimensional regulations for ADUs can't be stricter than those for single family homes. Arlington's zoning bylaw allows accessory structures that are 20' high, but single family homes that are 35' high. Staff will reach out to state officials for guidance on how that discrepancy should be handled.
Business District Rezoning
We hope to wrap up the Arlington heights rezoning in 2027. Capitol Square will be next.
Our Town Manager has said there is likely to be a special town meeting in the fall of 2027. Zoning articles could potentially be split over two meetings.
Connect Arlington
The planning department is currently working on three transportation projects: the Broadway corridor, the Mystic to Minuteman connector, and Bikeway improvements at Ryder Street.
The MWRA is planning work near the intersection of Mass Ave and Appleton St in 2027. Long term improvements to that intersection will have to wait until the MWRA work is done.
The Mass Ave/Appleton St improvements have a price tag of approximately $9M, and we've been awarded a $4M MassWorks grant for the project. That leaves us $5M short, which is another reason why the project is being delayed.
Net Zero Action Plan
The Net Zero Action plan is being updated, and will go before the Select Board soon. There is some interest in doing a neighborhood electrification pilot.
Hazard Mitigation Plan
Staff is working on an update to the Hazard Mitigation Plan.
Housing Production Plan
Our last housing production plan was approved in 2022. It's a five-year plan, and will expire in 2027. We have a grant to work on an update. The grant is for $69,000 via the state's Community One-Stop program.
Russell Common Lot
Staff and the board discuss planning for the Russell Common Lot. One option is to do a visioning competition, like the one done for the Broadway corridor a few years ago. A study of the Common plus the surrounding area is another option.
Staff will look into getting a few questions about the Russell Common lot into the next Envision Arlington town survey.
Artist Live Work Space
Artist live work space is the only type of housing allowed in the industrial districts. The zoning bylaw gives the Arlington Commission on Arts and Culture the ability to set criteria on who should qualify to live in these spaces, but that work has not been done. Staff is currently working with MAPC to develop a set of standards. Boston's standards might provide a starting point.
Other Items
The redevelopment board will move to OpenGov sometime in the next year. This will put all application materials for each project in one place, where they're readily available to Inspectional Services. The ZBA currently uses OpenGov for their hearings.
The board discusses changes to submission standards for Environmental Design Review and Site Plan Review. In particular, there's an argument that Arlington's Fossil Fuel Bylaw and adoption of the Enhanced Stretch Code makes the requirement for a LEED checklist unnecessary. One or two board members will work with staff in this area.
The ARB handled 20 permit dockets (so far) this year, which is well above the typical workload.