The new proposal is just the most recent step in a process that reaches back almost a decade, culminating in the Master Plan (2015), the Housing Production Plan (2016) and the mixed-using zoning amendments of 2016. The Town has consistently proposed smart growth: more development along Arlington’s transit corridors to increase the tax base, stimulate local commerce, and provide more varied housing opportunities for everyone, including low and moderate income Arlingtonians. This year’s proposals are no head-long rush into change. Today’s debate is similar to the debate before Town Meeting three years ago. If anything, progress has been frustratingly slow. To realize the Master Plan’s vision of a vibrant Arlington with diverse housing types for a diverse population, we must stay the course on which we have been embarked for so long.
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(by Steve Revilak)
In 2021 the Massachusetts State Legislature passed the MBTA Communities act, which requires cities and towns served by the MBTA (aka “MBTA Communities”) to create districts where multi-family housing can be built by-right, without a disretionary approval process. The law was intended to help address the Commonwealth’s housing shortage, and to encourage more transit-oriented development. Building housing near transit and walkable areas has a lot of environmental benefits; it let’s people take trips without driving, lessens congestions, and cuts down on greenhouse gas emissions. It’s a solid strategey.
Arlington created its multi-family districts in the fall of 2023 and the Attorney General’s office approved them in June 2024. The laws have been on the books for just over a year — what kind of a difference are they making in Arlington?
2024 was a slow year for the MBTA Communities act in Arlington; there was one application which turned a two-family home on Belknap St into a pair of two-family homes, for a net change of two additional dwellings. 2025 has brought more activity. There are four applications under the review by the Arlington Redevelopment Board but none have been approved yet. These are:
- 225 Broadway, to convert a two-family home into a four-family,
- 126 Broadway, to convert a two-family home into a mixed use building with space for a business on the first floor, and 14 apartments,
- 18 Grafton, to convert a one-family home into a four-family, and
- 9-11 Robbins Road to convert a two-family home to nine apartments
There was an additional application to convert four apartments to five at 259 Broadway, but the applicant withdrew after their first hearing.
If all of these projects are approved, the net change will be an additional 26 homes, which represents a 0.1% increase relative to the 20,460 dwellings that Arlington had as of the 2020 census. It’s been a very slow trickle.
The MBTA Communities act was a meaningful reform which is just starting to make a difference. It’s bringing proposals for smaller multi-family homes that used to be the mainstay of our housing stock, but are generally rare today. However, the MBTA Communities Act is only one tool and Massachusetts will have to do more in order to build the 222,000 homes we need.
Why Is This Our Issue & What Should We Do About It?
(presented by Adam Chapdelaine, Town Manager, to Select Board on July 22, 2019)
Overview
Since 1980 the price of housing in Massachusetts has surged well ahead of other fast growing states including California and New York. While the national “House Price Index” is just below 400, four times what an average house might have cost in 1980, a typical house in Massachusetts is now about 720% what it was in 1980. Median household income in the state has only increased about 15% during the same period. No wonder people in Arlington are feeling the stresses of housing costs if they want to live here and are feeling protective of the equity value time has provided them if they bought years ago.
In response to concerns about zoning, affordable housing and housing density, the Town joined the “Mayors’ (and Managers’) Coalition on Housing” to address these growing pressures. This 12 page slide deck presentation outlines the key data points, the number of low and very low income households in Arlington, the rate of condo conversion that is absorbing rental units, etc.
Solutions are offered including:
• Amendments to Inclusionary Zoning Bylaw
• Housing Creation Along Commercial Corridor – Mixed Use & Zoning Along Corridor
• Accessory Dwelling Units – Potential Age & Family Restrictions
• Other Tools Can Be Considered That Are Outside of Zoning But Have An Impact on Housing
Chapdelaine’s suggested next steps are:
• Continued Public Engagement
• Town Manager & Director of DPCD Meet with ARB
• Select Board & ARB Hold Joint Meeting in Early Fall
• ARB Recommends Strategies to Pursue in Late Fall/Early Winter
The Select Board approved the suggested next steps and a joint ARB/ Select Board meeting should be scheduled in the near future.
Note from Reporter: As a community, Arlington has long prided itself on its economic diversity. With condo conversions, tear downs leading to “McMansions”, higher paid workers arriving in response to new jobs, etc., Arlington is at great risk of losing this diversity that has long enriched the community. Retirees looking to downsize and young people who have grown up in Arlington looking for their first apartment are finding it impossible to stay in town. Shop keepers and town employees are challenged to afford the rising housing costs. With a reconsideration of zoning along Arlington’s transit corridors, Arlington NOW has an opportunity to create new village centers, like those recommended in the recent STATE OF HOUSING report. These village centers along our transit corridors could be higher, denser but also offer the compelling visual design and amenities desired by people who want to walk to cafes, shops and public transit.