All communities served by the MBTA, including Arlington, are required by the State of Massachusetts to change their laws to allow more housing to be built in town. The State’s goal is to help address the shortage of housing in the region, and the correspondingly high costs.
Accessory Dwelling Units (aka “granny flats”)
Seattle finds new tools to preserve neighborhood character in the Pike / Pine Corridor of the city. Arlington has its own neighborhood districts that are now being re-thought with new planning for the neighborhoods’ future. These include the Broadway Corridor, the Mass Ave. Transit Corridor and Arlington Heights.
Prof. Christophe Reinhardt runs the MIT Sustainable Design Lab. On Nov. 25, 2019 he gave a very interesting presentation, including talk and slides, that shows a pathway to make more housing, all kinds of housing, and greater housing density both more palatable in Arlington, and actually desirable. He also stressed the importance of paying attention to housing now in order to meet the climate change challenge. Charts (starting about 10 min in) show how drastically we need to reduce our carbon footprint to reach net zero by 2050. Buildings today account for about 40% of our carbon emissions world wide. What we build today will likely be around through 2050.
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.
Article 8 in a series on the Arlington, MA Master Planning process. Prepared by Barbara Thornton
Article 7 in a series on the Arlington, MA Master Planning process. Prepared by Barbara Thornton
Article 6 in a series on the Arlington, MA Master Planning process. Prepared by Barbara Thornton
Article 5 in a series on the Arlington, MA Master Planning process. Prepared by Barbara Thornton
Article 4 in a series on the Arlington, MA Master Planning process. Prepared by Barbara Thornton .