Town Meeting - May 14th, 2025

Night six of Arlington's annual town meeting. Materials were available from https://arlington.novusagenda.com/Agendapublic/MeetingView.aspx?MeetingID=2254&MinutesMeetingID=-1&doctype=Agenda.

Voting records are available from https://www.arlingtonma.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/74289/638828997807170000.

Opening Remarks

(Greg Christiana, Town Moderator) Mr. Christiana says that several town meeting members have filed motions to commit, which are also called motions to refer. Town meeting has the authority to refer an article to committee, and a motion to commit has a higher precedence than a motion to amend. Motions to commit are voted on first, and if they succeed, that disposes of the article.

Announcements

(Nora Mann, Precinct 20) Ms. Mann says Mystic Valley for Reproductive Justice invites people to attend an event next week, to show support for healthcare providers that offer gender-affirming care. There are fliers on the table.

(Beth Melofchik, Precinct 9) Ms. Melofchik says that alewife are swimming to Cooke's Hollow.

Article 3 - Reports of Committees

(Alex Bagnall, Envision Arlington Standing Committee) Mr. Bagnall moves receipt of the 2025 Annual Town Survey Report. He highlights the efforts of several people who've worked on the report.

Article 30 - Screening and Buffer Requirements

(Rachel Zsembery, ARB Chair) Ms. Zsembery says this article is intended to remove duplication that was introduced during the zoning bylaw recodification. It doesn't add new regulations, or change existing ones.

(Wynelle Evans, Precinct 14) Ms. Evans says this section was discussed at an ARB hearing. She asks how the board interprets the interaction between the buffer requirements and yard setbacks.

(Steve Revilak, ARB) Mr. Revilak says that setback regulations take precedence over buffer regulations. He reads the relevant section of the bylaw.

(Wynelle Evans) Ms. Evans asks about a provision in the bylaw which says "when two sections conflict, the one with the stricter requirements shall apply". She asks why that isn't the case here.

(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak says the section on buffer requirements explicitly says they're subordinate to setbacks, so there isn't a conflict.

(Wynelle Evans) Ms. Evans motions that the article text be changed so the words "shall not supersede" are replaced by the words "shall not be superseded by".

(Eugene Benson, ARB) Mr. Benson asks the moderator if Ms. Evans amendment would be in scope of the original article.

(Greg Christiana, Town Moderator) Mr. Christiana says the warrant article talks about deleting duplicative text and reorganizing a specific section of the bylaw. He believes this change would be out of scope.

(Aram Hollman, Precinct 6) Mr. Hollman understands this is about fixing a mistake that was made during recodification. He asks if someone can provide an example of when setbacks would supersede buffer requirements, and an example of when setbacks would not.

(Steve Revilak, ARB) Mr. Revilak provides examples of each case.

(Aram Hollman) Mr. Hollman asks why the ARB isn't asking town meeting to remove the screening and buffer provisions.

(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak says the ARB's goal was to remove duplicative material, and not to remove the section completely.

Article passes, 186--13--1.

Article 32 - Rezone B1 Parcels

(Rachel Zsembery, ARB Chair) Ms. Zsembery says that B1 is the lowest density business district. It's scattered and sandwiched between higher density B districts, as well as the larger apartment districts. Some special permit applicants in B1 would have created more desirable uses but were challenged by the district's dimensional restrictions. Rezoning will allow more uses, more businesses, more housing, and more new growth. Ms. Zsembery shows a table that compares the dimensional regulations of the two districts. She notes that B1 uses are extremely limited while B2A offers more options. She shows maps of where the parcels are located and the textual changes to district definitions. The ARB voted 5--0 in support of this article.

(Chris Loreti, Precinct 7) Mr. Loreti opposes the article. He thinks B2A is the wrong district to change to. B1 allows the least intensive businesses uses and B2A allows the second to most intensive. B2A is similar to B4, but was created to prohibit auto-oriented uses. Mixed use buildings in B2A could be 35--60 feet tall. A visual preferences survey done in 2015 indicated a feeling that five stories was too high, but the ARB is asking for five stories. B1 already allows three stories. The locations are also not appropriate, because it will put more intensive business uses outside our business districts. He suggests this article will bring North Cambridge to Arlington Heights. He says that 1995 and 2010 plans emphasized having businesses in the center. This is absolutely the wrong time to make this change. Why are we doing a Master Planning process when we get these one-off changes. He thinks this should be done through the master plan.

(Kristin Anderson, Precinct 11) Ms. Anderson says that B2A has no setback requirements for mixed-use. She asks what the requirement for commercial space is.

(Eugene Benson, ARB) Mr. Benson says the rule for mixed use is that there have to be two different uses. The rules don't specify a commercial requirement because each site has different qualities. Each development also requires off-street parking. Mr. Benson says the ARB does try to maximize the amount of commercial space.

(Kristin Anderson) Mr. Anderson thinks the lack of a requirement for commercial space is a problem.

(Elaine Crowder, Precinct 19) Ms. Crowder asks if the article is rezoning the entirety of the B1 district.

(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery says that's correct.

(Elaine Crowder) Ms. Crowder says it appears that adjacent parcels are different.

(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery says the adjacent districts are generally higher use business and apartment districts.

(Elaine Crowder) Ms. Crowder asks if any traffic studies have been done. She asks about parcels that aren't directly on Mass Ave.

(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery says no traffic studies have been done. The ARB wanted to include parcels that weren't directly on Mass Ave to allow for future parcel consolidation.

(Elaine Crowder) Ms. Crowder says she's concerned about traffic. She asks why there are 0-Lot parcels on the list.

(Steve Revilak, ARB) Mr. Revilak says that 0-Lot parcels just means there's no building there, and therefore no street address. Several of them are parking lots, under common ownership with adjacent parcels.

(Elaine Crowder) Ms. Crowder asks why one of the lots is categorized as unbuildable.

(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak says that a unbuildable lot in B1 is likely to remain unbuildable in B2A. But it could be combined with an adjacent property.

(Elaine Crowder) Ms. Crowder says it would be good to look at these with an eye towards the adjacent properties.

(Carl Wagner, Precinct 15) Mr. Wagner says we're proposing to take 22\% of our business parcels, and change them to allow larger structures. Mixed use buildings are allowed to be five stories and sixty feet tall. Mr. Wagner says he respects the ARB's desire to allow more uses, then asks members of town meeting to close their eyes and picture generic buildings. He says this will lead to a loss of businesses and historic buildings. We lost businesses when the Toroya block was redeveloped. We'll lose businesses. The current buildings are human scale, and we don't want to lose this. We should ask the ARB to expand the set of allowed uses, but leave the district in its current form. Otherwise, you can mark this as the day when Arlington went to generic structures.

(Wynelle Evans, Precinct 14) Ms. Evans says that out of 111 parcels, over 40 are on historic registries, and only protected by a one-year demolition delay.

(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery says there are no requirements to redevelop any parcel in this zone. The board has not proposed any changes to the bylaws that apply to historic structures.

(Vince Baudoin, Precinct 1) Mr. Baudoin says he often thinks about what makes a good town. He's heard a lot of angst about there not being enough businesses in town. Our current commercial zoning is due to the map being fixed in time back in the 1970s. The commercial corridors might want to evolve, and he thinks this could be a good change. Mr. Baudoin asks for examples of B2A properties.

(Steve Revilak, ARB) Mr. Revilak says the one he's most familiar with is the Lahey Clinic on Broadway. It's a two-story building with a large parking lot. There's the Walgreens in East Arlington; it's a one story building with a big parking lot. There's also Scutra on Summer Street, which is another one-story building.

(Joanne Cullinane, Precinct 21) Ms. Cullinane urges a no vote. She thinks this puts the cart before the horse. It's a blanket approach that will lead to a loss of commercial space. She says that B1 zoning serves a purpose and we were not told what kind of businesses would be allowed. Ms. Cullinane says we need B1 businesses. We need to know what kind of businesses will be impacted, and we could lose business space to mixed use. She says there's no clear justification for this change. Many businesses are well-designed for spaces in B1, which fits in the spaces between MBTA Communities districts and our business districts. She thinks this is an attempt to bypass the public process. The purpose of B1 zoning is more useful than others. Do we want to incentivize redevelopment without considering our cultural heritage? She thinks we should wait and see what happens with MBTA Communities.

(Junko Nagano, Precinct 11) Ms. Nagano has a question about lot sizes. She sees a minimum lot size of 20,000 square feet for mixed use in the B2A district. She asks how many parcels are that size.

(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak says there are two sets of dimensional regulations for mixed-use buildings. One set applies to parcels less than 20,000 square feet, and the other applies to parcels 20,000 square feet and above.

(Junko Nagano) Ms. Nagano asks what the three dashes in the dimensional table mean.

(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak says that means there's no minimum lot size.

(Paul Schlichtman, Precinct 9) Mr. Schlichtman lives on the eighth floor of an apartment building in the R7 district. He had questions about this article when he saw it, and asked Mr. Revilak why the ARB was proposing it. Mr. Revilak said the board was trying to do more with the business districts the town already had. Mr. Schlichtman asks for examples of uses that would be allowed in B2A and not B1.

(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak gives examples, including retail and restaurants.

(Paul Schlichtman) Mr. Schlichtman urges a yes vote.

(Christopher Moore, Precinct 14) Mr. Moore moves the question.

Motion to end debate passes by voice vote.

Article passes, 114--61--7.

(Al Tosti, Precinct 17, Point of order) Mr. Tosti asks why Article 32 didn't require a two-thirds vote.

(Michael Cunningham, Town Counsel) Mr. Cunningham says that housing is not the only type of zoning change that's subject to a simple majority. Guidance from the Attorney General's Municipal Law Unit say that increases in FAR and mixed use zoning also qualify.

(Carl Wagner, Precinct 15, Point of order) Mr. Wagner says that things which aren't density changes require two-thirds.

Article 33 - Zoning Map Adoption for B1 Rezoning

(Rachel Zsembery, ARB Chair) Ms. Zsembery says that Article 33 involves the adoption of a new zoning map, to reflect the terms of Article 32. The ARB voted in favor of Article 33, 5--0.

(Mark Kaepplein, Precinct 9) Mr. Kaepplein lives at 11 Palmer Street. There's a duplex in a B1 district nearby that's changing to B2A. The owner of the house next door has also proposed to rezone their property. He says this is a large overreach.

(Elaine Crowder, Precinct 19, Point of order) Ms. Crowder is puzzled by the dependency between articles 32 and 33. She asks why there are two articles.

(Michael Cunningham, Town Counsel) Mr. Cunningham says the town learned a lesson from its MBTA Communities article. The Attorney General's office felt it was better to do rezoning with two articles. He says the decision to file two articles for town meeting was done in consultation with the Attorney General's office.

(Christopher Moore, Precinct 14) Mr. Moore asks what the scope of debate for Article 33 is.

(Greg Christiana, Town Moderator) Mr. Christiana says the scope of debate is limited to adopting the new map.

(Matthew Miller, Precinct 11) Mr. Miller would like a clarification on Article 32. He asks what the difference between a map change and a bylaw change is.

(Michael Cunningham) Mr. Cunningham says a map change is required when a parcel is rezoned.

(Andrew Greenspon, Precinct 5) Mr. Greenspon says we've already debated this, so let's support the map change.

(Brooks Harrelson, Precinct 16) Mr. Harrelson asks what would happen if Article 33 fails.

(Michael Cunningham) Mr. Cunningham says he discussed this possibility with the Attorney General's office, and they had not encountered that situation before.

(Peter Gast, Precinct 2) Mr. Gast moves the question.

Motion to end debate passes by voice vote.

Article passes, 164--47--4.

It's 21:30, and we take our mid-evening break.

Article 34 - Zoning Bylaw Administrative Correction

(Rachel Zsembery, ARB Chair) Ms. Zsembery says this is an administrative change. The zoning bylaw contains the date of last map adoption, but it frequently lags behind by a year. This article would remove the date citation, so the bylaw simply refers to the map. The ARB voted in favor of article 34, 5--0.

(Chris Loreti, Precinct 7) Mr. Loreti opposes the article. It was originally proposed to correct a date, but now it's eliminating the date. He asks town meeting members if they've ever worked on a shared document and the discovered they were editing the wrong version? State law requires cities and towns to have a zoning map, and the map has to be part of the bylaw. The map and the bylaw are kept by different parties, and they have to keep the different versions in sync. Sometimes you want the map and bylaw as of a specific date, rather than the most recent one. The building inspector needs to know the correct map for any version of the zoning bylaw. He says it shouldn't be hard to keep the date up to date -- just change it when changing the map. Mr. Loreti asks town meeting to please vote no.

(Greg Dennis, Precinct 1) Mr. Dennis motions to lay article 34 and intervening articles on the table, so the meeting can take Article 41 out of order. Mr. Dennis says he won't be able to attend Monday night's session, and he has the only substantive motion on the Article.

Town meeting votes to lay articles on the table and take up Article 41, 153--52--6.

Article 41 - Affordable Housing Overlay District

(Rachel Zsembery, ARB Chair) Ms. Zsembery says that Article 41 was a citizen petition to establish and affordable housing overlay, and the petitioners requested their article be withdrawn. She says the board discussed Mr. Dennis's motion to commit, but did not vote. Members of the board expressed concern about the workload it would create.

(Greg Dennis, Precinct 1) Mr. Dennis says his motion to commit refers the question of designing an affordable housing overlay. For years, people in Arlington have stated a desire to have more affordable housing. We created an Affordable Housing Trust Fund, we authorized a home rule petition to establish a Real Estate Transfer Fee, and 73\% of the 2023 town meeting voted in favor of a resolution to create an affordable housing overlay. A small group of residents worked on a proposal, but bringing it to town meeting would have cost them tens of thousands of dollars in notice fees. Having the proposal come from a town group changes the notice requirement from certified mail to first class. This motion creates a committee to do a public process and solicit feedback. The committee would not be subject to the expensive notice requirements in the town bylaws. Mr. Dennis amended the process in the substitute motion, to clarify that the committee would bring the proposal to the Redevelopment Board, rather than to town meeting directly. The committee must request an extension if it's not done in the next year.

(Carl Wagner, Precinct 15, Point of order) Mr. Wagner says the speaking queue wasn't cleared.

(James Fleming, Precinct 4) Mr. Fleming asks if we'll get something next year?

(Greg Dennis) Mr. Dennis asks if the committee could insert something into the warrant, if it's voted into existence.

(Michael Cunningham, Town Counsel) Mr. Cunningham says the committee would have to follow the process for amending the zoning bylaw, as described in Chapter 40A Section 5.

(James Fleming) Mr. Fleming says it sounds like the proposal would have to go before the ARB, and that's fine.

(Xavid Pretzer, Precinct 17) Mx. Pretzer says we've seen through surveys and discussions that the need for affordable housing is acute. We need housing at different price points, and an AHO would be a valuable tool for doing this. They think that a committee is a good approach, and a way to avoid kicking the can down the road.

(Paul Schlichtman, Precinct 9) Mr. Schlichtman moves the question.

Motion to end debate passes by voice vote.

Article passes, 156--46--3.

Article 34 - Zoning Bylaw Administrative Correction

Now we're back to Article 34.

(Gordon Jamieson, Precinct 12) Mr. Jamieson says that in the past we'd pass a map change. He asks if this would just make the map "the map".

(Michael Cunningham, Town Counsel) Mr. Cunningham says the zoning bylaw referred to a 2021 map, which was way out of date. He hopes we can consult with the attorney general, to see if we have a more efficient way of doing this.

(Gordon Jamieson) Mr. Jamieson asks if each article that town meeting passes has a date of record.

(Greg Christiana, Town Moderator) Mr. Christiana says the Town Clerk indicates that yes, that's the case.

(Gordon Jamieson) Mr. Jamieson asks if the town has records of the Attorney General's decisions.

(Greg Christiana) Mr. Christiana says the Town Clerk says that's the case.

(Gordon Jamieson) Mr. Jamieson thinks that covers things. He asks Town Meeting to vote yes.

(Sam Polk, Precinct 12) Mr. Polk moves the question.

Motion to end debate passes by voice vote.

Article passes, 155--41--4.

Article 35 - Zoning Map Adoption for Administrative Correction

(Rachel Zsembery, ARB Chair) Ms. Zsembery says this article will make an official update to the zoning map, to account for recent changes.

(Chris Loreti, Precinct 7) Mr. Loreti is confused as to why this article is needed.

(Claire Ricker, Planning Director) Ms. Ricker says that town meeting had previously voted to adopt the map changes for the MBTA Communities multi-family districts, and this would add 5--7 Winter St to the Neighborhood Multi-family district.

(Chris Loreti) Mr. Loreti thinks the town needs to go back to the old way of doing things.

Article passes, 200--7--2.

Article 36 - No Net Loss of Commercial Space for Local Businesses

(James DiTullio, Precinct 12) Mr. DiTullio asks why this article needs a presentation.

(Greg Christiana, Town Moderator) Mr. Christiana says he expects the presentation to be short.

(Rachel Zsembery, ARB Chair) Ms. Zsembery says the ARB voted no action on Article 36, 5--0. No substitute motion has been provided.

Recommended vote of no action passes by voice vote.

Article 38 - Use Regulations for Residential Districts

(Rachel Zsembery, ARB Chair) Ms. Zsembery says this article is a proposal to allow businesses used in residential districts. The ARB voted no action, 4--1. The board felt the proposal was overly broad and didn't address the desire for more business space. The board discussed but did not vote on Mr. Greenspon's substitute motion.

(Andy Greenspon, Precinct 5) Mr. Greenspon says he iterated on this proposal with the ARB, and the substitute motion follows the advice given at the last warrant article hearing. It would add a definition of "neighborhood artistic creative production" which includes the less intensive uses of "artistic creative production". It would also allow multiple principal uses in R3--R5, as they're allowed in R6 and R7. R3--R7 would allow personal services and retail of 1500 square feet or less. It would also allow physicians office in R2 by special permit. Neighborhood artistic creative production would be allowed in R3--R7. He says the goal is to allow more business uses, but without any change to dimensional regulations. There are already parking requirements for business uses, which apply to all districts. Sign allowances would be dictated by parcels underlying zoning district. Mr. Greenspon says there are only 8 vacancies listed in the town's vacant storefront registry. Only 4.6\% of Arlington's parcels are in the business and industrial districts, and not all of them are actually used for business. This substitute motion would allow low impact commercial uses in the R3--R7 districts, which are located on or near the town's main arterials.

(James Fleming, Precinct 4) Mr. Fleming's substitute motion is related to Mr. Greenspon's article as a way to get more businesses in town. It would increase the types of businesses that are allowed as home businesses. Arlington had lots of home businesses at the start of the 20th century. Starting a business from your home involves less risk. All towns have some regulations for home occupations, and his substitute motion incorporates rules from neighboring communities that seemed appropriate. The motion would allow signs of up to two square feet for home occupations. Deliveries would have to look like residential deliveries and would be limited to ten per day. Businesses could sell goods from the premises, but only goods that they made. Home businesses could have up to two non-resident employees, and art galleries would be allowed. Office, and professional uses would also be allowed as home occupations.

(Adam Auster, Precinct 16, Point of order) Mr. Auster asks about voting thresholds.

(Greg Christiana, Town Moderator) Mr. Christiana says the threshold for substituting is 50\%, but the threshold for adoption is two-thirds.

(Kristin Anderson, Precinct 11) Ms. Anderson runs a business in Arlington heights. She says there isn't enough space for local businesses. It took Arlington Brewing Company four years to find space. There's a coffee roaster who wanted to open a shop in Arlington. They went door to door and asked each business "are you leaving soon". Ms. Anderson knows another business owner that would like to expand, but can't because there aren't space. Arlington doesn't have many empty storefronts. Storefronts remain vacant because they're too small, long-term leases, and the tenants are looking for reasonable terms. She supports these changes, even if they won't solve our economic development problems.

(Paul Schlichtman, Precinct 9, Point of order) Mr. Schlichtman asks about the voting order for the substitute motions.

(Greg Christiana) Mr. Christiana says we'll vote on the Greenspon substitute first, and the Fleming substitute second.

(Beth Ann Friedman, Precinct 15) Ms. Friedman says the substitute doesn't distinguish between activities in the building versus people coming and going. She thinks traffic might be a problem, and there should be a more restrictive set of uses.

(Elizabeth Dray, Precinct 10) Ms. Dray was struck by the Redevelopment Board report's concern about the Greenspon amendment affecting naturally occurring affordable housing. She asks for an explanation.

(Eugene Benson, ARB) Mr. Benson says the Greenspon amendment would allow businesses in older apartment buildings. There could be residential to business conversions.

(Michele Durocher, Precinct 19) Ms. Durocher thinks the Greenspon substitute is highly complex. We have a board that we've charged to do analysis. She asks what kind of analysis they'd do.

(Rachel Zsembery, ARB Chair) Ms. Zsembery would want to engage with Inspection Services regarding changes to the building. They'd also hold public hearings. She said that Mr. Greenspon did come before the board several times.

(Larry Slotnick, Precinct 7) Mr. Slotnick applauds Mr. Greenspon's desire to provide space for entrepreneurs. He thinks this would be a drastic overreach in the R1 and R2 districts.

(Stephanie Ford, Precinct 8) Ms. Ford asks how this would affect a condo in a triple-decker. If a tenant wanted to open a hair salon, would the landlord have to allow it?

(Mike Ciampa, Inspectional Services Director) Mr. Ciampa says the landlord owns the building, and wouldn't have to allow it.

(Stephanie Ford) Ms. Ford asks, "what about condominiums".

(Mike Ciampa) Mr. Ciampa says he'd have to refer to the condominiums deed documents.

It's 23:00, and we adjourn for the evening.