Another Housing Overlay Proposed
AHOD - Affordable Housing Overlay District
The Affordable Housing Overlay District (AHOD) Committee will present their proposal for an Affordable Housing Overlay District to the Arlington Redevelopment Board (ARB) on Monday, Jan 12 at 7:30pm in person only at the Arl. Senior/Community Center, 27 Maple Street.
The proposal is for enormous structures without adequate parking or any requirement for open space or trees - with reduced setbacks and the strong possibility of eroding our existing business districts by allowing conversion of B parcels to residential uses and our single and two family zones.
It’s important that we understand this change, write to the ARB and attend the ARB meeting. See below for more details.
See video and recent documents for what is being presented
Here is the video of Monday, January 5th’s AHOD Committee meeting.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejA4-aJncPc
The Committee presented a document containing recommendations that the public did not have access to, despite its use in the public meeting, a violation of MA Open Meeting Law.
Here is a recent version of the group’s draft Article: (link)
Here is a recent map of the parcels (including open space, businesses and commercial, 1 and 2 family areas and churches) the group targets for development. (link)
Draft Recommendations - It doesn’t fit neighborhoods, little stakeholder input in planning
Two subzones are proposed (see image below also):
The first CAH (main thoroughfare oriented) overlay would allow stories to be 33% taller than normal 10 foot heights and allow6 stories- or 78 feet - along main corridors such as Mass Ave, Broadway,and Summer Street.
The second NAH (neighborhood) overlay would allow 4 stories - each 33% taller than normal - at 52 feet, with minimal setbacks to existing neighbors. In R1 and R2 (single and two-family zones), homes are 30-35 feet tall.
These structures will be out of scale with existing business and residences. There are no unit maximums. Tthe group has stated that 40 units and up is the number of units at which these projects would be feasible for developers. .
They have asked developers for their opinions, but they have not included Arlington’s businesses or residents in this process, nor considered the effects on schools, services/roads, town finances/taxes, the elderly, low-income.
What can you do now about this?
First, review the video (1hr 30 min) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejA4-aJncPc to consider if this is what you want for your neighborhoods and your town. The proposals will be presented to the ARB on January 12th, in person only. If the ARB provides support to the AHOD proposals there is a good chance that the 2026 Arlington Town Meeting could approve them.
Second, email your comments to the ARB before noon on January 12th. You can find suggested talking points in this document:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1WpzfyGMmN8GWLSZYD701uP5LBzcAwK5CemNqtzGBni8/edit?usp=sharing
The email addresses for the ARB members are:
Rachel Zsembery, chair <rzsembery@town.arlington.ma.us>
Stephen Revilak <srevilak@town.arlington.ma.us>
Kin Lau <klau@town.arlington.ma.us>
Shaina Korman-Houston <skorman-houston@town.arlington.ma.us>
Eugene Benson <EBenson@town.arlington.ma.us>
Claire Ricker, Director of Planning and Community Development <cricker@town.arlington.ma.us>;
Jennifer Joslyn-Siemitakoski, admin. asst. <jenniferjs@town.arlington.ma.us>
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) here: https://contacts.arfrr.org/
Third, attend the ARB meeting where these recommendations will be presented:
Monday,January 12th
7:30pm
in-person only
Arlington Community Center, 1st floor, Main Room,27 Maple Street.
Public comment is allowed, but only 2 minutes per person. The ARB is a volunteer board and listens to our community - when we have comments and voice them
Links and Documents:
The Full ARB agenda for Jan 12 (with links to AHOD and other matters’ documents):
AHOD’s “Storymap” for the ARB Monday Jan 12 presentation:
https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/591e117346844681a76f4994f70c8df7
AHOD’s presentation materials for the ARB Monday Jan 12:
https://arlington.novusagenda.com/agendapublic/AttachmentViewer.ashx?AttachmentID=26197&ItemID=21464
Draft list of overlay sites to be initially included: https://www.arlingtonma.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/76415/639014098034100000
Draft Warrant Article for AHO: https://www.arlingtonma.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/76415/639014098034100000
AHOD webpage: https://www.arlingtonma.gov/town-governance/boards-and-committees/affordable-housing-overlay-district-committee
