Arlington Sees Support For Commercial, Industrial Use

ARLINGTON, MA — The Arlington Department of Planning and Community Development this summer sought feedback on draft zoning recommendations for the Economic Analysis of Industrial Zoning Districts project. The draft zoning recommendations focus on adjusting the requirements of the Zoning Bylaw to suit modern industrial, commercial and flex space needs.

A survey with an introductory video ran from July 6-27, and 208 unique responses were received from the community.

Each question focused on a different element of the proposed draft recommendations: uses, building height, parking requirements, setbacks, and building design. Survey respondents were given the opportunity to provide open-ended remarks to any of the questions or on the project as a whole as well. The findings include:

• Most respondents were comfortable with a variety of commercial and industrial uses including industrial uses, office, commercial/industrial mixed-use, flexible space, co-working space, and more. Open responses indicated that respondents thought that many other types of uses should be considered as well.
• A substantial majority of respondents agreed with a waiver for greater building height in return for higher standards for site design, parking, or environmental protection. Open responses supported a general increase in height, but suggested a case-by-case review would be necessary to consider the context of any given project.
• About two-thirds of respondents agreed with reducing parking in favor of requiring more bicycle parking, but the 40 comments received reflected the range of opinions from support of reducing parking requirements even if bike parking is not increased to no reductions in parking requirements.
• Allowing a variable front setback also received support from about two-thirds of respondents, but the comments provided additional insight. Open-ended responses noted that any reduction in setbacks needs to go hand-in-hand with considerable pedestrian amenities and landscaping.
• Respondents supported requiring new buildings to have more windows and a greater level of visual transparency, as well as more pedestrian amenities such as lighting, art, or seating. However, open-ended responses suggested that although buildings should be well-designed in general, this may not be as important in the industrial zoning districts.

The full survey summary can be read on the Zoning Bylaw Working Group’s website: https://www.arlingtonma.gov/home/showdocument?id=52683.

This Economic Analysis of the Industrial Zoning Districts project kicked off in December 2019 with assistance from the Zoning Bylaw Working Group (ZBWG) and RKG Associates and Harriman. The goals of the Economic Analysis of Industrial Zoning Districts project include positioning Arlington to attract new businesses and jobs in emerging growth industries to the Industrial Districts and creating opportunities for the Town to realize greater revenue by making strategic amendments to the Zoning Bylaw and Zoning Map. All project information and presentations are available on the ZBWG’s website: https://www.arlingtonma.gov/town-governance/all-boards-and-committees/master-plan-implementation-committee/zoning-bylaw-working-group.

To learn more about this project, contact Erin Zwirko, Assistant Director of Planning and Community Development, at 781-316-3091 or ezwirko@town.arlington.ma.us.