2020: The Very Bad Year - and we're just talking about redevelopment

Welcome to 2021, which we all hope will be a lot better than 2020.  Here’s a review of that memorable year, from Arlington Residents For Responsible Redevelopment: 

Density, Bylaw Votes, and Town Meeting

• After years of attempts, the developer lobby was finally able to abolish the required 2/3rds supermajority vote for zoning bylaws, replacing it with a simple 51% majority vote -- but only for those laws that facilitate the state-wide pro-density/urbanization push that developers have been hoping for.  The 2/3rds vote will still be necessary to reverse any zoning bylaws passed under the new law, making it extremely difficult to change course once negative results become apparent.  Governor Baker is expected to sign this into law in early January.  

• Arlington’s April Town Meeting was limited to essential business only, as we sank into Covid-19.

   

• Several pro-density citizen's Articles were carried forward to Special Town Meeting in November, as an all-out attack on the single-family home.  Town officials appeared to look favorably on these, including an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) proposal lacking in any protections for neighbors, and despite the fact that ADUs were rejected by Town Meeting a year ago.  Worse, a proposal to remove all single-family zoning received serious attention, and was falsely touted as redressing historical racism.   

 These Articles were defeated at Special Town Meeting, based on their lack of merit.  Density    Articles may come back in 2021, as the Town Manager and Planning Department support urbanization and greater density for Arlington.  They have even incorrectly linked such steps with fighting racism, despite research showing that density without significant affordability requirements shuts out minority and lower- and moderate-income residents.

 As always, ARFRR is working to let the public know about these and other proposals, which threaten affordability, climate resilience, and more. 

Redevelopment Board and Zoning Board of Appeals News

• The former chair of the Arlington Redevelopment Board (ARB) resigned and Member Rachel Zsembery became Chair.  A new member, Dr. Katie Levine-Einstein, was appointed.  Dr. Levine-Einstein has produced research and a book, "Neighborhood Defenders,” asserting that public oversight and participation in American municipal boards is restricting progress.  (Dr. Levine-Einstein resigned in early January 2021.)

• During the summer, the Redevelopment Board decided that it was Above the Law, the Zoning Bylaw, that is.  An attorney for a developer argued that the Zoning Bylaws passed by Town Meeting were actually guidelines, but not strict rules.  The argument went on that the Board had the authority to bend, break, or simply ignore any Bylaw that they found inconvenient.  The majority of the Board embraced this interpretation of their powers enthusiastically and immediately began exercising this newfound authority to ignore half a dozen Bylaws that were inconvenient for the developer.  The Board is now allowing multiple projects under this new dispensation. 

• The chair of the Zoning Board of Appeals resigned, following a criminal charge.  A Member, Christian Klein, was elected Chair. 

• A dozen residents sued the Redevelopment Board for improperly applying the Mixed Use Bylaw passed four years ago by Town Meeting.  Town Counsel argued that the statements defining the scope of the law made by two Board members during the debate on those Articles carried no legal weight.  He characterized their statements as simply off the cuff remarks by two people, to be given no more consideration than those of anyone else who speaks at Town Meeting. 


Any future such appeals will likely be curtailed by the provision in Governor Baker's Partnership for Growth bill which requires a $50,000 cash bond for special permit appeals. 

The Very Bad Year, in ARFRR Blog Posts

...You can see all the 2020 posts at: https://blog-arfrr.blogspot.com/2020/ 

The Hotel Lexington situation:

January:  The Heights Hotel Part IV - Is the Wait Over?

February:  The Heights Hotel Part V - What is Wrong with this Picture? 

and:  The Heights Hotel VI - Jump Starting the Project

July:  They're Baaaack... - Hotel Lexington (VII) and the Toraya Block Tear Down

August:  Hotel Lexington - Learning the Rest of the Story

The old Toraya/ACMi block situation:

July:  They're Baaaack... - Hotel Lexington (VII) and the Toraya Block Tear Down

August:  Tossing out the Rule Book

Mugar and “affordable” projects progress, but won’t improve affordability:

April:  Mugar Update

August:  Q & A on the Mugar Wetlands / Thorndike Place 40B Project In East Arlington

October:  Moving the Finish Line

Zoning and the Government: lowering the bar to density and tossing out the rule book:

August:  Thousands Of Lamborghinis: Notes On The Housing Choice Bill
and:  Tossing out the Rule Book The New Normal - When Zoning Bylaws become Optional

Final Thoughts - And Some Good News...

• As urban areas looked less attractive and “a little space” looked better, development pressures in Arlington have increased.  Developers have been demolishing older, smaller houses and building large new homes and additions.  The Good Neighbor Agreement (GNA), a Bylaw that requires new construction to be publicized to neighbors within a 200’ radius, has existed for several years, but is not always enforced.  It appears that Arlington's Inspectional Services is not aware of the issue.  Hopefully the public and the Town can work to enforce the GNA better next year.
• And to close on a brighter note, the Design Review Working Group, along with Harriman Design, has drafted design guidelines for residential development.  Surveys, several public forums, and input from builders have all informed the work of the DRWG in creating these guidelines, which aim to provide guidance for more appealing siting and design of new houses and large additions. One builder commented that they will essentially offer free architectural advice to builders.  It is hoped that they will lead to residential development more suited to its surroundings, rather than the too-large, generic houses we see too often in town. 

We'll let you know how 2021 develops as far as redevelopment.  At the moment, it looks to be more of the same.

Carl Wagner

Demolition of the Toraya Block, or It's Not My Problem

Updated January 13, 2021

First, a bit of history. 

In 2009, the Arlington Redevelopment Board granted a Special Permit to redevelop the auto dealership adjacent to the High School as a CVS store. The historic Atwood House, which was part of the parcel, was to be preserved. As stated as a special condition of the permit, 

 “The Atwood House shall remain at its present location on the site, and diligent efforts shall be used to maintain its present condition to prevent any damage from the elements or otherwise, until it is redeveloped.” 

There were also the usual stipulations regarding obeying town bylaws and snow removal from the adjacent public sidewalk. 

For the next decade all of this was forgotten. The Atwood House was neglected, frequently broken into, and badly vandalized. It became not just an eyesore, but a public safety concern due to its use as a drug den. And for that decade, the sidewalk remained uncleared every winter. Pedestrians trying to reach the CVS store, bus stop passengers, and high school students often had to divert out onto Mass Ave to get by.

 It only came to the Redevelopment Board’s attention in 2019 when CVS applied for a change of signage. Awakened to the fact that it still held jurisdiction over the property, the Board summoned the absentee owner of the Atwood House to explain the situation. There was a lot of hand-wringing, voiced regrets, but no consequences for the negligence. 

The Board felt powerless to do anything at this late date. But now history is repeating itself, just two blocks away, right across from the High School. Earlier this year the Board granted a Special Permit for the redevelopment of the Toraya Block. It was presented to the Board that the site had suffered toxic contamination due to negligent behavior on the part of a past tenant and needed to be entirely demolished for remediation. 

The proper course of action would have been for the developer to present a plan to the Arlington Health Department for the safe demolition of the building, taking into consideration not only the toxic contamination of the building and the soil, but also the asbestos present in the structure, and the likelihood of lead paint. Taken into account would be the adjacent residential properties and the high pedestrian traffic including school children.  Once the Health Dept signed off on the plan it would go to Inspectional Services for the necessary permits. The Good Neighbor Agreement package would be sent to all abutters within 200 feet, at least a week before any demolition began, according to our bylaws. 

None of that happened, and a public safety hazard was created instead. On October 26, the developer filed a notification with the State Department of Environmental Protection of its intention to remove asbestos from the interior of the building. It began this work the first week of November. The work went far beyond asbestos removal. It included significant exterior demolition of the roof top and gutting of interior walls. The debris from this demolition was simply piled up in the rear parking lot in several very large mounds and left unsecured. Much of this work occurred in the dark of night, well after legal working hours. No local permits were sought, nor was the Health Dept advised that it was taking place. 

Piles of Debris

 

 

A Third Pile of Debris

 

 Something went wrong with the demolition and parts of the front facade of the building began collapsing onto the front sidewalk by the bus stop. Town employees moved in quickly to secure the area with fencing. 

 

Fenced Off Collapsing Facade

 For the next month there was no observed activity on the site. The piles of unsecured debris were left in the parking lot, free to blow around. Inspectional Services was not very responsive to inquiries. Because no permits have been applied for, they redirected questions to the State DEP.   The Health Dept was completely unaware of the situation until notified by residents in early December. Their response was to drive by the site and observe from the street. They did not contact the developer and have advised residents to redirect any questions to either ISD or the State DEP. 

As a result of resident complaints about the situation, the Town Manager did task the acting assistant Town Manager with determining what was going on. The developer did eventually cart away at least three large dumpsters of debris. Several large steel drums with mystery contents remain. It is not known what was in the debris, nor when work will resume and the required demolition permits will be applied for. The neighbors remain in the dark and are still awaiting the required Good Neighbor Agreement notice. 

For two months now the emergency fencing has remained up on the Mass Ave sidewalk with no indication of when the developer intends to make the building or sidewalk safe again.  It took several years for the Atwood House to become a blighted eyesore and public safety hazard.  The Toraya Block managed to reach that infamous status in just a few weeks.

And after each snow storm this year, the remaining sidewalk along the block has been left uncleared, forcing pedestrian, bus passengers, and students to once again step out onto Mass Ave to get by.

Three Days after the Storm

 The Redevelopment Board retains jurisdiction over the site through the recent Special Permit and this time it has the leverage to do something about the problem. The developer appears before the Board this Monday evening (January 4) asking for another Special Permit. It is the Board’s obligation to use this opportunity to question the developer and get some real answers as to what is happening at the Toraya Block site, the plans to correct it, and why town bylaws are being ignored. It is the Board’s chance to redeem itself and not repeat the lapse of responsibility of a previous Board a decade ago.

When the Board granted a Special Permit for the Toraya Block, it included the condition that the Board would maintain "continuing jurisdiction over this permit" including taking such actions "... as it deems appropriate in order to protect the public interest and welfare."

Apparently these were empty words.  The response of the Board Chair to this situation is

Please direct all questions and concerns regarding the demolition of the property and the safety of the site during construction to the Building Inspector.  Please direct all questions and concerns regarding snow removal to the Select Board. I have contacted Chairperson Hurd about previous concerns regarding snow removal at this site. These are the two entities with oversight authority for these two issues that you have raised.

 

 

Lockeland Side Snow Clearance

 Update January 13, 2021

Heavy construction equipment was seen on the lot for a few days earlier this week.  This prompted a resident to inquire if the Health Dept had done the necessary review prior to the demolition of a hazardous waste site. The response was that the developer had reached out to the Health Dept to begin the application process, but the Department still did not know anything more than it did a month ago about what earlier work had been done.  Coincidentally, the heavy construction equipment quickly disappeared from the site.

The developer has since responded to this Blog.  Not to provide any helpful information, or to challenge any of the facts presented, but instead in the form of an angry letter from his attorney suggesting that the photographs were taken by means of illegal entry onto the property.  Apparently the developer imagined that a septuagenarian had climbed over a six foot chain link fence to take those photos shown above.

The photographer wishes to assure the developer that:

He has not scaled such a fence since before Nixon was President.

He would not willingly step onto the hazardous waste site.

All photographs were taken from the relative safety of the public sidewalk.

 

Written by Don Seltzer