Arlington Redevelopment Board - Jan 26th, 2026
Meeting held via remote participation. Materials were available from https://arlingtonma.primegov.com/Portal/Meeting?meetingTemplateId=795.
We just had a large snowstorm and town offices were closed for the day. The board use tonight's meeting to continue the three hearings that were scheduled for this evening, and to discuss which articles to advance to town meeting.
Docket 3869 - 1315--1319 Mass Ave
The board votes to continue the hearing to Feb 2, 2026, 5--0.
Docket 3882 - 1398 Mass Ave
The board votes to continue the hearing to Feb 2, 2026, 5--0.
Docket 3883 - 840--846 Mass Ave
The board votes to continue the hearing to Feb 2, 2026, 5--0.
Warrant Articles
The board votes to file nine warrant articles for the spring town meetings. Two articles -- Article K and Article L -- will not advance.
Article K proposed to give the ARB jurisdiction over special permits in the industrial district. Mr. Benson proposed this, feeling that the jurisdictional split between the ARB and ZBA didn't make sense. Other board members didn't feel a compelling need to change the current jurisdiction.
Article L proposed a change to the mixed use bonus requirements in the Mass Ave/Broadway Multi-family district. It would require ground floor commercial spaces to be at least 1700 square feet, or 60% of the interior of the ground floor, whichever is greater. Mr. Benson proposed this article with the intention of clarifying the mixed use bonus provisions for the Mass Ave/Broadway multi-family district.
Mr. Lau thinks 1700 square feet is too large, and suggests 1200 square feet instead.
Ms. Zsembery isn't comfortable with either the 1200 or 1700 square foot thresholds. She'd prefer to leave the square footage out of the warrant article language so the board could have a more thorough discussion. She thinks the bonus provisions should have a high bar.
Mr. Revilak also prefers to leave the square footage out of the warrant article language. He recalls surveys and public outreach efforts done for the MBTA Communities zoning. Residents expressed a desire to see more commercial vitality, more affordable housing, and more sustainability -- the three MBTA communities bonuses were taken directly from those preferences. He feels the bonuses are as much for the community as they are for the builder, and doesn't want to see the requirements set so high that they can't be used.
Mr. Revilak notes that Cambridge adopted new zoning for Mass Ave last month. Residential uses -- apartment buildings -- are allowed by right between Porter Square and the Alewife Brook Parkway. They also have something called "Residential use with ground-story active use", which is very similar to Arlington's mixed-use bonus for the Mass Ave/Broadway district. Their requirement is for an active use on 60% of the interior of the ground story, within 50' of a primary street. Mr. Revilak feels that Cambridge's Community Development Department is thoughtful, well-resourced, and has a track record of developing commercial zoning that works.
Ms. Korman Houston feels that 60% of the ground floor may be too high of a bar in some cases.
Open Forum
(Joanne Cullinane, Newland Rd) Ms. Cullinane says the bylaw has bonus requirements that say 60% of the ground floor, and she can't find any mention of GFA. She feels that a square foot minimum can't override the 60%. She thinks bonuses should have a high bar, and that Arlington needs large storefronts, not small ones.
(Aram Hollman, Whittemore Ave) Mr. Hollman agrees with the previous commenter. He thinks the bonus requirements should have a high bar. He's concerned that the ground floor will reduce the amount of commercial space. He'd like to see minimum sizes for individual storefronts. He says that Arlington has lots of vacant shoe-box sized shops. He's concerned that businesses in those spaces won't be viable. He'd like a minimum size, but isn't sure how to deal with parking.
New Business
(Clair Ricker, Planning Director) Ms. Ricker says the attorney general's office has approved the remainder of Arlington's zoning articles, and the changes have been incorporated into the zoning bylaw.
(Eugene Benson, ARB) Mr. Benson's term expires at the end of January, but he's willing to stay on until Feb 9th, if staff needs that time to find a replacement.
(Steve Revilak, ARB) Mr. Revilak asks staff if they've had any inquiries about 78 Bow Street. 78 Bow Street is in one of our industrial districts; Taylor Rental currently operates there. Mr. Revilak says the site recently changed hands for $1,500,000.
(Claire Ricker) Ms. Ricker says her office hasn't gotten any inquiries about the site.
(Steve Revilak) Mr. Revilak has mentioned Cambridge's Mass Ave Planning Study in the past. Their city council adopted new zoning in December, which covers Mass Ave from Harvard Square to the Alewife Brook Parkway. He says that Cambridge's goals were similar to what the board is interested in doing for Mass Ave in Arlington, and he encourages board members to have a look at their ordinance.
Meeting adjourned.