Traffic and Transportation Issues Shape Arlington Future

Article 4 in a series on the Arlington, MA Master Planning process.  Prepared by Barbara Thornton .

Most of Arlington’s budget depends on the Town’s tax base. As the cost of services increases, the Town budget must increase. Massachusetts communities are limited in their ability to increase taxes on existing property. Many municipalities have developable land that can add new value to the existing tax base. But Arlington has little developable land left. Retaining and expanding both the employment base and the tax base will require redevelopment on existing sites. Business districts along Massachusetts Avenue and other commercial areas are most likely to see this redevelopment. It will not only expand the tax base, it may give residents an opportunity to work closer to where they live.

The Master Planning process, coordinated through the Arlington Dept. of Planning and Development and assisted by RKG Associates, architects and planners, reported the following in their examination of the Town’s Economic Development issues:

Economic Development Goals:

• Identify areas of “economic underutilization”
• Maximize the buildout potential of commercial and industrial properties
• Support conditions that benefit small, independent businesses
• Improve access to public transit and parking
• Preserve and maintain Arlington’s historic structures and cultural properties to leverage economic development

Key Findings on Economic Development

1. Arlington’s convenient access to employment centers in Boston and Cambridge attracts highly educated and skilled homebuyers and renters. 39% of its labor force comutes to these two cities.
2. Based on recent MCAS and SAT scores, Arlington has a highly ranked school district. This enhances the town’s residential appeal.
3. The Town’s tax rate is lower than most surrounding cities and towns and does not have a separate, higher rate for commercial properties.
4. Between 2008 and 2012 the number of businesses in Town increased by 70. And employment rates recovered, surpassing the pre-recession rates.
5. A diverse base of local businesses covers nearly all industry sectors. Jobs in construction, personal and other services, education, health care, real estate and government make up larger percentages of employment here than in the Boston metropolitan area.
6. Two theaters, Capitol and Regent, draw about 200,000 patrons a year who spend $2.4 million per year at shops and restaurants in these districts.
7. A vibrant local arts community includes both organizations and many self employed residents who work in fine and performing arts. This creative infrastructure helps make Arlington’s commercial districts interesting places to shop, visit and work. And this boosts the use and value of the commercial properties.
8. Wages paid by local employers in Arlington are much lower (-39%) than in Middlesex County for all industries except retail. This contributes to the fairly small percentage of Arlington residents who work in the town.

Town Profile: Redevelopment or Residential Property Tax Pain
Arlington is part of the Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA New England City and Town Area (NECTA) Division (Boston Metro), an area that includes Boston and ninety-two communities with employment ties to Greater Boston and the Route 128/I-95 suburbs. It has clear strengths in the Arts, Culture and Tourism sectors of economic development and in redevelopment opportunities to expand commercial and industrial development.

Currently there are 415 commercial and industrial properties in town, a combined total of 193 acres and about 2.5 million sq. ft. of floor space, generating over $6 million in real estate taxes.

Of the 4,400 respondents to the 2012 Arlington Vision 2020 annual survey (included in the Town Census), 67% rated “distinctive commercial centers” as important of very important to the town. Many believe that new economic development, opportunities for start-up businesses and the future of Arlington’s business districts are important for the Town. Analysis shows that by 2020 the current zoning by-law’s height and parking limits will significantly limit reinvestment in many of Arlington’s commercial parcels. This, in turn, will limit the growth in tax base revenue and in employment opportunities.

Most of the recent growth in tax base has been due to the redevelopment of residential property. The rate has fallen but the single family tax bill still remains among the top 50 highest in the state. This could be alleviated with an expansion of the commercial and industrial tax base which has declined from 9% in the 1980’s to just 6% of the Town’s tax base today. In order to restore taxes from commercial and industrial properties to the pre-recession level, the Town would need a plan that required major land use and density changes in the Town’s commercial and industrial districts. Just to regain the same balance of taxes from residential (back to 92% ) and commercial/ industrial (return to 8%), the Town would need to almost double the current amount of commercial floor space, the equivalent of adding another story to each existing commercial structure in town.

Public Discussion on Opportunities Will Shape Future
The meeting convened last April 3, 2014 to discuss the economic development plan included a wide ranging discussion on the need for change in the old density requirements defined primarily by zone and by height limitations. The Town has at least five sites where new commercial or mixed-use redevelopment could occur. The possibilities could enrich the town both financially and in building on its native strengths in arts, tourism and entrepreneurship. More discussions can be expected as the Master Plan is drafted and the Town moves toward a closer examination of its Zoning By-Laws.

Article 6 in a series on the Arlington, MA Master Planning process. Prepared by Barbara Thornton

Arlington residents value the town’s walkability, woodlands and water vistas and tree lined streets.  It will require careful Town policy and citizen advocacy to preserve these valuable assets for the future.  The Master Plan, now in draft form, assesses the challenges and makes recommendations for how to preserve and enhance the open space and natural resources the community now enjoys.

Open Space Held by Different Owners

Some facts to frame the situation:  41% of Arlington is covered with impervious surfaces, buildings, roads, etc., making it harder for water to drain into the ground.  Additional area is covered by rocky ledge.  Surface water covers Approximately 6% of the land area – two lakes, two ponds, one reservoir, one river and several brooks, and  15% of the town’s land area is publicly owned open space including conservation land, land in schools, parks and recreational uses and other town or state owned land.  Arlington Conservation Commission (ACC) oversees and manages 25 land parcels with a combined total of 50 acres (see Table 7.2). Arlington also owns the 183 acre Great Meadows, ironically located entirely in Lexington.  The state owns and Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) manages several parcels including the 120 acre Alewife Brook Reservation and the land along the Mystic River and around the Mystic Lakes dam.  Areas designated as wetlands and floodplains also limit development and hold the community closer to the natural environment.

Concerns for Sustainability and Climate Change Adaption Guide Actions

The nine Vision 2020 goals the town adopted in the 1990’s anticipated a sustainable community.  Volunteer and Town actions like the “Arlington Sustainability Action Plan” developed by the Vision 2020 Environment Task Group led to the Town hiring an energy coordinator, a recycling manager and the purchase of fuel-efficient vehicles.  The “Safe Routes to School” initiative, the Minuteman Bikeway, the “complete streets” plan for Mass Ave in East Arlington, the “Tree City” designation, the recycling program, Hurd Field “rain gardens” and porous parking, are all examples of how citizen concerns and volunteer action have led to significant sustainability initiatives.  These actions set the stage for Arlington’s designation by the Massachusetts Green Communities Program in 2010 as a “Green Community”.

Challenges Remain- How Will the Community Respond?

Protecting and preserving open space, water quality, urban wildlife, tree cover and managing environmental hazards continue to challenge Arlington citizens and officials.  The Master Plan raises several questions for how the community might respond to these challenges.

1. Should there be disincentives for the “teardown” of smaller and older homes that reduce open space or tree cover?
2. Can mixed use development be encouraged in areas where infrastructure is already in place?
3. What are the best opportunities for linking existing open space?
4. Are there locations suitable for “urban agriculture”?
5. How can Arlington residents support efforts to better maintain its trees, water bodies and passive recreation land?

Ideas discussed include a linear park along Mill Brook, improved access to shorelines along Spy Pond, Mystic Lake and Mill Brook, rooftop gardens, food growing in green strips between sidewalk and street, re-imagining uses to preserve open space at Poet’s Corner and the flood-prone Mugar property and, revising the zoning bylaw to allow “form based” zoning code in support of enhancing open space, improving streetscape, preserving tree, control flooding etc.

Key to the success of the past initiatives, and to the future, is Arlington’s tradition of informal and flexible support of the creative initiatives of the town’s citizens.

Arlington Advocate’s Master Plan series:

1:  Arlington shows the way with master plan.

2:  Arlington Master Plan: Choices for future land use

3:  Traffic and transportation issues shape Arlington’s future

4:  Arlington Master Plan considers economic development

5:  Housing choices shape future affordability, vitality

Article 2 in a series on the Arlington, MA Master Planning process.   Prepared by Barbara Thornton

Arlington, relative to other communities in the region, is a densely developed residential suburb with some commercial centers and a variety of interesting, walkable neighborhoods spread over a topography of hills, streams, ponds and flat lands. The Town’s property tax revenue pays for about 76% of the cost of operations, a relatively high percentage made more challenging because the Town has little room to add new property tax generating uses such as commercial or industrial development, and state law limits the growth in revenue from property tax to 2.5% a year, less than many of the inflationary costs local governments must cover.

The four goals for the land use section of the Master Plan are to 1) Balance housing growth with other supportive services and amenities; 2) Encourage development that enhances the quality of Arlington’s natural resources and built environment; 3) Attract development that supports and expands the economic, cultural and civic purposes of the commercial areas; 4)Focus mixed use development in Arlington’s commercial areas to support local businesses and provide services for residents. While Arlington has little open land that could be buildable for new tax revenue, it does have commercial areas that could be more densely developed, adding to the community’s revenue base.

Arlington’s topography also suggests some untapped and underutilized amenities for the community. Citizens value the historic character of the town but also want to ensure revenue to support the town’s future. Redevelopment opportunities exist that could enhance characteristics the community cherishes while adding expansion and diversification to the tax base. These opportunities will require an update to the old fashioned, linear approach to land use regulation outlined in the town’s current regulations. Access to open space and recreation amenities like Mill Brook and the Minuteman Bike Way can be enhanced with the right kind of redevelopment program.

A modern approach to land use can also improve the revenue generating opportunities and visual amenities along the Mass Ave. commercial corridor in specific nodes, like Arlington Heights, Arlington Center and Capitol Square in East Arlington, without disrupting the quality of life in adjacent residential neighborhoods. The current zoning map includes 19 different types of districts such as “Town House”, “Industrial”, “Vehicular Oriented Business”, etc. (See page 4, table 2.1 of the revised Land Use Working Paper so see the full list or the current Zoning Map on pg 10-11 of the Existing Conditions report). The zoning plan was essentially an effort to describe what existed at that time, starting in 1975. Some districts were so small, they only had one parcel. Arlington’s current zoning use regulations are unusually restrictive and don’t now match the actual use of land. For example, 49 acres are zoned for industrial development but only 14 acres are actually used for industrial purposes and 20% of the business zoned land is used for residential purposes. Old fashioned zoning tools no longer fit the Arlington of today.

Fortunately, zoning policy has evolved considerably since 1975. New techniques such as “form based codes” give a community the vocabulary to talk about neighborhoods and how the citizens want that neighborhood to look and feel when they are in it. “Mixed Use Development” is another tool that would allow the Town to regulate the use of residential units above commercial store fronts, a contemporary concept for walkable village areas, bringing a more vibrant street life both day and night. New planning approaches also allow a more flexible conversation about density, design elements, massing, transitional areas and other characteristics of the built environment that are hard to address just by dimensional requirements like minimum lot area requirements, side yard dimensions, building height, etc.

As the Town uses the Master Planning process to reconcile the challenges of growth, change, revenue, amenities and quality of life for the future, the community will face the opportunity to rewrite its antiquated zoning and land use regulations. The shared vocabulary provided through the Master Plan will make this easier. Currently Arlington is divided into separate “pods” of singularly defined land uses called “zoning districts” such as commercial, residential, institutional, agricultural and industrial.

Modern land use regulation moves toward language to describe the relationship between buildings and the “public realm” (streets, open spaces, civic places), the form and mass of buildings in relation to each other, and the type and purpose of streets and blocks. According to the RKG consultants’ working paper, “ Form-based codes focus on the form of a place, including the space between buildings that make up the public realm, such as where the building sits on a lot, the frontage, sidewalk, planting area, drainage, and the street itself. Form based codes also consider the scale of blocks in order to create walkable places.
A close look at the Town through the lens of the Master Planning process and using an updated vocabulary to define ways of regulating land use shows many terrific new opportunities for the Town in the future.

Each week, for the next several weeks, we will review the goals, findings and opportunities associated with each of the following sections of the Master Plan.
• Land Use existing conditions
• Economic Development
• Housing
• Open Space
• Historic and Cultural Resource Areas
• Public Facilities and Services
• Natural Resources

The citizens of Arlington engaged in an active and well publicized discussion about all the elements of a proposed new town Master Plan.  These discussions took place in well attended public meetings held, primarily, at the Senior Center/ Central School’s main public meeting space.  They were held in a series of meetings, each meeting considering one “element” or subject of the proposed master plan between late 2014 and early 2015.  Each of the elements was presented by staff and consultants, and thoroughly discussed by a wide range of citizen attendees.  After additional discussion in Town Meeting, Town Meeting members voted to adopt the Master Plan in the spring of 2015.

Following is a list of each of the elements of the Master Plan that were discussed and approved at that 2015 Town Meeting.   The links lead to a more detailed description of each of the Master Plan elements.

What as a Master Plan?

Article 1 in a series on the Arlington, MA master planning process. Located about 15 miles north west of Boston, the Town of Arlington is now developing a master plan that will reflect the visions and expectations of the community and will provide enabling steps for the community to move toward this vision over the… Read More

Arlington Choices for Future Land Use

Article 2 in a series on the Arlington, MA Master Planning process.  Arlington, relative to other communities in the region, is a densely developed residential suburb with some commercial centers and a variety of interesting, walkable neighborhoods spread over a topography of hills, streams, ponds and flat lands. The Town’s property… Read More

Traffic and Transportation Issues Shape Arlington’s Future

Article 3 in a series on the Arlington, MA Master Planning process.   A conversation about transportation issues extends well beyond rush hour car traffic congestion.  As the Town contemplates its future 20 years from now, should it build wider streets, wider bike paths, wider sidewalks or none of the above? If… Read More

Arlington Master Plan Considers Economic Development

Article 4 in a series on the Arlington, MA Master Planning process.  Most of Arlington’s budget depends on the Town’s tax base. As the cost of services increases, the Town budget must increase. Massachusetts communities are limited in their ability to increase taxes on existing property. Many municipalities have developable land… Read More

Housing Choices Shape Affordability and Vitality of Town Future

Article 5 in a series on the Arlington, MA Master Planning process.  The Master Plan will have a distinct section focusing on housing and in Arlington there will be much to decide. Housing prices in Arlington are among the fastest rising in the region. According to a recent article in the… Read More

Master Plan to Preserve Open Space and Natural Resources for Future

Article 6 in a series on the Arlington, MA Master Planning process.   Arlington residents value the town’s walkability, woodlands and water vistas and tree lined streets. It will require careful Town policy and citizen advocacy to preserve these valuable assets for the future. The Master Plan, now in draft form… Read More

Arlington History Preserved in New Master Plan

Article 7 in a series on the Arlington, MA Master Planning process.  Reminders of Arlington’s Revolutionary War history are scattered throughout the town. The town, first inhabited by the Algonquian group of Native Americans, then settled by European colonists in 1635 and incorporated in 1807, took its current name in… Read More

Public Buildings and Services:  How Much Dues Municipality Need?

Article 8 in a series on the Arlington, MA Master Planning process. Prepared by Barbara Thornton Town buildings, both school and municipal, comprise 1.3 million square feet of building space. That is a lot of property to maintain. And it doesn’t include the Town’s open space, parks and fields. Some properties key to the town’s… Read More