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Thursday, June 15, 2023

What happened at the June 8 MBTA Communities Act Density Overlay Public Meeting

 



MBTA Communities Act Density Overlay Public Meeting

June 8, 2023 - Community Center

You might have heard about the MBTA Communities Act that was passed at the end of the Baker administration, and is designed to increase housing density near MBTA transit hubs, in our case, Alewife. The law requires zoning changes in many communities. Some towns have protested the drastic zoning changes that would be required in order not to lose out on several important state aid packages. But, according to the state Attorney General, there isn't a way for any community to opt out. Arlington’s Department of Planning and Community Development created an MBTA Communities Working Group which has been meeting to determine how the Town might meet the new law’s requirements.

Working the tables

It was a good sign that the Working Group's public meeting was well attended Thursday night, June 8, at the Community Center on Maple Street. ACMI made a recording of the meeting you can watch at https://youtu.be/woe8bWuLze8  Slide presentation materials are here: https://www.arlingtonma.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/65774/638219208109359422
After a brief introduction by the Planning department and members of the Working Group, the public forum turned into an activity night on a narrow set of questions.   

Map: no increased density near Alewife but plenty up and down Mass Ave
A map was shown to everyone with the whole length of Mass Ave included in a high density overlay zone.  It was explained that Arlington Center, as a largely historic district, is protected from the Act.

The proposed location of density zones

One of the most-voiced criticisms of the overlays is that they encroach directly on Mass Ave and are not set back by a parcel or two to allow for continued commercial/retail growth along this busy corridor. 

Instead of hearing about the new density overlay law and having a chance to ask questions and hear fellow citizens and Town Officials, selected summaries of a Town survey were presented and then the 120 -150 attendees were instructed to work at tables of 8, discussing just two questions: "What size buildings should Arlington have?" and "How should the density overlay zoning relate to our business districts?"  Even this discussion was controlled, directed, and corrected continually by table 'facilitators.'

Public information and input back to officials and the Working Group about the law and what our legal options are were absent from this event. Each table was allowed to report back to the room on only two subjects: which idea the table most agreed upon, and which idea was not yet agreed upon. A second means of receiving public input was on sticky-notes pasted to a map on each table which would be passed back to the Working Group.   

The main meeting reconvened, we were thanked for attending and were dismissed. No questions, little feedback to the Town, little citizen input to this major change to our community.  

What is required under the Act?  What are our options?

The only part of the meeting that defined what is required

So, what is going on and what can we do about it?

The MBTA density overlay Act is intended to increase residential density to 15 units per acre within the overlay, but it only accepts 3-family or greater zoning. Arlington has, in fact, already achieved that density in some areas, with our small lots and history of being a town on the edge of the urban and the suburban. East Arlington and Arlington as a whole is walkable and close to transit.  We should be the poster-child for the goal and result of such laws. We could easily meet the requirement by allowing for 3-families in some areas, but it appears that the Working Group and some Town Officials want more than minimum compliance.

The regulations require Arlington to rezone at least 32 acres to allow dense housing (at least 15 housing units per acre) by right (without requiring any special permits). The 32 acres can be split into multiple parcels, but one area must be at least half of the re-zoned total, and each sub-district must be at least 5 acres. Collectively, the acreage must allow 2,046 units (10% of Arlington’s current housing stock) by right. That could be 32 acres, each allowing 64 units per acres, or more acreage but with lower maximum densities. 

The regulations actively discourage affordable housing and are likely to result in maximally expensive housing. The Act limits to 10% the affordable housing requirement for all overlay districts. Compare that to our current requirement of 15% affordable housing in buildings with six or more units. Under the Act, less dense, less expensive housing will be replaced with new, denser, more expensive housing. This is what we already see across Arlington: luxury duplexes replacing more modest housing stock.

Town says it will provide overlay district maps following public input…

   

Detail of the map from the Working Group

The June 8 meeting was shown a map that the Working Group is currently proposing, but no details were given about how many acres each area included, how many units per lot the zoning would allow, or how many floors. We were told that Arlington must zone for an additional 10% increase in units above what we already have - an additional 2,046 units, all in a town that's the 2nd densest town in the state (12th most dense if you compare us with the big cities, too). 

The Act isn’t about affordability, just a requirement to make market rate housing

The MBTA Communities Act does little to provide for affordability and in fact it would override our stronger inclusionary zoning affordability rules. Those large buildings included in the Working Group's map up and down Mass. Ave. would be built at higher prices than our old, existing housing.     

Does the Act say that the new overlay will create zoning that will override our stronger affordability and inclusion laws? It isn’t clear, and we were not allowed to talk about it at this meeting. Neither did we get to air questions about compliance because those attending were not allowed to ask. The only point it seems for this meeting was to get reactions to the map-in-progress crafted by the Working Group. 

No public forum, no information on Act compliance
This is not how major changes to a high density community like ours should be made. As the most important stake-holders, we should be involved. We are residents, homeowners and business owners who fund our Town through property taxes and rents. Other stakeholders have been left out, including people on fixed or middle incomes who would like to be able to move here to enjoy our open spaces and tree canopy that would be lost if Town Officials too zealously implement the density overlay.  

What do we deserve and what should we ask of Town Officials about the Act?

  • The public should have the opportunity to ask questions and comment in open forums heard by other residents and officials. 
  • The Town should detail how we can add housing capacity close to Alewife, since that is the goal of the Act. Officials should not use the Act as an opportunity to implement density projects throughout the rest of the town. 
  • The Act should be worked to provide for housing affordability, inclusionary zoning, housing sustainability, and housing diversity. 
  • Town Officials must work to insure that our existing, stronger inclusionary zoning bylaws are not weakened under the Act.
  • Officials should take an approach of compliance and minimal disruption to the taxpayers, residents and businesses.
  • The Working Group has indicated that it desires over-compliance with the Act. The Town should explain why they are pushing for us to exceed the compliance levels required by the state, by at least another 50 %.
  • How will installed rooftop solar panels be protected from cast shadows from tall buildings?

What can we do?

The public should write and call officials at the Select Board, the ARB, the ZBA and the Working Group to demand compliance in the most minimally-disruptive way possible to our community. 

See the ARFRR Contacts page: http://contacts.arfrr.org 

Contact:

Sandy Pooler, Town Manager : spooler@town.arlington.ma.us

Jim Feeney, Asst. Town Mgr: jfeeney@town.arlington.ma.us

Claire Ricker, Director, Department of Planning and Community Development: cricker@town.arlington.ma.us 

The MBTA Working Group:

More information

Robbins LIbrary has published a page on the MBTA density overlay law, which draws on the Town’s current pro-density vision: https://www.robbinslibrary.org/mbta-communities/


— ARFRR Steering Committee





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Wednesday, June 14, 2023

Alternate Version: What happened at the June 8 MBTA Communities Act Density Overlay Meeting - Better Public Information and Input Needed

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Table with map and sticky-note scribbles, one of the two means of public input and comment at the June 8th meeting


MBTA Communities Act Density Overlay Public Meeting

June 8, 2023 - Community (Senior) Center, Maple Street

The first in-person official meeting was held about the MBTA Communities density overlay that will dramatically affect Arlington last week.   It was well attended, yet the outcome of the meeting was that the public still doesn't have adequate information about what is required by the Commonwealth.  The public wasn’t allowed to use the meeting to ask questions publicly and to hear our neighbors' concerns and questions.   The Act appears to require Arlington to add 10% additional housing at Boston-rate high market pricing, while it does nothing for affordability and would potentially result in major changes to neighborhoods and neighbors, to traffic, to services, to open spaces and in a worsening of the cost of living in Arlington.


The Town is allowing a comment period after the meeting until July 10.  You can provide your comments on the form below. Before you do that, have a look at the video or the meeting , or the notes below: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd4YapZIYnxc0vPbvz4bja5JyHKDgO7R7vS6DcSnWNVmqi_lg/viewform


Here is the video of the June 8 meeting, recorded by ACMI:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=woe8bWuLze8




Here is the slide presentation given by the Working Committee:

https://www.arlingtonma.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/65774/638219208109359422


What happened at the meeting:

An in-person public meeting to hear about the new MBTA Communities Act

You might be beginning to hear about a law that was passed at the end of the Governor Baker administration that is designed to increase housing density near MBTA mass transit hubs, in our case, Alewife.  The law requires zoning changes in many communities.  Some towns have protested the drastic changes to zoning that would be required in order to continue to receive several important state aid packages, but it seems there isn't a way to opt out for any community.   Arlington’s  Planning Department  has created a Working  Group (see below for contact info) which we assumed  was determining how the Town could meet the new law with minimum damage to our affordability, open space, neighborhoods and services.

Break-out groups discuss the draft map

It was good that the Working Group's public meeting was well attended Thursday night, June 8 at the Senior Center (Community Center) on Maple Street.   After a brief introduction by the Planning department head and members of the density overlay working committee, this public forum turned into an activity night on a narrow set of questions.   


Map: no increased density near Alewife but all the way up and down Mass Ave

A map was shown to us with the whole length of Mass Ave included in a high density overlay zone.  At first it looks like Arlington Center was missed, but as a largely historic district, which apparently trumps the MBTA density zones, it is protected from the Act.


The proposed location of density zones.  See the draft map here: https://www.arlingtonma.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/65776/638219221919268784



Density Overlay Survey Presented - just a few highlights of the data

Instead of hearing about the new density overlay law and having a chance to ask questions and hear fellow citizens and Town Officials, selected summaries of an online survey, which the committee ran, were presented and then the 120-150 members of the public were instructed to work at tables of 8, discussing with one other person just two 'policy wonk' questions: "What size of buildings should Arlington have?" and "How should the density overlay zoning relate to our business districts?".  Even this discussion was controlled, directed and corrected continually by table 'facilitators'.


Public information and input back to officials about the law, what we have to do, and what our legal options are were non-existent, stifled.   The outcome of this meeting was that little useful information got to us residents and little input went back to Town Officials.  Technically each table reported orally back to the room which idea the table most agreed upon and which questions or ideas we didn't yet agree upon. A second means of receiving public input was on sticky-notes pasted on a map that recipients  scribbled comments and questions on, that would  be passed back to the Working Group  (see image above). 

  

After The Activity, Inadequate Forum/Feedback

The main meeting reconvened, we applauded our activity, were thanked for attending and were dismissed.   No questions, no feedback to the Town, little citizen input to this major change to our community. 


So, what is going on and what can we do about it?


What is needed for Arlington to be informed about this?  What do we have to do by requirement?  What are our options?

The only part of the meeting that defined what we may have to do


At the meeting, little was said about what actually is required by the Act. This slide above what briefly shown. The MBTA density overlay Act is intended to increase  residential density to 15 units per acre within the overlay, but it only accepts 3 family and higher zoning.   Frustratingly for Arlington, we've naturally achieved that density in some areas, with our small lots and history of being a town on the edge of the urban and the suburban.   East Arlington and Arlington as a whole is walkable and close to transit.  We should be the poster-child for the goal and result of such laws.   

While we could easily meet the requirement by allowing for 3-families in some areas, It appears that the working group and some Town Officials don't want to talk about minimum compliance with 3 families.  


The regulations appear to require Arlington to rezone at least 32 acres to allow dense housing (at least 15 housing units per acre) by right (without requiring any special permits). The 32 acres can be split into multiple parcels, with one area to be at least half of the re-zoned total, and  each sub-district at  least 5 acres. Collectively, the acreage must allow 2,046 units (10% of Arlington’s current housing stock) by right. That could be 32 acres, each allowing 64 units per acres, or more acreage with lower maximum densities. 

The regulations actively discourage affordable housing and  will necessarily result in maximally expensive housing. That is because Arlington is already built out. for dense housing (at least 15 units per acre by right) This assumes that developers buy built-on parcels, tear down the housing on them, and rebuild.

Town says it will make density zone maps following public input…

   

Three Detail Maps


Shown Maps Without Details; Asked to Decide…something?

At the June 8 meeting, we were shown a map the working group is proposing, but they wouldn't say how many units per lot the zoning would be, and they pushed back when we at our table asked them to describe what the law's actual minimum compliance is, or how many floors, how many units would be the least we could adapt to.  We were told that Arlington must zone for an additional 10% increase in units above what we already have - an additional 2,046 units, all in a town that's the 2nd densest community in the state (12th most dense if you compare us with the big cities, too). 

With the lack of community discussion and two-way interaction in meetings such as the one held on June 8, it seems we’ll be at the mercy of a small working committee and a combination of planners and consultants.  If we don’t receive full disclosure of what compliance with the Act would look like for minimum disruption of our residents and Town, without our options, we are flying blind with an unseen pilot, even though we are the ones who live here and pay the bills.   With an Act that doesn’t promote affordability, but does incentivize enormous expensive housing projects, our efforts for diversity, inclusion, and equity are all at risk.

The Act isn’t about affordability, just a requirement to make market rate housing

At my table the facilitator became emotional as she showed us a map that placed potential high-rise apartment buildings in East Arlington, between Arlington Center and the Heights and at the Heights -- all up and down Mass Ave.   The MBTA density Act does nothing to increase affordability and in fact it would override our stronger inclusionary zoning affordability rules.   Those large buildings that the working group's map includes up and down Mass Ave would be built at higher prices than our old, existing housing.     

So, does the Act say we have to create zoning that will override our stronger affordability and inclusion laws?  It wasn't clear, and we didn't get to talk about it.   We didn't get to hear answers about compliance, and the Town didn't get to hear my input or those around me.   But, each table's facilitator captured a thing or two that they said we agreed upon and some we didn't - and we got to see a few summary items that a working group survey said were popular among respondents.  

No public forum, no serious input from us, no information on Act compliance
This is not how major changes to a high density community like ours should be made.   We should be involved.  We're the most important stake-holders, after all.  We're the residents, homeowners and businesses that fund our Town through property taxes and rents.   Our brother and sister stakeholders are also important, and are not being served:  people on fixed or middle incomes  [I’d leave this out–we don’t want to imply that people of color are automatically of lower or middle incomes, even though that is often the case] who would like to be able to move here to enjoy  the many open spaces and tree canopy that would be lost if Town Officials too zealously implement the density overlay.  


What do we deserve and what should we ask of Town Officials about the Act?  

  • The public should have the opportunity to ask questions and comment in open forums to officials in a way that we can hear each other and them.   Activity tables and breakout sessions are an effective means of stifling actual public input and comment.

  • The Town should detail how we could add housing capacity close to Alewife, since that is the goal of the Act.  Officials should not use the Act as an opportunity to implement density projects throughout the rest of the town.

  • The Act does nothing to support housing affordability, inclusionary zoning, housing sustainability, or housing diversity.   Town Officials must work to insure that our existing,  better inclusionary zoning  bylaws are strengthened, not weakened, under the Act.

  • Officials should take an approach of compliance and minimal disruption to the taxpayers, residents and businesses of our town.  

The Working Group has indicated that it desires overcompliance with the Act. The Town should explain why they are pushing for us to exceed the compliance levels required by the state, by at least another 50 %.

 What can we do?

  • If you didn’t attend the June 8 meeting, watch the ACMI recording of it.

  • The public can write and call officials such as the Select Board, the ARB, ZBA and the Working Committee to demand compliance in the most minimally disruptive way possible to our community. 

  • Fill out the comment form before July 10.  The public deserves better information about what is required for compliance and better opportunity to ask questions and speak to each other and Town Officials publicly.

  • The public can attend the MBTA Communities Working Group meetings, as they are covered under Massachusetts Open Meeting Law.  Meetings are posted on the Arlington Town Calendar and usually happen Tuesdays at 7pm in person in the Town Hall Annex, if listed on the Town Calendar: https://www.arlingtonma.gov/connect/calendar


Find contact info for our elected Officials, on the ARFRR Contacts page: http://contacts.arfrr.org.  You can also contact theTown Manager and Director of the Department of Planning and Community Development

Town Manager Sandy Pooler: spooler@town.arlington.ma.us

Department of Planning and Community Development: https://www.arlingtonma.gov/departments/planning-community-development

Claire Ricker, Director: cricker@town.arlington.ma.us (781) 316-3090  

The MBTA Working Group:



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