Opening Remarks
Rachel Zsemberry, chair of the board, called the meeting to order and board members introduced themselves. Claire Ricker, director of the Department of Planning and Community Development, was also in attendance.
Redevelopment Board Report to Fall 2023 Special Town Meeting
Ricker provided an overview of the draft Redevelopment Board report to the Fall 2023 Special Town Meeting. The report covers each warrant article discussed at the previous deliberation meeting.
Discussion
- A member suggested changing “Arlington Advocate” to “Advocate and Star” in the report.
- There was discussion around whether to include vote thresholds in the report, but it was decided to wait until confirmation from Town Counsel on which articles require a two-thirds majority versus a simple majority.
- A member suggested adding a broad overview explaining the motivations behind the articles.
- Zsemberry proposed including language about why the zoning articles are coming up now after being deferred from the Spring.
- It was agreed to list the articles in numerical order in the final report.
Article-by-Article Review
The board reviewed and approved changes to the report section for each warrant article, including:
- Article 5: Clarifications around open space requirements applying to both usable and landscaped open space.
- Article 7: Adding context around step-back requirements in neighboring communities.
- Article 9: Adding examples to clarify the corner lot requirements.
- Article 10: Clarifying that street tree requirements only apply to new development over certain thresholds.
- Article 12: Adding statistics on the capacity and projected growth under the proposed zoning.
New Business
The board voted to disband the MBTA Communities Working Group at the conclusion of the Fall 2023 Special Town Meeting.
Open Forum
Members of the public provided comments on the proposed zoning articles, including concerns around affordability, environmental sustainability, and commercial growth.
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvth51MLo3Q