UPDATED, Feb. 4: Ways to let Town Meeting members know about warrant articles aimed at increasing housing density consumed most of the Jan. 28 Redevelopment Board meeting. Result: The board approved the plan.
Collectively, the articles seek to change zoning laws to allow more extensive development in all areas zoned R4-R7 and business districts. It is part of a regional housing-production plan of the Metro Mayors Coalition, an organization to which Arlington’s town manager, Adam Chapdelaine, belongs. Arlington’s neighbors, Lexington, Belmont and Winchester, are not members of this coalition and are not making similar zoning changes, Your Arlington reported last October.
The local outreach efforts are expected to take place over the next 2 1/2 months in advance of the April Town Meeting. Two Boston-based regional organizations are aiding in this work. The Metropolitan Area Planning Council supplies technical assistance by furnishing parcel analysis, shadow studies and renderings of possible buildings. Citizens’ Housing and Planning Association supports organizing efforts with personnel, group emails and materials.
Andrew West, assistant Redevelopment Board chair, began the meeting by announcing that there would be no public comment. Explaining, he told the dozen members of the public present: “We are talking about the process of community engagement and outreach about the articles.”
All of the residents remained and sat in silence throughout the 30-minute discussion about outreach.
Among the 12 Arlington residents in attendance were six members of new organization called Arlington Residents for Responsible Development, which has expressed concern about the impact of additional housing density on the environment, transportation, the diminishing tree canopy and the public school system. In addition, they have criticized the plan for not guaranteeing affordable housing.
Reaching Town Meeting members a priority
Jenny Raitt, director of planning and community development, announced “Town Meeting-member outreach would include everything from personal contact to emails to direct mailings.” These targeted emails would occur “as often as possible” to continue to engage all members.
Town Meeting members will vote on the density articles at the April meeting. To pass, the measures require a two-thirds majority.
Raitt informed the board she “cannot email Town Meeting members until “[she] gets the go-ahead from Town Moderator John Leone. “Whenever the contact information is provided,” she continued, they can begin sending email messages to Town Meeting members. According to the Town Meeting link on the town’s website, “Materials to this email list are first reviewed by the Moderator for appropriateness.” See under submission guidelines >>
See the contact list here >>
Community meetings in the planning stage
A second outreach effort will be a series of public meetings. The ARB will hold public hearing on the warrant articles, as required, on March 4, 11, 18, 25 at the Senior Center at 7:30 p.m. Raitt remarked that for these meetings, “We are ideally targeted to Town Meeting members.“ She added that the meetings are open to the public.
Her department is tentatively planning to hold these community meetings at the Brackett, Peirce, Hardy and Thompson schools at the end of March and early April. The School Department has yet to confirm the dates.
In addition, planning expect to meet in April with the Housing Implementation Committee, the Master Plan Implementation Committee, and the Residential Study Group.
Raitt outlines media outreach
The third outreach effort engages multiple media outlets. Raitt enumerated some of them: community newsletters, neighborhood Facebook pages, town website updates, the town notices via email, YourArlington.com and print media, including The Advocate and Globe Local section, in the Sunday newspaper.
The timing of the media campaign will begin immediately for community newsletters, neighborhood Facebook pages and town website updates. Starting in February and continuing until Town Meeting in April, planning will engage news organizations.
Editorials and ACMi interviews will occur later, in March and April. Twitter and Facebook contacts as well town notices via email are planned to start one to two weeks before each public event.
Board members respond to plan
When the meeting was open to board members’ comments, David Watson pointed out that missing from the extensive contact list is the Zoning Bylaw Working Group. Raitt said she would add the group to her list.
Watson also expressed concern about residents who are unable to make evening meetings and recommended that there be ways to include their input.
Kin Lau suggested a meeting of department heads, as was held last year during a Sunday brunch. He speculated that such a meeting this year might avoid “any unintended consequences.” Raitt assured him that that there would be a meeting of department heads devoted to these articles.
West asked whether there would be any opportunity for public discussion in February. Raitt replied, “No.”
West then asked when the warrant articles themselves would be available. Erin Zwirko, assistant director of planning, said they would be published in The Advocate on Feb. 14. A draft version of the articles is available now, and you can see it below
She also said a frequently-asked-questions sheet would be available sooner. Available at the same time, the amendment guides are expected to be on the town’s website and paper copies at the Planning Department.
Overall, board members expressed support for the draft outreach plan before Town Meeting and voted 4 to 0 to approve it, as amended by Watson. Chairman Andrew Bunnell was absent.
In addition, Raitt noted Feb. 4 that while planning is not planning to host a public forum in February, there will be committee meetings (which are open to the public) where the zoning amendments will be discussed. These include the Housing Plan Implementation Committee (Feb. 4) and the Zoning Bylaw Working Group and Residential Study Group (dates to be determined).
Further, at the Jan. 24 meeting cofacilitated by CHAPA and a HPIC member, the group decided to hold a monthly meeting on the fourth Thursday of the month; the next public meeting will be Feb. 28.
Most articles approved Jan. 16
Arlington Residents for Responsible Development, the citizen group, says that zoning articles headed for Town Meeting this spring “appear to seek to radically change the town as we know it.”
Town planners have characterized their proposals as aiming to increase housing density, spur business vibrancy and advance the goals of the 2015 master plan.
Whatever the expectation for this effort at this spring’s Town Meeting, the Redevelopment Board voted Wednesday, Jan. 16, to advance 15 of the articles — and declined to file all but one, H.
The board voted to file the Accessory Dwelling Unit warrant article. There were two votes — one to move the article and a second vote to refer it to the Residential Study Group for review/ input.
If these articles are approved, among the changes in zones 4 through 7 and the business districts would be reducing the requirements for the front, back and side setbacks for four- to six-unit apartment buildings; eliminating usable open green space to be replaced by landscape green space partially fulfilled on balconies and roofs, allow size of town-house structures to be increased; reducing the height buffer area, removing building dimensions and density per lot rules, reducing lot sizes to 1,000 square feet per unit and reducing the number of parking spaces to one space per unit.
List of draft articles
Here are the board’s draft articles, aiming to amend town zoning bylaws (the full draft versions are here >>):
— A: Sign regulations: to update them all.
— B: Flood-plain district: to update the regulations by making minor corrections to be consistent with the town Conservation Commission’s wetlands bylaw.
— C: Inland wetland district: to streamline and update the regulations by making minor corrections to be consistent with the town ConCom’s wetlands bylaw.
— D. Review of religious and educational uses: to clarify the process by which the town reviews religious and educational uses by amending five sections.
— E: Bicycle parking: to update the standards by amending one section.
— F: Density and dimensional requirements for multifamily uses: to change these requirements in the R4, R5, R6 and R7 districts by amending four sections (see the full text).
— G: Density and dimensional requirements for mixed-use: to change the requirements in the B districts by amending four sections (see the full text).
— I: Open-space requirements for multifamily uses and mixed-use: to adjust the requirements to eliminate the requirement for usable open space and increase the requirement for landscaped open space by amending four sections (see the full text).
— J: Townhouses: to clarify references to townhouse and to increase the size of a townhouse structure by amending six sections (see the full text).
— K: Upper-story building step backs: to adjust them beginning at the fourth-story level or 40 feet above grade by amending two sections (see the full text).
— M: Reduced height buffer area: to reduce the area to 25 to 50 feet depending on orientation and to identify the specific requirements to allow application of the higher height limit by amending one section.
— N: Corner lot requirements: to add rules in the R4 through R7 districts and all business districts, which requires the minimum street yard to be equal to the front yard depth as per section 5.3.8.
— O: Apartment building parking requirements: to amend Section 6.1.4. to reduce the minimum number of spaces to one space per dwelling unit.
— P: Parking reduction applicability: to include the R7 District in Section 6.1.5.
— Q: Correcting citation errors: to correct section references and other typographical errors in seven sections see the full text.
Votes unanimous except for 1
The votes for all of these articles were unanimous, except for O, which drew one abstention, Raitt, the director of planning, said Jan. 17.
Nine members of Arlington MA Residents For Responsible Redevelopment were present that night. Bunnell, the board chairman, said the meeting was not a formal hearing and there was to be no public comment. During the meeting, one member of the Residential Study Group successfully made a request that the article on ancillary housing be referred to her group.
At the Jan. 10 Town Hall forum about the zoning articles, an estimated 75 people took part in a series of four feedback sessions. They were invited to react to key aspects of the proposals by placing stickers and written comments showing what they favor — or do not.
As Raitt wrapped up at the end of the forum, Asia Kepka, a member of Residents for Responsible Redevelopment, got up in front as people milled about and got ready to leave. Kepka decried the lack of public-comment period.
“This is absurd,” she said. “People who are residents don’t have a chance to speak out.” Some applause followed.
Some background
Work on the articles had taken place last fall, Raitt said Jan. 17, before the initial introductions, Dec. 13, followed by the Redevelopment Board four days later. Read summaries about both here >>
For background about the proposed articles, Raitt pointed to the involvement of the Master Plan Implementation Committee.
A midyear update dated, Dec. 5, 2018, posted on the town’s website, says under “Housing and Residential Development”says under “Housing and Residential Development” that a subcommittee of Redevelopment Board, implementation committee members and planning have been working with Metropolitan Area Planning Council on zoning amendments related to multifamily uses as recommended by the Housing Production Plan, approved in 2016.
Minutes from the master-plan committee’s one meeting held last fall had not yet been posted. The last available minutes, dated June 27, 2018, provide clues the articles moving toward Town Meeting.
Jan. 12, 2019: Zoning for sustainability, resilience in Arlington
Jan. 7, 2019: Proposed warrant articles for spring Town Meeting
Dec. 18, 2018: New zoning proposals eye density, vibrant corrido
Oct. 2, 2018: Metro Boston leaders seek 185,000 new housing units
This news summary by freelancer Jo Anne Preston, with Bob Sprague contributing, was published Saturday, Feb. 2, 2019, and updated Feb. 3 to add this note:
Preston has publicly questioned the zoning proposals at meetings and on social media. This summary reflects an impartial report.
It was updated Feb. 4, to add further details about communications.
