Residents Speak Up: 29 Citizen Articles Await April Session

Arlington MA

18 February, 2021

10:32 AM

Description

Your Arlington Last Updated: 17 February 2021 Written by town counsel, Bob Sprague Amid a pandemic, the citizens of Arlington want to be heard: They have submitted 29 articles to be heard at the 2021 Town Meeting, to begin April 26. This is the most citizen articles to be considered in recent years. A typical number is 10. Such articles are proposed by any Arlington resident who must get at least 10 signatures of support for an issue. The issues to be discussed include rodents, affordable housing, parking, development, remote participation and many zoning proposals. Hearings on some of these articles are to begin at the next Select Board meeting, set for Monday, Feb. 22. Town Counsel Doug Heim provided the following articles (in bold and yet to be numbered), responding to YourArlington's request. Bylaw amendment/preconstruction rodent survey and pest management To see if the Town Meeting will vote to amend Title vii of the town bylaws to require a rodent survey-assessment of property undergoing foundation excavation before excavation begins; in order to 1) locate burrows and 2) apply integrated pest management with proven large-scale effectiveness (e.g. dry ice); or take any action related thereto. (Inserted at the request of Elaine Crowder and 10 registered voters) Vote/appropriation/School Committee member stipends To see if the town will vote pursuant to M.G.L. c. 71 Section 52 to provide all Arlington High School Committee members compensation consisting of an annual stipend of $3000 per member commencing in Fiscal Year 2023; or take any action related thereto. (Inserted at the request of Christa Kelleher and 10 registered voters) Vote/establishment of town committee on residential development To see if the town will vote to establish a committee of the Town Meeting to examine the current issues related to residential development in the R0, R1, R2, R3 and R4 zoning districts. These issues shall include, but not be limited to, effects on the neighborhood during teardown and construction activities; new construction impacts on neighborhood character/environment; permanent negative impacts on abutters; loss of healthy tree canopy; and exacerbation of particular negative impacts on abutters with existing non-conforming lots. Members of the committee shall be appointed by the town moderator, and consist of not less than 5 nor more than 9 members. A quorum shall consist of a majority of the appointed members. Members of the committee shall be residents of the town, a majority of whom shall be persons who are not town employees and/or have no financial interest (either directly or indirectly) in the development, building, or real estate communities.The committee's objectives will include development of recommendations for proposing new zoning and general bylaws and/or amendments, as applicable, to provide long-term mitigation of the significant issues identified; or take any action related thereto. (Inserted by the Select Board at the request of Paul Parise and 10 registered voters) Vote/establishment of town committee on auto and property insurance claims and losses To see if the town will vote to establish a committee to learn the annual cost of auto and property insurance premiums and insurance claims in the town of arlington; or take any action related thereto. (Inserted by the Select Board at the request of Andrew Fischer and 10 registered voters) Vote/public remote participation To see if the town will vote to establish parameters for interactive, simultaneous remote participation by members of the public in meetings of all public bodies in the Town of Arlington; or take any action related thereto. (Inserted at the request of Elizabeth Dray and 10 registered voters) Vote/reserve affordable housing for people earning at or under 60% AMI (area median income) To see if the town will vote a warrant seeking to earmark a majority percentage of municipal funds allocated for affordable housing for those households/individuals making at or under 60% AMI; or take any action related thereto.(Inserted at the request of John Sanbonmatsu, Laura Kiesel and 10 registered voters) Vote/provision of town email addresses for Town Meeting members To see if the town will vote to provide email accounts for the use of primary contact by constituents and town business to all members of the Town Meeting; or take any action related thereto (Inserted at the request of Anna Henkin and 10 registered voters) Zoning bylaw amendment/ clarification of definition of mixed use To see if the town will vote to amend the definition of mixed use in the zoning bylaw to clarify that as enacted by Town Meeting, land uses individually prohibited in any particular zoning district are also prohibited as part of mixed-use developments in the same zoning district; or take any action related thereto.(Inserted by the Redevelopment Board at the request of Christopher Loreti and 10 registered voters) Zoning bylaw amendment/conversion of commercial to residential To see if the town will vote to amend the zoning bylaw in Section 5.2.4, by inserting in the last sen10ce of said section, after the word footprint, the words "if allowed by special permit" and by inserting, after the words residential use, the words "provided that the addition or expansion is for affordable housing" so that said sen10ce will read as follows: In the case of an existing commercial use, the addition or expansion of residential use within the building footprint if allowed by special permit shall not require adherence to setback regulations for residential uses, provided that the addition or expansion is for affordable housing, even if the residential use becomes the principal use of the building; or take any action related thereto. (Inserted by the Redevelopment Board at the request of John L. Worden III and 10 registered voters) Zoning bylaw amendment/definition of foundation To see if the town will vote to amend the Zoning Bylaw in Section 2, by adding a new definition as follows: Building Foundation: The masonry or concrete structure in the ground which supports the building. It does not include porches, decks, sheds, patios, one story attached garages, carports, or the like; or take any action related thereto. (Inserted by the Redevelopment Board at the request of Patricia B. Worden and 10 registered voters) Zoning bylaw amendment/affordable housing on privately owned parcels of "nonconforming" size To see if the town will vote to allow the development of new sources of permanently affordable housing (affordable in perpetuity and affordability as defined in Arlington zoning bylaws) by modifying the requirements for constructing housing units to enable construction on smaller lots as long as those units are permanently committed to be available for rental or ownership according to official regional guidelines (see (Zoning bylaw Section 2, Basic Provisions, Definitions Associated with Affordable Housing) of affordability. Such construction would be permissible in all zoning districts allowing residential use, providing the tracts were laid out prior to July 1, 2019, and receive a special permit from the ZBA. Ownership, sale, repurchase and rentals of each property would be overseen by the Arlington Housing Trust Fund or a comparable entity that would have the authority to enforce the affordability guidelines in perpetuity; or take any action related thereto. (Inserted by the redevelopment board at the request of Barbara Thornton and 10 registered voters) Zoning bylaw/adoption of accessory dwelling units To see if the town will vote to amend the zoning bylaw to allow accessory dwelling units (ADUs) on the property of single family, two-family, and duplex dwellings; or take any action related thereto. (Inserted at the request of Barbara Thornton and 10 registered voters) Zoning bylaw/parking minimums To see if the town will vote to amend the zoning bylaw for the Town of Arlington to reduce or remove minimum vehicular parking requirements in some or all business zoning districts; or take any action related thereto. (Inserted at the request of James Fleming and 10 registered voters) Zoning bylaw/increase percentage of affordable housing units To see if the town will vote to amend Section 8.23A of the zoning bylaw to increase the percentage of affordable-housing units required in any development subject to Section 8.2 of the Zoning Bylaw from 15% to a percentage between 25 and 30%; or take any action related thereto. (Inserted at the request of John Sanbonmatsu, Laura Kiesel and 10 registered voters) Zoning bylaw/teardown moratorium To see if the town will vote to amend the zoning bylaw by adding to Section 8 a new provision substantially as follows: there is hereby established a temporary moratorium on the demolition, in whole or in part, of older small affordable houses, for a period of two years from the date of final adjournment of this Town Meeting, or when the town establishes a method of protecting such houses in order to promote the town's goals of economic diversity and affordability, whichever first occurs. For purposes of this provision, the term "older small affordable houses" shall mean houses built before 1950 with a footprint of less than 1,000 square feet; or take any action related thereto.(inserted at the request of Lynette Culverhouse and 10 registered voters) Resolution/tree canopy as a public health resource To see if the town will vote to adopt a resolution recognizing Arlington's tree canopy as a public health resource; or to take any action related thereto. (inserted at the request of Beth Melofchik and 10 registered voters) Vote/affordable overlay study To see if the town will vote to study how to implement an affordable-housing overlay district; or take any action related thereto. (Inserted at request of Guillermo Hamlin and 10 registered voters) Resolution/encouragement of energy-efficient and/or sustainable energy installations in historic districts To see if the town will vote to urge the Arlington Historic Districts Commission to allow installation in the Historic Districts of any solar panel, heat pump, or other energy-efficient technology that does not cause irreversible changes to historic features or materials; or to take any action related thereto.(Inserted at the request of Susan R. Doctrow and 10 registered voters) Resolution/facilities department report/clarify responsibilities, track progress of the department of facilities and maintenance To see if the town will vote to endorse a resolution calling for a quarterly report of achievements based on the original departmental plan, finalized January 2015, to be provided to the Select Board; or take any action related thereto.(Inserted at the request of Barbara Thornton and 10 registered voters) Resolution/Broadway Corridor design competition To see if the Town Meeting will vote to allow the town to plan and sponsor a design competition to encourage new housing and mixed use construction in the Broadway Corridor area of Arlington. This warrant article builds on findings from the fall 2019 Broadway Corridor Study, and creates a "demonstration area project"; or take any action related thereto. (Inserted at the request of Barbara Thornton and 10 registered voters) Resolution/advanced registration and organization of Town Meeting speakers To see if the town will vote to support the development of a practice by the Town Meeting Procedures Committee for prompting proponent and opponents of Town Meeting warrant articles to register in advance of the beginning of the first night of Town Meeting to allow for the equal presentation of perspectives; or take any action related thereto. (Inserted at the request of Barbara Thornton and 10 registered voters) Resolution/protocols for deliberative collaboration in town government initiated citizen To see if the town will vote to endorse a resolution in support of directing at least one member of each town government initiated citizen committee to have formal training or certification as a "Facilitator" in order to help ensure that the committee is a place where all members are respected, allowed to speak, are not intimidated and that agendas are developed that lead to productive outcomes or to reassess the productivity and purpose of every committee at least once every five years to re-authorize the committee's purpose and continuity; or limit the number of town-government-initiated committees to no more than seven per year; or take any action related thereto.(Inserted at the request of Barbara Thornton and 10 registered voters) Resolution/formally invite Arlington Housing Authority representatives to present to Town Meeting To see if the town will vote to endorse a resolution calling for a the director of the Arlington Housing Authority to be formally invited to present the AHA proposed annual budget and other key initiatives to the Town Meeting as a regular, annual event; or take any action related thereto.(Inserted at the request of Barbara Thornton and 10 registered voters) Resolution/overnight parking waiver for residents of multifamily dwellings in Precinct 4 Be it hereby resolved, that it is the will of Town Meeting that a waiver of town bylaws be adopted to allow residents of multifamily dwelling with long, narrow driveways in Precinct 4 in East Arlington to park overnight on town streets outside their homes. Such a waiver is intended to address the unique hardship faced by residents who experience significant delays and inconvenience during morning hours when trying to gain access to their vehicles blocked-in by those other residents; or take any action related there to. (Inserted at the request of Silvia Dominguez and 10 registered voters) Resolution/resident parking program for Precinct 4 Be it hereby resolved, that it is the will of Town Meeting that the town establish a resident permit parking program for Precinct 4 in East Arlington in order to alleviate weekday street parking scarcity created by Alewife T commuters. Such a program would make allowances for contingencies including but not limited to the parking needs of Mass. Ave. businesses; DPW snow removal; emergency vehicle access; and visitor parking; or take any action related thereto. (Inserted at the request of Silvia Dominguez and 10 registered voters) Resolution/Prince Hall Day To see if the town will vote to declare June 24 as Prince Hall Day; or take any action related thereto. (Inserted at the request of Beth Melofchik and 10 registered voters) Resolution/program to install electric vehicle charging stations Be it hereby resolved, that this is the will of Town Meeting that the Town of Arlington should implement, along with adequate funding, a comprehensive program to install electric vehicle charging stations throughout the Town starting with East Arlington where none have been installed to date; or take any action related thereto. (Inserted at the request of Silvia Dominguez and 10 registered voters) Resolution/declare climate emergency in the Town of Arlington To see if the town will vote to endorse a resolution calling for a Declaration of Climate Emergency in which the Town would take immediate action in areas within the town's authority to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, report on the quantity of the town's emissions, promote and encourage climate action by other government authorities, and protect the rights of people at greatest risk, for the purpose of reducing harm from the pace of warming and global ecological collapse to the maximum ex10t possible; or take any action related thereto. (Inserted at the request of Parke Wilde and 10 registered voters) YourArlington.com has provided news and opinion about Arlington, Mass., since 2006. Publisher Bob Sprague is a former editor at The Boston Globe, Boston Herald and Arlington Advocate. Read more at https://www.yourarlington.com/about.