Arlington Redevelopment Board - Jul 21st, 2025

Meeting held in the second floor annex of Town Hall. Materials were available from https://arlington.novusagenda.com/agendapublic/MeetingView.aspx?MeetingID=2304&MinutesMeetingID=-1&doctype=Agenda.

Docket 3854 - 125 Broadway

This docket involves the expansion of a gas station.

(Claire Ricker, Planning Director) Ms. Ricker says this docket involves a gas station on Broadway. When reviewing the application, staff found several variances associated with the property, and the applicant will be requesting an additional variance in order to install a fourth service bay. Town Counsel and the Building Inspector felt that the ZBA would be the appropriate board to review, as they are the only ones that can grant and modify variances. Ms. Ricker recommends closing the docket, and her office plans to refund the application fee.

(Steve Revilak, ARB) Mr. Revilak says he's happy to see an effort for commercial investment in Broadway.

(Eugene Benson, ARB) Mr. Benson asks if the gas station will need signage.

(Claire Ricker) Ms. Ricker says that any sign applications will come to the Planning Department, and will come before the ARB if necessary.

Motion to close the docket passes, 5--0.

Docket 3862 - 126 Broadway

This docket involves the construction of a mixed use building in the Mass Ave/Broadway multifamily district.

(Claire Ricker, Planning Director) Ms. Ricker informs the board that the applicant has requested more time to prepare for their site plan review hearing. The hearing has to be opened tonight, because it was legally advertised to being this evening.

(Eugene Benson, ARB) Mr. Benson asks if the applicants had a pre-meeting with staff.

(Claire Ricker) Ms. Ricker answers in the affirmative. The developer is interested in the Mass Ave/Broadway district's mixed use bonus. The application has gone through several iterations, all with unit counts of 14 or higher.

(Kin Lau, ARB) Mr. Lau asks Ms. Ricker to request a rendering that shows the proposed building in context with the surrounding buildings.

The board votes to continue the hearing to August 11, 5--0.

Discussion of 1207-1211 Mass Ave

This discussion pertains to a hotel and restaurant permitted for 1207--1211 Mass Ave. The applicant's special permit was extended, and he's here to provide the board with a progress update.

(James Doherty, Applicant) Mr. Doherty says he mentioned the possibility of going in a different direction during his last discussion with the board. He's doing due diligence there?

(?) A board member asks about the status of the permit.

(James Doherty) Mr. Doherty says his permit extension is valid through the end of 2025, due to the Governor's proclamation. He expects to have a clearer inclination of where to go before then.

(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak recalls Mr. Doherty's last appearance before the board. He remembers Mr. Doherty considering mixed-use with residential and retail, or a restaurant as a possible alternative to the hotel. Mr. Doherty also talked about the possibility of moving the building facade closer to Mass Ave. He asks if Mr. Doherty's is still leaning towards the hotel.

(James Doherty) Mr. Doherty says he's still pursing the hotel.

(Shaina Korman-Houston) Ms. Korman-Houston asks what activities Mr. Doherty has undertaken during the last six months.

(James Doherty) Mr. Doherty says he's continued to work with an architect. The current Zoning Bylaw allows higher floor area ratios than when the hotel was permitted. He feels the building would be the same along the rear and Clark Street sides. He's thinking of additional height and moving the front wall further towards Mass Ave. He's likely to go with the building changes, regardless of whether it's a hotel or residential mixed use.

(Rachel Zsembery, ARB Chair) Ms. Zsembery asks Mr. Doherty what the expected timeline is.

(James Doherty) Mr. Doherty says he's working to have a decision before December 2025.

(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery thinks the next step should be to meet in December or January, to discuss the process going forward.

Artist Live/Work Discussion

This discussion pertains to artists live/work spaces in the industrial district.

(Katie Luczai, Economic Development Coordinator) Ms. Luczai says that artist live/work was adopted in 2021 and is only allowed by special permit. She has three items to present to the board, which were developed in conjunction with the Arlington Commission for Arts and Culture (ACAC): a certification process, a set of standards, and an agreement. ACAC doesn't have any enforcement authority, so the thought is to use special permit conditions to enforce standards.

(Shaina Korman-Houston, ARB) Ms. Korman-Houston is familiar with Boston's artist live/work arrangements. Boston mandates programming in these spaces and she understands that's been a challenge. She's encouraged by not seeing a programming requirement in these agreements.

(Katie Luczai) Ms. Luczai said that programming requirements didn't seem like a good fit for Arlington, given our building stock.

(Shaina Korman-Houston) Ms. Korman-Houston feels the guidance is appropriately broad. She asks who will give guidance to the board.

(Katie Luczai) Ms. Luczai says ACAC doesn't have good knowledge of construction specifics, but they could help with recommendations.

(Kin Lau, ARB) Mr. Lau thought there would be space for the display of artwork. He thinks it would be nice to have something like that.

(Rachel Zsembery, ARB Chair) Ms. Zsembery says that sounds similar to the programming aspect Ms. Korman-Houston was talking about.

(Shaina Korman-Houston) Ms. Korman-Houston says Boston requires programming, rather than just space for display.

(Kin Lau) Regarding the certification process, Mr. Lau suggests the requirement be for two years of work rather than three, and valid for four to five years, instead of six.

(Katie Luczai) Ms. Luczai says she'll bring this feedback back to the ACAC. They spent a lot of time discussing this aspect.

(Eugene Benson, ARB) Mr. Benson is interested in knowing why the ACAC chose three years.

(Katie Luczai) Ms. Luczai says the "practicing for three years" piece came from artist live/work arrangements in other communities.

(Eugene Benson) Mr. Benson isn't sure whether a year-long fellowship would qualify under these guidelines.

(Katie Luczai) Ms. Luczai says we can add language to clarify that.

(Eugene Benson) Mr. Benson suggests a wording change in the section on certification. He asks if graphic novelists would be considered artists.

(Katie Luczai) Ms. Luczai answers in the affirmative.

(Eugene Benson) Mr. Benson asks if there are any artist live/work spaces in the pipeline.

(Katie Luczai) Ms. Luczai says this came up in a discussion about 61 Dudley St.

(Eugene Benson) Mr. Benson asks if the ARB will apply the guidance and standards for special permits. And if not the ARB, who?

(Claire Ricker) Ms. Ricker thinks that area may need more thought.

(Eugene Benson) Mr. Benson asks how the board will get from general guidelines to actual special permit conditions.

(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery thinks the guidelines could become requirements, but it would be up to the board to assess their appropriateness.

(Eugene Benson) Mr. Benson likes the idea of an agreement. He says there was a group of artist condos in Boston and some artists would by several adjacent ones and combine them. He thinks we may want to consider that possibility.

(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery thinks that could be another item for an enforcement resource that's shared between Inspectional Services and DPCD.

Ms. Zsembery thinks there may be words missing from design standard thirteen. She'd like to have clarification on some of the standards. For example, what counts as "additional filtration".

(Kin Lau) Mr. Lau thinks there should be something about traffic and parking for deliveries.

(Eugene Benson) Mr. Benson asks a question about standard number four.

(Katie Luczai) Ms. Luczai says that was taken from Beverly's regulations.

(Steve Revilak, ARB) Mr. Revilak says the guidelines are open-ended, but he thinks that's appropriate in this case. Different types of artists have different needs. For example, a person doing metal sculpting might need a small machine shop, while someone doing audio or music might need a soundproof room with a floating floor. Mr. Revilak thinks the guidelines are basically asking for industrial flex space with an integrated living unit. He thinks some applicants might have specific use cases in mind, while others might be interested in building flex space that could be adapted to different purposes.

Discussion of 455 Mass Ave

(Claire Ricker, Planning Director) Ms. Ricker says that 455 Mass Ave has been under construction for 2.5 years. She's eager to see it completed. This item was added to the agenda because she understands there may be issues with the facade design.

(Kin Lau) Mr. Lau recognizes that the applicants had to appear before the Historical Commission, but the brick veneer siding was not what the board approved.

(Claire Ricker) Ms. Ricker believes the Historical Commission may have asked the applicant to change materials.

(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery thinks there are ways we can improve the process, when applicants need approval from multiple boards.

(Kin Lau) Mr. Lau is concerned about the windows and the window placement.

There's further back and forth among members of the board.

Discussion of 882 Mass Ave

(Claire Ricker) Ms. Ricker says her office received a letter from the commercial tenant at 882 Mass Ave, explaining why they installed transparency film over the windows. There's a physical therapy practice that sees patients by appointment only; it's essentially a medical office. They're also planning to submit a sign permit. Ms. Ricker asks the board if they'd like to address signage and window transparency in a single application.

(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery would like that to be done in one hearing. She thinks that marijuana facilities are a precedent for addressing signs and window transparency together. Dispensaries are requirement to have privacy screening, but that can be done in a way that activates the street. She thinks the applicants need to come up with screening that incorporates colors, patterns, and textures.

(Kin Lau) Mr. Lau notes that the board approved additional screening for a food pantry. That was done as part of a sign package.

(Eugene Benson) Mr. Benson would like to bring the applicants in, but he doesn't see transparency film as a sign.

(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery thinks the two should be considered together, since the signage and screening requirements are tenant-specific.

(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak agrees with looking at the sign package and transparency treatment together. He thinks it could be done in a way where the two compliment each other.

(Kin Lau) Mr. Lau says he'd like to get an update on the status of 190--200 Mass Ave.

Affordable Housing Overlay Committee

(Claire Ricker) Ms. Ricker says the board has talked about their appointee position several times. Several residents have expressed interest in being appointed to the ARB seat.

(Shaina Korman-Houston) Ms. Korman-Houston asks how many people reached out.

(Claire Ricker) Ms. Ricker says there were two.

(Shaina Korman-Houston) Ms. Korman-Houston asks if Ms. Ricker can tell the board anything about them.

(Claire Ricker) Ms. Ricker says that one works in planning and the other is an affordable housing attorney.

(Shaina Korman-Houston) Ms. Korman-Houston says they sound like strong candidates. She'd like to see their resumes.

(Eugene Benson) Mr. Benson asks who the Planning Department's designee will be.

(Claire Ricker) Ms. Ricker says that Sarah Suarez will fill that position.

(Eugene Benson) Mr. Benson says he's spoken with Town Counsel, who agreed that the AHO Committee won't legally have the ability to file a zoning article, except by taking the ten registered voter route. He wanted to make the board aware of that. However, the board can file the warrant article on the Committee's behalf, so they're not responsible for the cost of noticing map changes.

(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery says that one of the people interested asked if there will be staff resources available, and it's likely that there will not be.

(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak would like the ARB to meet with the AHO Committee regularly, perhaps once a month. He'd prefer a process where we make small course corrections along the way, rather than trying to make a large course correction at the end.

Board Retreat Discussion

The board will hold their retreat on October 19th.

Open Forum

There are no speakers for tonight's open forum.

New Business

(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak noticed that 1341--1347 Mass Ave recently changed hands. He asks if anyone has approached the Planning Department about that.

(Claire Ricker) Ms. Ricker answers in the negative.

(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak says the building sold for $1,700,000. It previously sold for $900,000 in 1986, which would be about $2,600,000 in today's dollars. Mr. Revilak says the value of Arlington's residential property has beat inflation by about 300% over the last 25 years, but that apparently doesn't apply to our commercial properties.

(Shaina Korman-Houston) Ms. Korman-Houston tells the board about the Mass Zoning atlas. It's part of an effort to map the baseline zoning throughout Massachusetts. She says it's worth checking out.

(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery says she'd like to find out what's going on with Farina Roofing's build-out in the heights. The work seems to have stopped some months ago.

Meeting adjourned.