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October 2021 – Mugar Update 

The next and possibly final ZBA hearing is scheduled on Tuesday, October 5, at 6:30 pm, to continue discussion of the Comprehensive Permit for Thorndike Place, located on the Mugar land in East Arlington. This hearing will focus on the ZBA’s revised Draft Decision, which outlines the details of the proposed project, including conditions and waivers. This is a complicated legal document. Various parties have already and will continue to make revisions until the ZBA votes on the final amended text of the decision.

Register in advance for this Zoom meeting. You will receive a confirmation email with information about joining the meeting.

In a recent letter to the ZBA, Patrick Herron, executive director of the Mystic River Watershed Association (MyRWA), expresses the organization’s concerns about the scale of the project in the former Great Swamp, and the process for transferring the 12+ acres of open space to conservation purposes. He and other concerned residents and observers are asking the ZBA to extend the hearing process to continue discussing many unresolved issues.

Please send your comments and concerns about this proposed project to the Zoning Board at zba@town.arlington.ma.us. It is important to share your concerns with the ZBA members as they deliberate their decision and the conditions to be placed on the Comprehensive Permit for this project.

Arlington Land Trust continues to advocate for the permanent protection of the Mugar parcel as conservation land. The site is subject to regular and significant flooding, and is a critical stormwater buffer for the surrounding and downstream neighborhoods of East Arlington.

September 2021 – Mugar Update 2

The ZBA’s final public hearing on the Comprehensive Permit for Thorndike Place is scheduled on Tuesday, October 5, starting at 6:30 pm. Additional information will be shared closer to the meeting date. You can register in advance for this Zoom meeting. You will receive a confirmation email with information about joining the meeting.

Please send your comments and concerns about this proposed project to the Zoning Board at zba@town.arlington.ma.us. It is important to share your concerns with the ZBA members as they deliberate their decision and the conditions to be placed on the Comprehensive Permit for this project.

Arlington Land Trust continues to advocate for the permanent protection of the Mugar parcel as conservation land. The site is subject to regular and significant flooding, and is a critical stormwater buffer for the surrounding and downstream neighborhoods of East Arlington.

September 2021 – Mugar Update

A ZBA hearing is scheduled on Thursday, September 9, starting at 7:30 pm, to continue discussion of the Comprehensive Permit for Thorndike Place, located on the Mugar land in East Arlington. Numerous recent documents and correspondence can be found on the ZBA agenda website for the 09/09/21 meeting. The next hearing is tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, September 28 at 7:30 pm.

Register in advance for this Zoom meeting. You will receive a confirmation email with information about joining the meeting.

Please send your comments and concerns about this proposed project to the Zoning Board at zba@town.arlington.ma.us. It is important to share your concerns with the ZBA members as they deliberate their decision and the conditions to be placed on the Comprehensive Permit for this project.

Arlington Land Trust continues to advocate for the permanent protection of the Mugar parcel as conservation land. The site is subject to regular and significant flooding, and is a critical stormwater buffer for the surrounding and downstream neighborhoods of East Arlington.

August 2021 – Mugar Update 

The next ZBA hearing is scheduled on Tuesday, August 3, starting at 7:30 pm, to continue discussion of the Comprehensive Permit for Thorndike Place, located on the Mugar land in East Arlington.

Oaktree Development, after months of hearings on its residential proposal, shifted in May to proposing a senior living complex.  Only sketchy information on this new scheme has been provided to the board and the public, with no information at all being presented at the June 29^th and July 13^th meetings.  We hope that Oaktree will not similarly waste the board’s and the public’s time at this upcoming meeting but thus far no new information has been submitted.  If there are any last-minute submissions, they will be available here.

Register in advance for this Zoom meeting. You will receive a confirmation email with information about joining the meeting.

Please send your comments and concerns about this proposed project to the Zoning Board at  zba@town.arlington.ma.us. It is important to share your concerns with the ZBA members as they deliberate their decision and the conditions to be placed on the Comprehensive Permit for this project.

Arlington Land Trust continues to advocate for the permanent protection of the Mugar parcel as conservation land. The site is subject to regular and significant flooding, and is a critical stormwater buffer for the surrounding and downstream neighborhoods of East Arlington.

July 2021 – Mugar Update

The next ZBA hearing is scheduled on Tuesday, July 13, starting at 7:30 pm, to continue discussion of the Comprehensive Permit for Thorndike Place on the Mugar land in East Arlington

At two previous hearings in June, the Applicant presented revised plans for 12 townhouses as ownership units facing Dorothy Road and the main building to include 124 rental units for senior independent living, but no assisted living units as had been proposed in an earlier plan.

Additional information has been requested by the ZBA from the Applicant and from the Housing Authority and Fire Department to address numerous parking, public health, and safety concerns raised by this type of specialized housing. To date only limited new information is available on the ZBA Thorndike Place website or on the July 13 agenda.

Please register in advance for this Zoom meeting; you will receive a confirmation email with instructions about joining.

Please send your comments and concerns about this proposed project to the Zoning Board at zba@town.arlington.ma.us. The hearing process may be closing soon, so it is important to share your concerns with the ZBA members as they deliberate their decision and the conditions to be placed on the Comprehensive Permit for this project.

Arlington Land Trust continues to advocate for the permanent protection of the Mugar parcel as conservation land. The site is subject to regular and significant flooding, and is a critical stormwater buffer for the surrounding and downstream neighborhoods of East Arlington.