Arlington Redevelopment Board - Oct 20th, 2025

Meeting held at 27 Maple Street. Materials were available from https://arlington.novusagenda.com/agendapublic/MeetingView.aspx?MeetingID=2358&MinutesMeetingID=-1&doctype=Agenda.

Review of Minutes

The board approved minutes from their October 6, 2025 meeting.

Docket 3862 - 126 Broadway

This hearing involves a five-story mixed-use building in the Mass Ave/Broadway multifamily district. The previous hearing was August 11.

(Rachel Zsembery, ARB Chair) Ms. Zsembery describes how the hearing will be structured. Staff will provide an introduction, the applicant will make a presentation, and then the board will ask questions of the applicant. Afterwards, the board will take comments from the public and discuss the application.

(Claire Ricker, Planning Director) Ms. Ricker says the proposal would replace a two-family dwelling with a mixed use building that has 1400 square feet of commercial space and fourteen apartments. The property is located in the Mass Ave/Broadway multifamily district. For this hearing, the applicant has provided updated plans, an updated shadow study, and a new TDM plan.

(Applicant) The attorney for the applicants says they're proposing a five story mixed use building with five parking spaces, on a corner lot. They've added a landscaping plan and brought the commercial facade forward to the property line. 43% of the ground floor is commercial space. They've redesigned the parking spaces so that cars can turn around and exit the property front-first. There are three existing street trees along the property and the applicants will add two more. They've made architectural changes in order to break up the massing, such as adding balconies on each elevation.

The building will have eight one-bedroom apartments and six two-bedroom apartments. Three apartments will be income-restricted/affordable, and all units will be serviced by the building's elevator.

They've increased the ground floor height to 12', which will provide 10' 10" of finished height. They've reduced the heights of the residential floors above, so that the building is 48' tall.

The applicants are proposing a 12.8 kw solar system, which should generate 15,000 kWh/year.

Finally, the applicants have submitted a photometric study, changed the window/fenestration patterns, and removed all windows on the west side of the commercial space. Siding will be a fiber cement product.

(Steve Revilak, ARB) Mr. Revilak understands the applicants are proposing three transportation demand management measures for a parking reduction: unbundling parking, providing transit pass subsidies, and providing charging facilities in the bike room. He asks how much they'll charge for parking and what the transit pass subsidy will be.

(Applicant) The applicants say they're working on those details.

(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak asks about the four parking spaces on the west side of the building, and if there will be asphalt going right up to the abutting property line.

(Applicant) One of the applicants says it will be an interlocking system of pervious pavers, rather than asphalt.

(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak asks how they'll prevent headlight glare on the neighboring property.

(Applicant) The applicants plan to install a 6' stockade fence along the property line.

(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak says the civil plans show the front facade overhanging the property line, but the architectural plans show the facade even with the property line. He asks if the building will extend beyond the property line.

(Applicant) The applicants say the civil plans need to be updated; the building will not extend beyond the property line.

(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak says the plans show containers for recycling and a dumpster for trash. He asks if the applicants can ensure their haulers will not pick up trash before 7:00 am.

(Applicant) The applicants aren't sure whether they'll use the town's trash hauler or hire their own.

(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak says he wants to make sure that none of the neighbors are woken up at 5:00 am by a trash truck.

During the presentation, the applicants said that 43% of the ground floor was commercial space. Mr. Revilak says that the front sheet of the plan set lists the first floor area as 1817 square feet, and 1400/1817 well exceeds 43%. He asks what denominator led to 43%.

(Applicant) The applicant says they used the building footprint, 3401 square feet.

(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak says the mixed use provisions of the MBTA Multifamily district provide two dimensional bonuses, and they come together as a package: there's an extra story, and the ability to have a zero-foot setback at the front lot line. He thinks the 60% includes only the interior of the area of the first floor, and not the parking area.

(Eugene Benson, ARB) Mr. Benson thought he heard the applicant say they were planning to plant a Norway Maple as a street tree. He asks if he heard correctly.

(Applicant) The applicants say the tree species haven't been determined; they've only determined the desired height of the trees.

(Eugene Benson) Mr. Benson doesn't think the town allows Norway Maples to be planted. He asks about the new street tree on Everett St.

(Applicant) The applicant says there's a utility pole with a guy wire, and the wire limits where the tree can be placed.

(Eugene Benson) Mr. Benson says the applicants need to provide a solar assessment, but that's been missing from the materials. He thinks the solar panels shown on the plans likely take up less than 50% of the roof.

Mr. Benson says it would be helpful to have a clearer list of TDM measures they plan to implement. Regarding charging for parking, Mr. Benson says there's another building in town that charges $50/month. He thinks the amount needs to be higher, more like $150--200 month. That would be more market-driven and reasonable. Mr. Benson thinks the applicants need to provide a bigger incentive to go from fifteen to five spaces.

Mr. Benson asks if the e-bike chargers will be in the corner of the bike room.

(Applicant) The applicant says yes. The bike room will have two-tier racks, and the charging station will be next to the racks.

(Eugene Benson) Mr. Benson likes the location of the accessible parking space. He says the applicants will need to come back to the board if they need a second accessible space.

Mr. Benson asks about screening for the transformer on Everett St.

(Applicant) The applicants intend to screen the transformer with plantings. They considered plantings and a fence, but felt plantings would be better.

(Eugene Benson) Mr. Benson says he wants to make sure there's visibility around the transformer. He asks how snow removal will be handled.

(Applicant) The applicants say that building management will use a contractor to remove snow.

(Shaina Korman-Houston, ARB) Ms. Korman-Houston says the footprint of the building has shrunk by around 100 square feet, relative to the previous submission. She asks what was removed.

(Applicant) The applicant says that several things were moved around; one of the stairwells was taken out of GFA and the commercial unit got larger. There wasn't a single thing responsible for the change.

(Shaina Korman-Houston) Ms. Korman-Houston says this isn't a material change to the footprint.

(Applicant) The applicant agrees. They didn't change the width of the building, or the rear setback.

(Shaina Korman-Houston) Ms. Korman-Houston asks how the applicants are meeting the 22.5% affordability requirement. She asks if they rounded to three, as described in their memo.

(Applicant) The applicant answers in the affirmative.

(Kin Lau, ARB) Mr. Lau appreciates the changes to the windows, cornices, and the commercial space. The commercial space has five windows on the Everett St. side. He suggests making them the same window style as the front. He's trying to make the commercial space more active and alive. He suggests adding sidelights to the front door on Broadway, to make it look more open.

(Applicant) The applicant thinks that's a good suggestion to opening up the space, and it's an easy change to make.

(Kin Lau) Mr. Lau says the material samples are a bit different than the rendering. He asks how the building corners will be treated.

(Applicant) The applicants say the corners will be mitered to 45 or 90 degrees. It will be a siding to siding joint.

(Kin Lau) Mr. Lau asks about the transition between the lap siding and the window panels.

(Applicant) The applicants say the panels will be trimmed out, as if they were windows. They can provide a detail of the transition.

(Kin Lau) Mr. Lau would like to move to the light study. He asks how the exterior of the retail space will be lit.

(Applicant) The applicant says that the commercial and residential entries will be downlit, and the lights will be on a timer. The driveway and parking area will have motion sensors.

(Kin Lau) Mr. Lau asks about dryer venting.

(Applicant) The applicant says that dryers will be vented through the roof.

(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery appreciates the changes to the balconies. She says the sign for the commercial space has to be above the door, and that's not possible with the current detailing. She thinks the balconies are still dark and imposing. She'd like to see the applicants put more effort into referencing the architecture of the neighborhood, and to give the building an identity. She asks if the parking area has glass blocks on the wall.

(Applicant) The applicant answers in the affirmative.

(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery says she can't approve that. She needs the applicants to look for a different approach.

(Eugene Benson) Mr. Benson asks if the stairways will be lit at night. He indicates the area he's referring to on the lighting plan.

(Applicant) The applicant says those are balconies.

(Eugene Benson) Mr. Benson asks if the garage will be lit at night.

(Applicant) The applicant says yes.

The chair opens the hearing to public comment.

(Joe Pinechou, 74 Oxford St) Mr. Pinechou says the applicants need to provide 22.5% affordable units. He says it's tiring to be talking when they haven't met that requirement. He says this isn't a parking plan and hopes we can get the building down to a size.

(Mike Hogan) Mr. Hogan asks where the overflow cars will go. He says they'll park on Broadway. The solar glare in the morning is ridiculous. There are a few hundred kids who cross Broadway here. He's also concerned about snow removal, because he thinks it will affect sight lines.

(Larry Slotnick, Grafton St) Mr. Slotnick hopes the ARB appreciates the mass of the context of the building. He says it will be a standalone building, and not surrounded by other similar buildings. He thinks it would be good with a larger area of commercial buildings, and he hopes the chair's comments are taken to heart.

(Carl Wagner, Edgehill Rd) Mr. Wagner doesn't support adding density. He says the developers are asking for five floors, and he thinks they need to provide four affordable units, not three. He thinks the ARB should demand strict adherence to the law, even though we shouldn't have it to begin with. He says this building will offend two groups: abutters, and the people who live in it.

(Aram Hollman, Whittemore Ave) Mr. Hollman has concerns about the building and abuse to the process. He thinks the board should deny the building and send the proponent back to draft a new proposal. He thinks the board should deny the transportation demand management and provide at least fifteen parking spaces, until they can come up with a proposal that better fits the neighborhood. He doesn't think the building should be permitted, and doesn't think the LEED checklist is adequate.

(Susan Sylva, Arlington Heights) Ms. Sylva asks which of the parking spaces is handicapped accessible. She asks if there are other handicapped spaces nearby. She asks where the business will load an unload. She thinks people will block the crosswalk.

(Joanne Cullinane, 64 Newland Road) Ms. Cullinane has concerns about scale and safety issues. She thinks it important to have 22.5% affordable units, so the developer should be providing four instead of three. She doesn't think the developer should be able to mix and match.

(Rebecca Gruber, Pleasant St) Ms. Gruber says that this is the type of project she hoped to see when she voted in favor of the MBTA Communities zoning. She says it will result in several smaller, more affordable units.

(Jason Haas, 105 Everett St) Mr. Haas is concerned about shadows. He says there was a lot of discussion about stormwater last time, and whether the culverts would fill up. He doesn't understand where the driveway comes out. He says this looks like a hotel in the middle of a dessert. The MBTA communities zoning is all distributed in two-family areas. He says we can demand something more beautiful.

(Adam Lane, Grafton St) Mr. Lane thinks the building would be easier to take if it were better articulated. He thinks the entrance is clumsy and the signage will be confusingly placed.

(Claudia Hews) Ms. Hews thinks this is a money grab, and we shouldn't have to accept it. She'd like to see a five story building go into one of the big affluent neighborhoods in town. She asks "what do they care?".

(Jack ?) Jack doesn't think the trash situation is firmed up. He asks how that will be handled.

There are no more comments from the public.

(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery would like to discuss how the two bonus provisions apply to this project.

(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak thinks the applicants meet the requirements for the affordable housing bonus. 22.5% of 14 units is 3.15. Section 8.2.3.A of the bylaw says that fractional units of 0.5 or more are to be rounded up; so 0.15 should be rounded down. He feels the requirement is for three affordable units, not four.

(Eugene Benson) Mr. Benson agrees with Mr. Revilak. That part of the affordable housing requirements has been used and interpreted forever. He notes that this is site plan review, and not a special permit. Site plan review means the applicants have the right to build if they meet the requirements.

(Shaina Korman-Houston) Ms. Korman-Houston also agrees. She says the inclusionary zoning part of the bylaw is clear and has been provided consistently over time.

(Kin Lau) Mr. Lau also agrees.

(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery would like to discuss the mixed-use bonus.

(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak says the plan sheets show a gross floor area of 1817 square feet on the first floor, and 1400 square feet of that is commercial space. He thinks that satisfies the 60% floor area requirement. The entire Broadway side is devoted to commercial, and so he thinks they've satisfied the requirement for 80% frontage. When the MBTA Communities working group discussed this provision, there was a lot of discussion about what non-commercial ground floor space we'd have to accommodate; things like a lobby, a mail room, mechanical areas, and bike storage. Podium parking was never part of that discussion, and he thinks the denominator of 60% refers to the interior of the first floor.

(Eugene Benson) Mr. Benson disagrees. He asks "what is the ground floor at street level". The zoning bylaw doesn't define "ground floor", so we have to go to the dictionary for a definition or the state building code. Mr. Benson says that 780 CMR 5.0.3 defines the ground floor as the area between exterior walls within the horizontal projection of the roof. He says they don't meet that requirement and can't come up to the sidewalk. He thinks Mr. Revilak's interpretation will incentivize more parking, and that the applicants need to provide a 15' front setback.

(Shaina Korman-Houston) Mr. Korman-Houston's says her recollection matches Mr. Revilak's, but what we do with that is a separate question.

(Kin Lau) Mr. Lau agrees with Mr. Revilak. He says the intent was 60% of occupied space, and he says we've always calculated the first floor that way. He disagrees with Mr. Benson. He says we don't want to encourage more parking, but we do want to encourage more commercial. Mr. Lau says mixed use is about walkable communities. There are growing pains. MBTA Communities will affect our area over the next 50 years, not just the next year or two.

(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery agrees with Mr. Benson. She asks Ms. Korman-Houston to make a decision.

(Shaina Korman-Houston) Mr. Korman-Houston agrees with Mr. Revilak and Mr. Lau. The intent was to include occupiable space.

(Eugene Benson) Mr. Benson says that some of the board's decisions require four members to be in favor, but this one requires three out of five.

(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery summarizes a list of items to be addressed at the next hearing. These include:

• Addressing discrepancies between the architectural and civil plans
• Providing an updated TDM plan
• Changes to the facade of the building
• Replacing the glass block windows with something else
• Providing detail renderings of the window trimming
• Providing detail of how the transformer will be screening
• Providing a marketing plan for the commercial space, for specific types of uses.
• Looking at different color treatments; the coloration of the building is very dark.

(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak has a comment about parking and TDM. Our bylaw requires one parking space per dwelling, but encourages projects to provide less in conjunction with a TDM plan. The applicants aren't asking for the maximum reduction of 75%, but they're still asking for a substantial reduction. In terms of transit pass subsidy, Mr. Revilak would prefer to see the applicants provide monthly MBTA link passes to each tenant without a parking space, in perpetuity.

The board votes to continue the hearing to Nov 17th, 5--0.

Docket 3857 - 225 Broadway

This hearing involves a four-family home in the Mass Ave Broadway Multifamily district. It was continued from September 8th.

(Claire Ricker, Planning Director) Ms. Ricker says this is a site plan review application to replace a two-family dwelling with a four-family dwelling. The applicant changed designers since the last hearing, and had provided a new set of plans.

(Will Chalfant, Architect) Mr. Chalfant says the parking has moved since the previous iteration. Instead of having a large garage door on the front of the building, parking will be in the rear. The parking spaces are not under the footprint of the building, and each space will have an EV charger. Each unit will have a private outdoor balcony. There's a limited access lift for the first floor unit; the lift can be used to access the basement. They're proposing one two-bedroom and three three-bedroom apartments. Each unit is around 1400 square feet.

The planting plan is layered, to provide color year-round. The first floor is elevated so that the stoop matches other houses on the street. The second floor unit is a flat. The third and fourth floors have units with two-levels each. The building has two staircases.

Condensers will be located on the roof, along with a solar array.

Mr. Chalfant says they've used material changes to break up the massing of the building, and will use trim boards to transition corners. He's trying for a design that's like a traditional triple decker, but it will have four stories. He feels the street will grow into this.

(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery appreciates the details of the first three stories, but says we'll need to talk about the fourth floor. She believes the lift will require a variance from the Massachusetts Architectural Access Board, which could be difficult to get.

(Will Chalfant) Mr. Chalfant says he's gotten similar variances numerous time for 4--6 unit buildings. Each of the end parking spaces has 5' of space alongside it, which makes them convertible without modification.

(Kin Lau) Mr. Lau says the building looks much more contextual, and the first three floors are great. He says the top looks very heavy.

(Shaina Korman-Houston) Ms. Korman-Houston thinks the bike parking is not compliant, and the front entry seems to extend into the setback. She asks what will be between the driveway and the adjacent property.

(Will Chalfant) Mr. Chalfant says he's leaving 11-1/4" for a fence.

(Shaina Korman-Houston) Ms. Korman-Houston asks about snow removal.

(Will Chalfant) Mr. Chalfant says snow will go mostly along the driveway, and there is some space on the left side of the property. He thinks snow can be cleared with a bobcat or a snowblower. Ideally it would be dealt with on site.

(Shaina Korman-Houston) Ms. Korman-Houston asks if the building will be sprinklered.

(Will Chalfant) Mr. Chalfant answers in the affirmative. They'll have a tank system in the front of the building.

(Shaina Korman-Houston) Ms. Korman-Houston says the board will need a solar study.

(Eugene Benson) Mr. Benson suggests looking at the board regulations to see what the requirements are. Mr. Benson asks if unit 1 is the accessible unit.

(Will Chalfant) Mr. Chalfant answers in the affirmative. He says the lift can go up to the first floor, or down to the basement.

There's some back and forth about accessibility requirements.

(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak asks how Mr. Chalfant expects cars to get from the parking area to the street.

(Will Chalfant) Mr. Chalfant says there's enough space to make a three point turn and drive out.

(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak asks how wide the drive isle is.

(Will Chalfant) Mr. Chalfant says it's 20', which is typically for residential settings in the area.

(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak thinks Arlington's bylaw requires 25'.

(Note: this was incorrect. The bylaw requires a 24' drive isle).

Mr. Revilak says the long-term bicycle parking doesn't comply with the bylaw. He says there are two main goals for long-term parking: providing secure storage, and protection from the elements. In the past, the board has approved parking in enclosed rooms, or in storage lockers.

(Will Chalfant) Mr. Chalfant asks if two-level racks are allowed.

(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak says the board has approved these in the past, as long as there's some sort of mechanical assist for the top level. The bylaw doesn't permit racks that require bicycles to be lifted.

The chair opens the hearing for public comment.

(Mike Hogan) Mr. Hogan says this is ridiculous. He says this is planning for the future and not what's in the neighborhood. He says there's no way there will only be four cars, and there's a bus stop right in front of the house. He says there will be eight cars at least, and that four floors is completely out of context. He says this will completely change the neighborhood.

(Claudia Hews) Ms. Hews says the house to the left was built by her uncle, and four stories is wrong. She says it will be detrimental to the neighborhood and four floors aren't necessary. Parking is rough and cars are out there all the time. The four car thing is a joke. The new building is just someone trying to make money. It's wrong. She says the applicants really don't care about neighbors.

(Cathy McFarland, 227 Broadway) Ms. McFarland is concerned about shadows, and asks if a shade study has been done. She asks if venting will be done through the roof, and if trash removal will be done by the town or a private company.

There are no more comments from the public.

(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery says that venting is typically done through the roof.

(Shaina Korman-Houston) Ms. Korman-Houston would like to see before and after shadow studies.

(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery would like Inspectional Services to provide an opinion on the lift, as they administer the accessibility codes.

(Eugene Benson) Mr. Benson advises the applicants to look at section 5.3.9 of the bylaw, which deals with projections into minimum yards.

(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak says the requirement of one parking space per dwelling isn't unique to the MBTA Communities multifamily district. It applies to all residential development in Arlington.

(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery summaries a list of things for the applicant to provide the next time they appear before the board. This includes:

• Having the plans clarify that the lift goes to the basement
• Showing how parking spaces will be modified to create an accessible space
• Adding articulation and contextualization on the top floor.
• Providing a solar study, and a plan that puts solar on 50% of the roof, or an exemption
• Revisions to bicycle storage
• Reviewing the front porch, to ensure it complies with the regulations for projections into minimum yards
• Providing a snow storage an removal plan
• Having venting on the roof, and not on the side of the building.
• Increasing the size of the drive isle.

The board votes to continue the hearing on November 17, 2025, 5--0.

Comprehensive Plan Presentation

(Claire Ricker) Ms. Ricker says the comprehensive planning effort is currently in the plan development stages. Potential strategies will be workshopped at a public meeting on October 30.

Ms. Ricker provides a summary of the process, along with a few highlights. Over 4000 people have visited the comprehensive plan website and 1000 have offered contributions. This indicates that people are aware of and interested in the process. Committee members have held a number of focus groups over the past few months.

Two notable items from the existing conditions analysis: in 2024, Arlington's median home price was $998,000, and 25% of people work from home at least some of the time.

Next steps include: plan development workshops, hosting a drop-in open house, and plan writing. Stantec will produce a draft, which will be reviewed by staff, then the Comprehensive Plan Committee. The final draft will go to the ARB in the spring.

(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak says the 2015 town meeting had a resolution to endorse the master plan. The Redevelopment Board inserted the article and the Select Board reported on it. He asks if the board will file a similar article.

(Claire Ricker) Ms. Ricker says she'll speak to the Select Board administrator, to get a sense of how they might feel about a resolution. Right now, she's more focused on getting the work done rather than meeting a deadline. She says there could be an endorsement article in 2027.

(Eugene Benson) Mr. Benson Benson asks if the board will have an opportunity to see a draft before it's presented to the ARB.

(Claire Ricker) Ms. Ricker thinks the board could provide feedback at the same time as the committee.

(Rachel Zsembery) Ms. Zsembery thinks that early involvement of the board could lead to less rework.

Open Forum

(Jason Haas, 105 Everett St) Mr. Haas says he respects and admires the work that the board does, but the spaces aren't big enough to have mixed use on Broadway. He's concerned about having a corridor of ghost shops and asks the board to reconsider.

New Business

No notes taken.

Meeting adjourned.