Town Meeting Members' Guide to Important Articles - 2023

Town Meeting Members' Guide to Important Zoning Articles - 2023

Arlington Residents For Responsible Redevelopment, a grassroots group of neighbors, first created our Resource and Comment Guide for 2019 Town Meeting, when the Town proposed sweeping density Articles.  Our goal, then as now, is to provide Town Meeting Members and all Arlington residents with information on the substantive issues that will be discussed during Town Meeting, as well as our comments.  We hope the information below is useful to you.  

Please let us know your thoughts on it at: askarfrr@outlook.com

OVERVIEW:

Town Meeting begins April 24, 2023, in Town Hall sessions.  The public may attend.  Click here to watch live: https://acmi.tv/programs/arlington-government-channel/

Town Meeting receives proposed Articles inserted either by a resident with 10 supporting resident signatures, or by Town officials or boards.  Each Article is reviewed by the Town Board relevant to the scope of language.  All proposed zoning changes are subject to approval by the Arlington Redevelopment Board (ARB) following a public hearing on each zoning article.  If the Board votes in favor, it develops a recommended vote to Town Meeting, which constitutes the main motion on the article.  A Town Meeting Member acting on behalf of the proponent, another interested party, or TMMs themselves may move an Amendment (change) to the recommended vote of the ARB, or they may move to replace it in its entirety with a Substitute Motion.  If the Board disapproves of the article, it votes “No Action” as its recommended vote for Town Meeting, which essentially removes the Article from likely passage by Town Meeting without much, if any, debate.  In that case, the proponent or other interested party may make a Substitute Motion, in order for Town Meeting to be able to have a zoning change to debate and vote on.  The deadline for Substitute Motions video presentations this year was April 19.  Substitute Motions may be presented no later than 48 hours before an Article is discussed. 

Where to find Articles:
Articles are listed by number, in the annotated TM warrant, which contains links to all committee Reports and supporting materials: 
https://www.arlingtonma.gov/town-governance/town-meeting/2023-town-meeting-warrant

We have selected some of the more consequential Articles, and present them along with background and recommended vote.  This Guide covers the following Town Bylaw and Zoning Bylaw Articles:

ARTICLE 12 VOTE/THREE-YEAR MORATORIUM ON INSTALLATION OF ARTIFICIAL TURF ON TOWN LAND

To see if the Town will vote to adopt a moratorium by bylaw or otherwise, on the construction or installation of any artificial or synthetic turf on any land owned by the Town for a three-year period beginning on May 1, 2023 and ending on May 1, 2026 to allow further study of the cost effectiveness, safety, environmental impact; and further to establish a study group to conduct such study, and set forth the membership of same; or take any action related thereto.  (Inserted at the request of Beth Melofchik and ten registered voters)

RECOMMENDED VOTE: 

Please vote to SUPPORT Beth Melofchik's Substitute Motion:  

https://www.arlingtonma.gov/home/showdocument?id=64915&t=638174039974168194

Article 12 Substitute Motion

A Reasonable Response to the Public Land Management Plan

"Rapidly developing science and data on PFAS and climate change urges caution on introducing more PFAS into our environment.  The EPA and leading peer reviewed articles agree on this.  Laminating sports fields with plastic, rendering 2 acres void of nature’s benefits to the players on plastic fields, and creating a dead empty zone above and below for pollinators and soil microbes etc is not recommended.  We ask Town Meeting to allow a committee to explore the documented health and environmental hazards of this plastic product made of many chemicals with documented side effects and dangers.  And, while they research, a pause of up to two years on further purchase/installation of plastic fields.

"Our list of resources does not include apologists for the plastic sports field industry; it does include physicians and scientists at Boston College, Icahn School of Medicine Mt. Sinai, University of Massachusetts, Ecology Center, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, Sierra Club and others.

"We share knowledge, not propaganda or sales memes.  We want safe playing fields; free is not safe."

-- proponent Beth Melofchik

ARTICLE 13 VOTE/APPOINTED TOWN CLERK

To see if the Town will vote to convert the office of Town Clerk from an elected to an appointed position through ballot question or referendum pursuant G.L. c. 41 §1B, home rule legislation, or other suitable method; or take any action related thereto. (Inserted at the request of the Town Manager)

RECOMMENDED VOTE:

Please vote AGAINST this Amendment. We do not support the Article, or any Substitute Motion.

The Clerk's office is involved with the most political of Arlington's actions: voting, Town Meeting organization and support, and many other organizational duties.   The office has always been elected so that residents can be sure that the Clerk's work is carried out for them.  Town government has few other elected officials, other than the five volunteer Select Board Members.   We believe that continuing to allow residents to elect our Town Clerk, rather than allowing the Town Manager to make this appointment, is the best way to serve the Town's needs.

ARTICLE 67 RESOLUTION/AFFORDABLE HOUSING OVERLAY

To see if the Town will vote to adopt a resolution affirming affordable housing overlay districts; or take any action related thereto. (Inserted at the request of Guillermo Hamlin and ten registered voters) 

Please vote AGAINST this Resolution. We do not support the Article.

A similar version of this amendment was voted No Action at a previous Annual Town Meeting because the Redevelopment Board felt it overlapped with other plans. The Town is in the process of figuring out how to comply with the MBTA Communities Act, which will mean creating overlay districts, with which this may conflict.

The zoning amendments in this year's Warrant are:

ARTICLE 26 ZONING BYLAW AMENDMENT/ INDUSTRIAL DISTRICT DEVELOPMENT STANDARDS

To see if the Town will vote to amend the Zoning Bylaw to update Section 5.6.2 DEVELOPMENT STANDARDS to establish the design storm or other criteria that must be met for stormwater retention and treatment to receive an exception to maximum height regulations in the Industrial District; or take any action related thereto. (Inserted at the request of the Redevelopment Board)

RECOMMENDED VOTE: 

Please vote to SUPPORT this Amendment

ARTICLE 27 ZONING BYLAW AMENDMENT/ SOLAR BYLAW IN INDUSTRIAL DISTRICTS

To see if the Town will vote to amend the Zoning Bylaw to update Section 5.6.2 DEVELOPMENT STANDARDS to reflect the inclusion of Section 6.4 SOLAR ENERGY SYSTEMS; or take any action related thereto. (Inserted at the request of the Redevelopment Board)

RECOMMENDED VOTE: 

Please vote to SUPPORT this Amendment

ARTICLE 29 ZONING BYLAW AMENDMENT/DOWNTOWN BUSINESS PARKING MINIMUMS

To see if the Town will vote to complete removal of minimum parking requirements for all non- residential uses in the B-5 District, or take any action related thereto. (Inserted at the request of James Fleming and ten registered voters)

RECOMMENDED VOTE:

Please vote AGAINST this Amendment. We do not support the Article, or any Substitute Motion.

This amendment is completely unnecessary.  Every affected lot is already required to be reviewed before the ARB for any redevelopment and major changes (with a single exception of a building on Water St.).

It eliminates the discretion of the ARB and ZBA.  What if there is not enough space in the public lots at the times the business needs them?  Consider what might happen if a large business requires a great deal of parking at the same time the Arlington Farmer's Market is taking place.  This warrant article would eliminate any power of the ARB or ZBA to require the business make alternative parking arrangements.

It privileges B5 business (Arlington Center) over businesses in other zoning districts (e.g. B3 and B1 that are also within 1000' of the public lots).  Why should those businesses, which likely have smaller parking needs, have to get a Special Permit to count spaces in the public lots, while the largest businesses, those in B5, do not?

The ARB always grants parking reductions or elimination, based upon the particular circumstances.  But they also extract a small concession in return from the developer, in the form of the Transportation Demand Management plan.  This usually involves some compensatory benefit for employees, such as subsidized T passes or a guaranteed ride in case of emergencies.  Without these TDM concessions, commuting employees will be the losers.

This article may also be in conflict with the Americans with Disabilities Act.  

ARTICLE 30 ZONING BYLAW AMENDMENT / ONE AND TWO-FAMILY USABLE OPEN SPACE

To see if the Town will vote to complete removal of the Usable Open Space requirements for one and two-family uses; or take any action related thereto. (Inserted at the request of James Fleming and ten registered voters)

RECOMMENDED VOTE:

Please vote AGAINST this Amendment. We do not support the Article or any Substitute Motion.  

Article 30 proposes to completely eliminate the usable open space (UOS) requirement for single- and two-family homes in all districts. 

The proponent uses nearby towns with no UOS requirement as comparisons. But Lexington, Belmont, Winchester, and Waltham all have much larger minimum lot sizes than we do, as well as much lower population and housing density.  And the city of Cambridge requires far more "private open space" (which is defined similarly to UOS) than Arlington does for one and two-family homes.

Our UOS requirement generally has little effect on large lots, but it serves as a brake on overly large houses on small lots, and is one of the tools recommended by our Master Plan, to “address concern for neighbor impacts of new large homes constructed in existing established residential neighborhoods.”   In addition, the Master Plan describes Arlington's existing residential development standards, including UOS, "as reasonable and consistent with prevailing development patterns in the neighborhoods."

Eliminating UOS would allow back yards to be paved over completely to create parking lots for the residents.  And it could be done by-right, with absolutely no requirement for approval by the ZBA or ARB.  We already see this happening at times in East Arlington, where backyards on smaller lots are converted to parking lots without permission, much to the detriment of abutters.  We should not be amending the bylaw to routinely allow this practice.

Houses don’t exist in a vacuum. Especially in Arlington with its many non-conforming and small 5,000 SF lots, what your neighbor does can have a large effect on you, and vice versa. 

The Master Plan also cites the particular need for UOS in residential development in business districts, calling it “critical” in our village centers. Extending the elimination of UOS for one and two-family homes to all of our business districts, as the amendment proposes, makes it economically preferable to convert entire small business blocks along Mass Ave or Broadway into duplex condos. This article directly threatens these small neighborhood businesses that make Arlington walkable and appealing.

We already have a mechanism to allow people to seek relief from our UOS requirement in order to build additions or new houses, and that is an appeal to the ZBA for a special permit. The ZBA will often allow some expansion for prior non-conforming lots with little or no UOS. 

Rather than eliminate usable OS, which would allow large houses to replace smaller, somewhat attainable homes, it would make more sense to simply amend the bylaw to reduce the minimum dimensions of UOS and to provide greater clarity on how it applies when floor area is added entirely within the existing building footprint.

ARTICLE 31 ZONING BYLAW AMENDMENT/INDUSTRIAL DISTRICT ANIMAL DAYCARE USE

To see if the Town will vote to amend the Zoning Bylaw to update Section 5.6.3 USE REGULATONS FOR MU, PUD, I, T, and OS DISTRCITS, to allow animal daycare; or take any action related thereto. (Inserted at the request of Kristin Anderson and ten registered voters)

RECOMMENDED VOTE:

Please vote to SUPPORT this Amendment.

"During the lock-down period of the COVID-19 pandemic, many Arlington residents were forced to stay home. To remedy intense loneliness, many of our neighbors decided to welcome new pets into their homes. Now that the pandemic restrictions have been lifted, people are going back into the office, leaving their pandemic pets at home. 

"Arlington is in need of animal daycare. To the best of my knowledge, there exists in town only one animal daycare business - GoPlay!, in Brattle Square. But GoPlay! Is small, with limited capacity.
Robin from Robin’s Nest Dog Grooming wanted to expand her business a few years back, to offer doggie daycare, and found a space in the Industrial Zone. But she was unable to grow her business and offer doggie daycare to residents because the use was not allowed there. Daria Pennesi, of Strut-n-pup, has been looking at spaces in Acton because she was not allowed to move into a space in the Industrial Zone on Dudley Street. Virginia, from Pawtopia - another woman-owned local business, has already moved her business to Lexington where there are more abundant commercial space offerings.

"This Industrial Zone use restriction has had a negative impact on these women’s ability to grow their businesses. The lack of available space is forcing  businesses out of Arlington. And, worse, it negatively impacts the residents of Arlington by denying them local services that they need. 

"Arlington needs to better support our businesses because businesses make Arlington a better place to live. We cannot grow our commercial base in town and realize any level of economic development without space for our businesses. I ask for your support and your vote for article 31."
-- proponent Kristin Anderson