Blog

  • ZBA Draft Decision for March 11 Hearing

    March 2021 – Mugar Update #2

    The Zoning Board of Appeals has issued a Draft Decision on the application for a Comprehensive Permit for Thorndike Place on the Mugar land in East Arlington. The 40-page decision appears to grant a permit for the project as presented at the February 16 hearing: a massive single building of 172 rental units fronting immediately on Dorothy Road. Many terms and conditions are itemized, but significant concerns remain unaddressed.

    The hearing on Thursday, March 11 at 7:30 pm is critically important and may be the last opportunity for public input. Please plan to attend.

    To register for the hearing via Zoom, visit the ZBA agenda page on the Town website. Links to all the site plans, reports and correspondence received about this project can be found on the ZBA Thorndike Place page. Please review these informative documents and be sure to send your own comments and concerns about this proposed project to the Zoning Board at zba@town.arlington.ma.us.

  • Select Board Comments on Mugar Project; Next ZBA Hearing March 11

    At the Select Board meeting on March 1, Selectman Steve DeCourcey made a slide presentation on the Mugar/Thorndike Place Comprehensive Permit and the board subsequently voted 5-0 to send additional comments to the Zoning Board of Appeals, following up on the Select Board letter of February 22. The new comments call into question the validity of the project’s initial approval by MassHousing.

    The current scheme, presented to the ZBA by Oaktree Development on February 16, eliminates the townhouses along Dorothy Road, consolidating the entire project of 172 rental units into one large structure fronting immediately on Dorothy. Removal of the townhouses takes away the only design element that was reasonably compatible with the style and scale of the neighborhood. It also takes away any opportunities for home ownership, leaving only rental units in the remaining four-story structure.

    The original 2015 “Project Eligibility Approval” by MassHousing based its findings on the project having a mix of rental and ownership opportunities, and that “the proposed townhouse units on Dorothy Road were designed as a transitional zone between the duplex and single family homes of the existing residential neighborhood to the North and East of the project and the larger proposed apartment building to the South.” Both of these key elements have now been removed. The Select Board suggests that without the townhouses the original Eligibility Approval could not have been granted. The Board has urged the ZBA to request that the Applicant submit a new site approval application for review by MassHousing before any further action is taken on the current proposal.

    State Senator Cindy Friedman has also sent a letter to the ZBA reinforcing her opposition to the proposed Thorndike Place project.

    Next ZBA Hearing on Thursday, March 11 at 7:30 pm.

    To register for the hearing via Zoom, visit the ZBA agenda page on the Town website. Links to all the site plans, reports and correspondence received about this project can be found on the ZBA Thorndike Place page. Please review these informative documents and be sure to send your own comments and concerns about this proposed project to the Zoning Board at zba@town.arlington.ma.us.

  • Mugar/Thorndike Place Hearings and Reports

    The Zoning Board of Appeals is continuing its hearings on the Thorndike Place Comprehensive Permit for a large housing project to be built on the Mugar property on Dorothy Road in East Arlington. The following hearings and topics are currently scheduled on Tuesdays at 7:30 pm.

    • Feb. 16: continued discussions on traffic impact studies and urban design issues
    • Feb. 23: topics to be determined

    To register for each hearing via Zoom, visit the ZBA agenda page on the Town website. Links to all the site plans, documents and correspondence received about this project can be found on the ZBA Thorndike Place page.

    In January the Land Trust commissioned Weston & Sampson Engineers, Inc. to summarize critical climate resiliency considerations regarding the proposed Thorndike Place design in East Arlington. Their cover letter and report have been submitted to the ZBA. The Land Trust recognizes that predictable climate changes will directly impact the entire East Arlington neighborhood, site of the former Great Swamp and part of the Alewife-Mystic watershed. This W&S report is intended to provide additional evidence to the ZBA as it deliberates the significance of those threats to development on the Mugar property.

    The Conservation Commission has also submitted its Recommended Permit Conditions for wetlands and storm water management issues.

    From the W&S report, p. 6:  People canoeing at Magnolia Playground after 2010 storm. 

    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.

  • Mugar/Thorndike Place Hearings Continue

    The Zoning Board of Appeals is continuing its hearings on the Thorndike Place Comprehensive Permit for a large housing project to be built on the Mugar property on Dorothy Road in East Arlington. The following hearings and topics are currently scheduled on Tuesdays at 7:30 pm.

    • Jan. 26: architectural and urban design aspects of the project
    • Feb. 9: continued discussions on traffic impact studies and urban design issues
    • Feb. 23: topics to be determined

    To register for each hearing via Zoom, visit the ZBA agenda page on the Town website. Links to all the site plans, documents and correspondence received about this project can be found on the ZBA Thorndike Place page.

    Additional information is available from the local neighborhood organization, Coalition to Save the Mugar Wetlands.

    You are encouraged to send your own comments about the proposed project to zba@town.arlington.ma.us. 

    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.

  • 2020 Annual Meeting, January 19, 2021

    2020 Annual Meeting, January 19, 2021

    The Land Trust will present its 20th anniversary annual meeting via Zoom this year on Tuesday, January 19, at 7:00 pm. The agenda will include the usual reports of recent activities and board member elections. Please save the date and sign up here to receive the Zoom link to the meeting. 

    Bob Wilber, Director of Land Conservation at Mass Audubon


    Our special guest speaker this year is Bob Wilber, Director of Land Conservation at Mass Audubon. Long-time ALT members may recall that Bob was instrumental in helping the Land Trust negotiate the purchase of Elizabeth Island in 2010.
     
    He will address the topic Land Conservation in the Time of Climate Change. Land conservation has always been an important activity to protect diverse habitats for animals and plants and to provide opportunities for people to experience the wonders of the natural world firsthand. During the last decade, the immense human health benefits of spending time in natural settings have been well documented. More recently, the convergence of two other critically important issues – the need for impactful responses to climate change and the need for environmental equity and justice for all people – has elevated the priority of strategic land conservation to an altogether new level.
     
    Bob Wilber has been the Director of Land Conservation for Mass Audubon since 2000. Previously, he worked in similar capacities for the Massachusetts Chapter of The Nature Conservancy, and Massachusetts State Forests and Parks. Bob is a past president of the Massachusetts Land Trust Coalition (MLTC), and currently serves on MLTC’s Board of Trustees. He lives in Stow, where he is president of the all-volunteer Stow Conservation Trust, and a member of the Town of Stow’s Open Space Committee. During his 35+ year career, Bob has been directly involved in the protection of more than 40,000 acres in Massachusetts.