What a turnout! Equitable Arlington, joined by Mothers Out Front and other Arlington organizations, showed up strong in support of the MBTA Communities plan. Sign-holders stretched along the street for the full length of Town Hall on Monday, October 23, for an hour before Town Meeting. In some cases people were stacked two deep!
State Representatives Dave Rogers (Arlington, Belmont and Cambridge) and Sean Garballey (Arlington, Medford) have sent a letter to Town Meeting Members backing the MBTA Communities Plan. They write:
by Anson Stewart
We've written up quick talking points you can use if you're talking to someone for ten seconds, a minute, or two minutes. If they bring up something they've heard that seems incorrect, we also have responses so you can clear up that misinformation.
Show you support the MBTA Communities Plan for Arlington with this free yard sign. Sign up below with your name and address, and we will deliver the yard sign to your home and place it in your front yard for you! If you don’t have access to a yard, we can also give you one to place in your window.
(Elliot L. is an 8th grader at the Ottoson Middle School)
The Housing Corporation of Arlington (HCA), the Town's non-profit housing developer, is excited to create a new development on Sunnyside Ave with 43 new affordable homes. The homes will be a diverse mix of sizes and serve people of different incomes, all under 60% of area median income. Arlington and the entire Greater Boston region have a severe shortage of affordable housing, which this project will help to address.
It's January 2023, and as we do every year, folks in Arlington are taking out nomination papers, gathering signatures, and strategizing on how to campaign for the town election on Saturday April 1st. The town election is where we choose members of Arlington's governing institutions, including Town Meeting. We encourage you to run!
Massachusetts' 2020 Economic Development Bill included a set of housing choice provisions: these require communities served by the MBTA to provide a district of reasonable size where multi-family housing is allowed by right. The law gives us significant flexibility to design a district that best suits our needs, but the district must allow housing suitable for families with children, without age restrictions, and at a rate of at least 15 dwellings per acre. Arlington is one of 175 MBTA communities in Massachusetts that share in the responsibility for meeting these requirements.
We have winners of the Broadway Corridor Design Competion.