ARFRR, 700 Mass Avenue, Arlington, MA (2026)

03/22/2026

Important upcoming meetings THIS WEEK for the public:

1. MONDAY - The Arlington Heights Action Plan Committee is planning to introduce "one zone" for all the current areas of the Heights, which is sure to be pro-density, anti-open space/trees and parking. The public Heights Business District forum meeting, where AHAPC will show images to get public support for their zoning changes is to be April 1st .

The committee meets to review work to date, and plan their April 1 Open House, in person only:
Date: Monday, March 23, 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Location: Town Hall Annex, 1st Floor Conference Room

2.. THIS WEEK - There is a big Master Plan update “open house style” public meeting, advertised as one of the last opportunities to provide feedback. Supposedly the Draft plan will be released early in the week of the 23rd. This is the re-writing of our town’s existing “Master Plan”. The problem with the proposed “Amp Up” changes is that they introduce a plan of increased urbanization and reduction of the current plan’s statements of support for Arlington’s diverse housing stock and varied spaces. .https://www.arlingtonma.gov/Home/Components/Calendar/Event/39307/3795?backlist=%2fdepartments%2fplanning-community-development
3. MONDAY ARB - Reviewing proposed zoning changes - Arlington Redevelopment Board, in person onlyDate: Monday, March 23rd, 7:00 PM
Location: Senior Center, 27 Maple St.

Public comment will be allowed at the very end and after each warrant Article presentation - and it’s important for the public to send comments by email to the ARB for inclusion in Monday’s online Agenda under Correspondence Received. You can send public comments until Monday at noon to the email addresses down below.
See links here to the Agenda (a new system):
https://arlingtonma.primegov.com/Portal/Meeting?meetingTemplateId=1897
1. What to support on Monday’s ARB Agenda:

ARTICLE 53: ADMINISTRATIVE CLARIFICATION TO BONUS PROVISIONS FOR MULTI-FAMILY DEVELOPMENT

Description: This clarification would add clear wording to the effect that “ground floor at street level” refers to the entire square footage of the ground floor, inclusive of all enclosed and non-enclosed spaces under the second floor. This clarification is necessary to make it clear that, when calculating “60% of the ground floor at street level” for the purpose of determining whether the proposed commercial space merits a commercial bonus of both extra floors and a zero setback, one cannot substitute any reference to unrelated terms or calculate ‘ground floor at street level’ so as to exclude various areas of the ground floor from those calculations before determining how much commercial space is required.

This change uses state Building code to clarify what ground floor at street level means and ensures that commercial space calculations come first, not last, during bonus deliberations. The change ensures that commercial space used to get a bonus is not an afterthought, but a meaningful, viable contribution to our Town’s commercial tax base and to neighborhood vitality. It prevents the misapplication of unrelated definitions which create a situation with no predictability, no proportionality, and no minimum size for the commercial space required of a developer to get the most generous of our three optional bonuses.
Read an Op-Ed by the Authors of Article 53 here:
https://yourarlington.com/2026/03/commentary-article-53-03172026/

ARTICLE 55: ADMINISTRATIVE CLARIFICATION TO BONUS PROVISIONS FOR MULTI-FAMILY DEVELOPMENT
Ask Aram for his summary, or if he wants you to use his motion description submitted to planning, which is this:

Comments: Applies to construction of multi-family housing (6 or more units) in the Mass. Ave. / Broadway Multi-Family overlay district. The existing language specifies that “at least” a certain percentage of units must be affordable. This sentence clarifies and makes explicit the method for calculating the total number of affordable units required for a floor bonus, to ensure that, “at least” that many units are affordable. Repeating the sentence makes it explicitly clear that the calculation applies to both 1- and 2-floor bonuses, as the latter is possible on Mass Avenue.

This clarification is consistent with and makes clear that the goal of this bonus is a substantial and meaningful increase in Affordable housing production in Arlington. It is consistent with both the letter and the intent of the bonus rules as passed by Town Meeting in 2023. Because this is a bonus, not an intrinsic part of base MBTA Overlay zoning, it should require a significant sacrifice on the part of the developer, in this case a higher standard of Affordable housing production, albeit only slightly higher. For a first one-floor bonus, in roughly half of all cases, it would require 1 more Affordable housing unit than what is currently required. For a second one-floor bonus, in roughly one-quarter of all cases, it would require 1 more Affordable housing unit than what is currently required.
What you can do before Monday’s ARB Meeting:
You can weigh in on these items, noting you would like the comments included with the ARB’s meeting materials, to:
ARB members:
Rachel Zsembery
Stephen Revilak, vice-chair
Kin Lau, chair
Shaina Korman-Houston
Vincent Baudoin
Be sure to cc:
Claire Ricker, Director of Planning and Community Development ;
Jennifer Joslyn-Siemitakoski, admin. asst.

You can find contacts for the ARB and all Town Officials (your elected officials are your Town Meeting Members and the 5 Select Board Members who should also hear from you) here: https://contacts.arfrr.org/

ARFRR Steering Committee
www.arfrr.org
[email protected]

ARFRR's Facebook discussion group
https://www.facebook.com/groups/ARFRRgroup
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https://docs.google.com/document/d/14tyiBtR9GfiJhcHNVjNxgZ8E9r-hWMA3yYqATWMCaqA/edit?tab=t.0

Important upcoming meetings for the public: 1. The Arlington Heights Action Plan Committee is planning to introduce "one zone" for all the current areas of the heights, which is sure to be pro-density, anti-open space/trees and parking. The committee meets to plan their forum next Monday Ma...

03/15/2026

Two important things this week:
Arlington Redevelopment Board - THIS Monday, March 16th, 7:00 PM - at the Senior Center and...

CANDIDATE NIGHT/ELECTION - VOTE for Town Meeting Candidates who will support responsible redevelopment, open space, affordability and the Arlington you love!
Saturday March 28 is ELECTION DAY. It’s important because your vote for Town Meeting Members helps determine how Town Meeting will decide on major changes like The MBTA density overlay, open space protection and zoning changes, such as the Articles below. It’s a good idea to attend Town Meeting Candidate Night THIS WEDNESDAY March 18, 7:30pm-9:30pm at the Town Hall.n Early voting starts March 18 at the Town Hall during normal business hours. See link: https://www.arlingtonma.gov/Home/Components/Calendar/Event/38693/2643?backlist=%2ftown-governance%2felections-voting

Arlington Redevelopment Board - THIS Monday, March 16th, 7:00 PM - at the Senior Center

This is an in-person only meeting at the Senior/Community Center at 27 Maple Street in Arlington Center

Public comment will be allowed in the open forum session and on the warrant Articles themselves - and it’s important for the public to send comments by email to the ARB for inclusion in Monday’s online Agenda under Correspondence Received. You can send public comments until Monday at noon to the email addresses below.

Here is the Agenda (a new system) for March 15:
https://arlingtonma.primegov.com/Portal/Meeting?meetingTemplateId=1854&utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery

Important Items on the ARB Agenda Monday:

Public Hearing: Warrant Articles for 2026 Town Meeting
See this document for Arlington’s planning department review of the actual changes proposed by each Article:
2026-03-16 DPCD Memo to ARB - Articles 49,50,51,54,58

ARTICLE 49 – HOME OCCUPATIONS
To see if the Town will vote to amend the Zoning Bylaw, to add, modify, or remove definitions and regulations related to Home Occupations, to create the opportunity for running larger, and more types of Home Occupations; or take any action related thereto.
Article 49 - Home Occupations - presentation

Comment - Article 49 was submitted by Fletcher/Greenspon. It seeks to allow business uses in residential areas, despite rejection of this general idea at 2025 Town Meeting for many reasons. Art 49 would allow more home business uses in all R districts without a special permit.

This would allow in all residential areas: Allows one non-resident employee, Allows business activity outside the dwelling (on the lot), allows significant advertising signage, Allows on-site sale (retail) of goods produced there Allows up to 25% of the home (max 600 sq ft), Allows customers (8am–6pm), Removes the prohibition on several business types indirectly and Explicitly states parking is not required, creating potential parking hassles and traffic..
Art 49 allows in all residential zones: customers, exterior signage, deliveries, employees, retail uses, businesses without on-site parking with the potential results of parking spillover, delivery vans, neighborhood congestion. There is enforcement ambiguity. Terms like:“vehicular traffic normally expected in a residential neighborhood” and “not detrimental to neighborhood” mean that the rules proposed are subjective and difficult to enforce.
This may blur the line between residential and commercial uses by allowing customer traffic, deliveries, and employees in residential neighborhoods without requiring off-street parking. This leads to quasi-commercial activity in residential areas and could create enforcement challenges if the scale of activity exceeds what is allowed as “normally expected” in a residential neighborhood.

ARTICLE 50, AMENDMENT TO ARLINGTON ZONING MAP
To see if the Town will vote to adopt changes to the Arlington Zoning Map that would rezone a certain parcel in the R-1 District, specifically, a portion of 0 Lot Concord Turnpike, Arlington, Massachusetts, assessor’s parcel identification number 185.0-0001-0005.0, R-6; or take any action related thereto.

ARTICLE 51, AMENDMENT TO ZONING BYLAW TABLE OF DIMENSIONAL AND DENSITY REGULATIONS
To see if the Town will vote to amend Section 5.4.2.A Dimensional and Density Regulations, of the Arlington Zoning Bylaw to add the following under R6: “Assisted living residence on more than 20,000 square feet – 50 feet height; 3 stories; 1.2 FAR”; or take any action related thereto.

Article 50-51 - St Camillus - presentation
Comment - Article 50/51: Art 50 would rezone the St Camillus parcel slated for redevelopment from R1 to R6. Art 51, related to 50, would change dimensional regulations for R6 assist. living uses.

Art 50 would rezone approximately 4.6 acres of land near Concord Turnpike from the low-density R1 district to the higher-density R6 district. Rezoning land in this way represents a significant shift away from the existing residential zoning framework and opens the door to much larger and denser development than was originally contemplated for the area. Rezoning a single parcel can also set a precedent that encourages additional requests for similar zoning changes nearby, potentially leading to gradual increases in density that cumulatively alter the character of the surrounding neighborhoods.

Art 51 would allow relatively large assisted living buildings in R6 zones, with heights up to 50 feet, three stories, and a floor-area ratio of 1.2. While the need for senior housing is understandable, these dimensional allowances could result in buildings that are substantially larger than nearby residential structures. It will be important to learn that the proposed zoning change would not allow much larger structures or more destructive uses in the existing neighborhood than the applicant is currently projecting in their long term care facility proposal.

ARTICLE 54, TRAFFIC VISIBILITY
To see if the Town will vote to amend Section 5.3.12.A of the Town's Zoning Bylaws to permit buildings, structures or vegetation across street corners if it can be shown that they will not restrict visibility in such a way as to hinder the safe transit of a vehicle through the subject intersection; or take any action related thereto.
Article 54 - Traffic Visibility - presentation

Comment - Article 54: Art 54 would allow fences, shrubs, buildings “across street corners” if they don’t reduce visibility. This proposal was rejected recently by Arlington Town Meeting. The concern here is that safety will be jeopardized - and what is the need for changing existing safety-ensuring corner lot laws at this time? The proponent, Caitlin Monaghan , writes:

Art 54 proposes allowing taller fences within the corner sight triangle if they are mostly transparent and do not obstruct drivers’ visibility. While the intent is to allow practical fencing for safety and property protection, there is concern that loosening the current restrictions could create enforcement challenges over time. If fences become partially blocked by vegetation or are not maintained properly, they could still reduce visibility at intersections. This change represents a relaxation of an existing safety-oriented zoning rule.

ARTICLE 58, FRONTAGE (FAÇADE) BUILD-OUT RATIO FOR SINGLE-FAMILY DWELLINGS
To see if the Town will vote to amend the Zoning Bylaw to regulate frontage (façade) build-out for single family dwellings to no more than 60% of the width of the frontage, measured along the front lot line within the required setback, in order to address building massing along residential streets, with allowance for relief through the special permit process; or take any action related thereto.

Comment - Article 58: Art 58 would require single family facades to be no more than 60% of lot frontage. It is proposed by Jennifer Cutraro and Fusun Yaman-Sirin. This seems like a reasonable and timely proposal. From the proponents:

“This amendment establishes a frontage-buildout standard to preserve pedestrian character, allow space
for street trees and landscaping, and prevent excessive façade build-out that reduces sidewalk planting
and diminishes walkability. The goal is modest and focused: to preserve pedestrian amenity and
neighborhood scale while allowing reasonable design flexibility by Special Permit. It also aligns with a
similar amendment passed by the Newton City Council in October 2025 with a goal of preventing
oversized structures from overwhelming abutting homes and the overall streetscape.”

What you can do before Monday’s ARB Meeting:
You can weigh in on these items, noting you would like the comments included with the ARB’s meeting materials, to:
ARB members:
Rachel Zsembery
Stephen Revilak, vice-chair
Kin Lau, chair
Shaina Korman-Houston
Vincent Baudoin

Claire Ricker, Director of Planning and Community Development ;
Jennifer Joslyn-Siemitakoski, admin. asst.

You can find contacts for the ARB and all Town Officials (your elected officials are your Town Meeting Members and the 5 Select Board Members who should also hear from you) here: https://contacts.arfrr.org/

ARFRR Steering Committee
www.arfrr.org
[email protected]

ARFRR's Facebook discussion group
https://www.facebook.com/groups/ARFRRgroup
Didn’t display correctly? - read this post online:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1wECH0U8EjzmuKx8b75qEn8RNnyzDpCnYJcov6ReIOk8/edit?tab=t.0

CANDIDATE NIGHT/ELECTION - VOTE for Town Meeting Candidates who will support responsible redevelopment, open space, affordability and the Arlington you love! Saturday March 28 is ELECTION DAY. It’s important because your vote for Town Meeting Members helps determine how Town Meeting will dec...

03/01/2026

Arlington Redevelopment Board - Monday, March 2, at 7:30 PM - at the Senior Center
This is an in-person only meeting at the Senior/Community Center at 27 Maple Street in Arlington Center

Public comment will be allowed - and it’s important for the public to send comments by email to the ARB for inclusion in Monday’s online Agenda under Correspondence Received. You can send public comments until Monday at noon to the email addresses below.

Here is the Agenda (a new system) for March 2:
https://arlingtonma.primegov.com/Portal/Meeting?meetingTemplateId=1588

Important Items on the ARB Agenda Monday
Of interest on Monday: Two proposed projects will be the test cases for how bonus floors will be awarded in the new MBTA act overlay and huge new structures with inadequate parking and attributes. Also to be discussed: continuing work to correct 455 Mass Ave (where Leader Bank at Medford street was) compliance with Town Boards’ design approvals and a review of the zoning Warrant Articles the Town proposes.

1: 126 - 128 Broadway - An enormous MBTA density overlay building, out of scale with the neighborhood and with continuing potential problems in parking, trash, incorrect use of ‘developer bonuses’. The applicant previously proposed a 14-unit building with 5 stories on a corner lot at Everett St. that currently contains a small 2-family house. Neighbors turned out to cite issues with the building’s size, inadequate trash capacity, parking, drainage, pedestrian safety, but also to demand that our Bylaw’s clear bonus rule laws not be bent to allow a fifth floor and zero setback illegitimately. The plans met neither requirement for either a commercial bonus or the Affordability bonus.

Now a new proposal includes a much larger structure on the 126 and the adjoining 128 Broadway properties with continued inadequacies and much too large a structure. Here are the documents submitted:
126 & 128 Broadway - SPR application - rec'd 1-12-26
126 & 128 Broadway - dimensional table - rec'd 2-3-26
126 & 128 Broadway - impact statement - rec'd 2-11-26
126 & 128 Broadway - Architectural Plans - 2-11-26
126 & 128 Broadway - Landscape Plan - 2-10-26
126 & 128 Broadway - Affidavit - Letter of Site Control - 1-29-26
126 & 128 Broadway - LEED checklist 8-7-25
126 & 128 Broadway - Letter re Bonus Floor 1-25-26
126 & 128 Broadway - TDM Plan 1-5-26
126 & 128 Broadway - Letter re Marketing Plan 1-25-26
126 & 128 Broadway - Shadow Study - 2-11-26
126 & 128 Broadway - Solar Assessment 12-29-25
126 & 128 Broadway - Snow Management Plan 11-6-25
126 & 128 Broadway - Trash Management Plan 1-26-26
126 & 128 Broadway - Photometric Plan 2-7-26
126 & 128 Broadway - Civil Plan 02-06-26
126 & 128 Broadway - Stormwater Narrative 2-12-26
Docket 3892 126 & 128 Broadway - SPR Legal Notice 2-5, 2-12
SPR memo Docket 3892 126 & 128 Broadway - 2026-02-26

Image from applicant’s Architectural Plans - 126 - 128 Broadway

2: Another 14-unit/5-story proposal for 259 Broadway
Following the lead of 126-128 Broadway (the first, aka the test case for MBTA act overlay bonuses), the developer of 259 Broadway ( St) proposes a 14-unit 5-story building with little to no parking. The proposal suffers from the same lack of attention to parking (also only 5 spots for 14 units), trash, neighbors, safety, traffic, and it also fails to even meet the “at least 60% of the ground floor at Street level must be commercial” threshold set by our town laws to get a zero setback and a fifth floor bonus.

Document Links:
259 Broadway - Dimensional and Parking Information - UPDATED rec'd 2-12-26
259 Broadway - Plans & Drawings - UPDATED 2-23-26
259 Broadway - Landscape Plan - UPDATED 01-27-26
259 Broadway - Civil Drawings - UPDATED 02-11-26
259 Broadway - TDM Plan - UPDATED 02-04-26
259 Broadway - Solar Assessment - UPDATED 02-03-26
259 Broadway - Photometric - UPDATED 02-04-26
259 Broadway - Vehicle Turning Radius & Parking Access Study - 2-24-26
259 Broadway - Response Memo - 02-23-26
SPR memo Docket 259 Broadway 02-26-2026

3. 455 Mass Ave - At the corner of Mass Ave and Medford streets in the historic center of Arlington, an applicant failed to comply with Arlington board approved plans and is continuing to rectify the situation:
Public Hearing: Docket 3673, 455 Mass Ave
Special Permit Hearing (continued from February 9, 2026)
Document Links:

455 Mass Ave - Rendering Facade - 2026-2-13
2026-02-19 EDR Memo Docket 455 Mass Ave

4. The zoning Warrant Articles proposed by the Town
Most of these are administrative changes or those required by Commonwealth law changes, but it will be good to hear what the Town Planning and other groups say on their proposals. The link for all is at the the bottom:

6.
Public Hearing: Warrant Articles for 2026 Town Meeting
ARTICLE 39 – ADMINISTRATIVE CLARIFICATION TO ACCESSORY DWELLING UNITS
To see if the Town will vote to amend Section 5.9.2.B.(1)(e)(iii), Accessory Dwelling Units, Requirements, of the Zoning Bylaw, to revise a requirement for permitting certain Accessory Dwelling Units as-of-right so that a finding, not a special permit, is required in the circumstance; or take any action related thereto.

ARTICLE 40 – ZONING MAP CHANGE REQUIREMENTS
To see if the Town will vote to amend Section 1.5, Amendment of the Zoning Bylaw, to revise the requirement in the second sentence of the section so that copies of the petition must be sent by first class mail, postage prepaid, rather than by registered or certified mail, for zoning map changes; or take any action related thereto.

ARTICLE 41 – ADMINISTRATIVE CORRECTION TO MULTI-FAMILY HOUSING OVERLAY DISTRICT STANDARDS
To see if the Town will vote to amend Section 5.8.4.G., Affordable Housing, of the Zoning Bylaw to remove the second sentence of the section; or take any action related thereto.

ARTICLE 47 – DEFINITION OF BUILDING HEIGHT
To see if the Town will vote to amend Section 2, Definitions, and Section 5.3.20, Maximum Height Exceptions, of the Zoning Bylaw, for buildings in the Floodplain Overlay District; or take any action related thereto.

ARTICLE 48 – RESIDENTIAL PARKING
To see if the Town will vote to amend Section 6.1.10.A.(1) and (2), Location of Parking Spaces, Parking in Residential Districts, of the Zoning Bylaw, to clarify that it includes the Multi-Family Housing Overlay Districts; or take any action related thereto.
MATERIALS FOR THE TOWN PROPOSED ZONING WARRANT ARTICLES:
2026-02-23 DPCD Memo to ARB - Articles 39,40,41,47,48

What you can do before Monday’s ARB Meeting:
You can weigh in on these items, noting you would like the comments included with the ARB’s meeting materials, to:
ARB members:
Rachel Zsembery
Stephen Revilak, vice-chair
Kin Lau, chair
Shaina Korman-Houston
Vincent Baudoin

Claire Ricker, Director of Planning and Community Development ;
Jennifer Joslyn-Siemitakoski, admin. asst.

You can find contacts for the ARB and all Town Officials (your elected officials are your Town Meeting Members and the 5 Select Board Members who should also hear from you) here: https://contacts.arfrr.org/

ARFRR Steering Committee
www.arfrr.org
[email protected]

ARFRR's Facebook discussion group
https://www.facebook.com/groups/ARFRRgroup
Didn’t display correctly? - read this post online:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1j2nCY6cXI374nap8ReTfNAuVKX4-gf5CmJesYGUR_bc/edit?tab=t.0

ARFRR Feb 29 email: Arlington Redevelopment Board Monday Meeting - 126 Broadway is back, other items Arlington Redevelopment Board - Monday, March 2, at 7:30 PM - at the Senior Center This is an in-person only meeting at the Senior/Community Center at 27 Maple Street in Arlington Center Publi...

01/10/2026

Arlington Redevelopment Board Monday Meeting to hear many projects of great concern

Arlington Redevelopment Board - Monday Meeting, Jan. 12, at 7:30 PM - at the Senior Center
This is an in-person only meeting at the Senior/Community Center at 27 Maple Street in Arlington Center

The Arlington Redevelopment Board meets Monday, Jan 12, at 7:30pm. Public comment will be allowed - and it’s important for the public to send comments by email to the ARB for inclusion in Monday’s online Agenda under Correspondence Received. You can send public comments until Monday at noon to the email addresses below.

Three Important Items on the ARB Agenda Monday
There are three items of great importance to our neighborhoods: A 14-unit/5-story development at 126 Broadway, the test case for how bonus floors will be awarded in the new MBTA act overlay; Another 14-unit/5-story proposal for 259 Broadway which bends our Bylaw’s new bonus rules just as 126 Broadway does; and a newly proposed Affordable Housing Overlay.

1: 14-unit/5-story development at 126 Broadway The applicant has proposed a 14-unit building with 5 stories on a corner lot at Everett St. that currently contains a small 2-family house. Neighbors have turned out in great numbers to cite issues with the building’s size, its inadequate trash capacity, inadequate parking, drainage, pedestrian safety, but also to demand that our Bylaw’s clear bonus rule laws not be bent to allow a fifth floor and zero setback illegitimately. The plans met neither requirement for either a commercial bonus (requires “at least 60% of the ground floor at Street level” to be commercial) or the Affordability bonus (requires that “at least 22.5% of total of all units” be Affordable).

2: Another 14-unit/5-story proposal for 259 Broadway
Following the lead of 126 Broadway (the first, aka the test case for MBTA act overlay bonuses), the developer of 259 Broadway ( St) proposes a 14-unit 5-story building with little to no parking. The proposal suffers from the same lack of attention to parking (also only 5 spots for 14 units), trash, neighbors, safety, traffic, and it also fails to even meet the “at least 60% of the ground floor at Street level must be commercial” threshold set by our town laws to get a zero setback and a fifth floor bonus.

3: Proposed Affordable Housing Overlay
An “Affordable Housing Overlay District” (AHOD) Committee will present its proposals for major changes across Arlington at the ARB meeting also. The AHOD Committee has hand-selected over 60 parcels all around Town to place in a new overlay where developers would be able to propose to erect buildings with no unit maximums, no open space, inadequate parking and minimal building setback requirements. The overlay would erode our business/industrial and single and two-family residential districts. The Committee did not include broad stakeholders in its planning and proposals. If the ARB provides approval for the AHOD, it increases the likelihood that Town Meeting vote could approve it in April. Here is more information on the AHOD in a recent ARFRR blog post: https://blog-arfrr.blogspot.com/2026/01/another-housing-overlay-proposed-ahod.html

What you can do before Monday’s ARB Meeting:
It's important that you weigh in on these monumental changes to our neighborhoods, , please email comments, noting you would like the comments included with the ARB’s meeting materials, to:
ARB members:
Rachel Zsembery, chair
Stephen Revilak
Kin Lau
Shaina Korman-Houston
Eugene Benson
Claire Ricker, Director of Planning and Community Development ;
Jennifer Joslyn-Siemitakoski, admin. asst.

You can find contacts for the ARB and all Town Officials (your elected officials are your Town Meeting Members and the 5 Select Board Members who should also hear from you) here: https://contacts.arfrr.org/

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ARFRR Jan 10 email: Arlington Redevelopment Board Monday Meeting to hear many projects of great concern Arlington Redevelopment Board - Monday Meeting, Jan. 12, at 7:30 PM - at the Senior Center This is an in-person only meeting at the Senior/Community Center at 27 Maple Street in Arlington Cen...

12/15/2025

TOMORROW: Housing Overlay group releases details of AHO - Enormous buildings little parking no open space - Monday Dec 15 6pm Zoom link to hear and have your say

1 - Housing Overlay group releases details and list of AHO zoning overlay locations - 91 foot high buildings, half a car per unit, commercial allowed(!)
The next meeting of the AHOD Committee is TOMORROW Monday, Dec 15 at 6:00 pm on Zoom. This is your chance to hear their draft proposals and to have your say about changes that would be among the most dramatic zoning changes in Arlington. It’s worth recalling that 2025 Town Meeting did NOT vote on Article 41 - the AHO and the Redevelopment Board did not support the overlay last year.

Here is the Zoom registration link: https://town-arlington-ma-us.zoom.us/meeting/register/2r8dl9t2SqyKbv1OQv2K4Q #/registration

AHOD has released a list of proposed properties in the AHO zoning, including churches and open spaces:
https://www.arlingtonma.gov/.../76289/639002043959470000
AHOD has proposed a Warrant Article with enormous buildings, little protection for abutters or for residents: half a car parking, no open space or trees required etc.
https://www.arlingtonma.gov/.../76291/639002049197500000

Here’s the summary of what the above proposed Warrant Article is proposing:
The idea is to allow certain kinds of multi-family housing (or group homes, assisted living, etc.) as-of-right (meaning no special permit needed) on parcels within these overlay districts — instead of requiring a special zoning variance or conditional use permit.

There are two overlay types proposed:

“Neighborhood Affordable Housing (NAH)” Overlay — with lower height limits (proposed: up to 4 stories / 52 ft) and larger setbacks (front yard at least 15 ft, side yards at least 5 ft each, rear yard 20 ft)

“Corridor Affordable Housing (CAH)” Overlay — intended more for major streets/arterials like central corridors (e.g. a street like a “Mass Ave / Broadway”-type), with higher potential building: proposed up to 7 stories / 91 ft, front yard setback 10 ft, side yards 5 ft each, rear yard 20 ft.
Under the proposed Overlay rules, many existing zoning restrictions would be waived or made optional: in particular — no minimum lot size per unit, no minimum landscaped or “usable open space”, no maximum Floor Area Ratio or lot coverage, and many of the usual spacing or building-separation rules would not apply.

Parking requirements would also be significantly reduced under the Overlay: half a parking space – at most one parking space for every two dwelling units would be required — which is much less than a typical 1:1 parking-per-unit rule. Compact-car parking spaces are allowed for up to 50% of spaces.

The Overlay includes requirements for only site-plan review by the Arlington Redevelopment Board (ARB), which would assess lighting, landscaping, buffers, architectural style, open space/buffers, etc. The essential thing here is that these projects would be allowed by-right, without special permits and the normal review process.

The proposed overlay requires that 100% of units be designated “affordable” (per the Town’s definition) for projects using this overlay, but seems to allow developers to build in mixed use.
For mixed-use projects (e.g. residential + ground-floor commercial or community space), the overlay allows the front-yard setback requirement to go to 0 ft (i.e. building could come up to the sidewalk / street).
Carl Wagner
www.arfrr.org
[email protected]

ARFRR's Facebook discussion group
https://www.facebook.com/groups/ARFRRgroup
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