Note: Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the previously announced Zoning Board of Appeals hearing on April 14 to consider the Thorndike Place 40B development project was postponed until June 9. We will alert you to any further news about this project.
Mugar Site
March 2020 Article about Mugar Site
The Belmont Citizens Forum newsletter of March/April 2020 contained a three page report on Mugar Site. The article, by Meg Muckenhoupt is entitled Arlington Group Opposes Mugar Site Plans. You may view a pdf copy of the article here.
February 2020 Article by Mugar Site Developer
Mugar site developer urges plan that works for all
Gwendolen G. Noyes
Wednesday, 26 February 2020
Published by Your Arlington
The following opinion was written by Gwendolen G. Noyes, founder and senior vice president of marketing for Oaktree Development, the company that seeks to build Thorndike Place on the Mugar site near Route 2 in East Arlington. Comments may be sent to Kimberly Conant, director of marketing at GreenStaxx, at kconant at greenstaxx.com.
Despite the Massachusetts Housing Court’s decision in favor of ‘Thorndike Place’ development under the Mass 40B ‘safe-harbor’ legislation, it was clear from the Zoning Board of Appeals hearing held Nov. 2, 2019, that public opposition to the proposed development of the 17-acre property in East Arlington has not diminished.
The 1.5-percent question was resolved by the court in favor of the property’s development. Pending the ongoing review process, Oaktree remains optimistic that a solution beneficial to the town and the property’s neighbors can be reached. Arlington’s deficit of affordable-housing units could be reduced by as many as 54 units!
Conservation land, housing
Oaktree has sought a respectful dialogue from the beginning with Arlington residents, one that could include the cooperative involvement of town boards and committees. With that, a positive outcome could be achieved through an environmentally responsible development of the property:
- a contribution of much-needed publicly accessible conservation land in Arlington along with the preservation of the wetlands, and
- the creation of much-needed housing that will be affordable to middle-income wage earners and retirees. This housing is so clearly needed to ensure that Arlington continues to thrive as a town. (Arlington Housing Production Plan, 2016).
We agree with the town’s citizens that the preservation of wetlands is paramount. Under the proposed plan, 11 acres of wetlands would be deeded to the town and preserved in perpetuity — at zero cost. If the plan is approved, the wetland area would not only be preserved, its full potential as an environmental resource could be realized.
This could be conservation land with restored woodlands and tended paths running though it, and it could provide access to the Route 2 overpass and Cambridge Park/Alewife Office Park. In its current state, the property is tangled with invasive species, is inaccessible for recreation and strewn with trash and illegal dumping. It is a scary, even dangerous campground for the homeless. A cooperative effort between the town and developer should be launched and could vastly transform the area.
Flooding concern
In addition to the wetlands issue, there is the understandable concern raised by East Arlington residents that development of the property may worsen flooding in the neighborhood, currently a significant problem for the area. Our exceptionally qualified BSC civil engineer assures us that by paying strict attention to hydrological issues in accordance with the mandated U.S. FEMA Rules and Regulations regarding storm-water management regulations, whatever is to be built will cause no worsening of basement flooding conditions for those homes.
Compensatory storm-water storage measures, if needed, would be a part of a competently planned and designed site that will undergo extensive reviews by Arlington’s boards and peer reviewers. Development of the area will also bring attention to the state Department of Transportation’s role in needed maintenance of drainage systems relating to Route 2.
Oaktree Development has made sustainability a cornerstone of development during its 40-year history. We have worked on a number of environmentally challenging projects, including the completed Brookside Square in West Concord. Oaktree developed the mixed-use project (74 apartments and 36,000 square feet of commercial space) on a site with a brook that is subject to flooding.
Upon completion, Stephanie Cooper, the state Department of Environmental Protection chief of staff (and former assistant secretary to the state Office of Land & Forest Conservation), lauded the project as “a great example for other suburban and rural communities of how we can build much-needed housing for the 21st century in a way that benefits both economic development and the environment.”
219 units of housing
Besides gaining a tended conservation amenity, the other significant benefit to Arlington that the project would bring is creating 219 units of transit-oriented housing – with 25 percent of those units being affordable to middle-income households. Middle-income is defined as households earning 80 percent of the average median income (Arlington is $65,750 for a three-person household), meaning that teachers, firefighters and office workers would be able to live and work here.
According to the town’s own 2016 Housing Production Plan, Arlington needs to add several hundred additional units of housing by 2020 – this year! – to meet “the needs of an aging population, the town’s significant number of family households, smaller households and households earning a range of incomes.” [As noted by the state, there is still a significant deficit of registered affordable-housing units in Arlington. By 2020, according to the plan, demographic changes and projections suggest an additional 300-plus affordable units will be needed to meet demand.
As builders, we believe that housing is the only appropriate use for the developable portion of the site, something the town has previously considered. In 2009 and 2010, the town approached the owners with a plan that included housing on the site, and applied for a wetlands protection grant that would award funding for conservation of approximately 11 acres of the Mugar’s open space – with the town contributing $2.5 million toward the wetland purchase.
The town worked cooperatively with the Mugars to generate a plan that included construction of townhouses and apartments on the property. The award of wetland protection funding to Arlington did not come through, however, so the project was abandoned. Again, as stated, in the current proposal, the land not built upon – both wetland and upland – would be deeded to the town as conservation land, at no cost.
Earlier traffic study
An earlier-commissioned traffic study has determined that the proposed project “adds a barely perceptible increase to an already admittedly bad traffic condition”; there is an updating of the current and projected traffic situation that will be completed after the site-plan review.
In sum, there are a myriad of benefits that will be realized if the town and developers are willing to work cooperatively to create a true win-win for all concerned. And while many of the concerns of the people of Arlington are understandable, in the balance, those concerns will be mitigated, a publicly available conservation amenity will be created, and significant housing benefits will be realized.
We encourage anyone in Arlington to follow the project to receive updates and participate in constructive dialogue: Thorndike Place.
January 2020 Update on Mugar Development Hearings
At its December 10, 2019 meeting, the Zoning Board of Appeals heard from representatives of Arlington Land Realty, the developer of the proposed 40B housing project to be located on the Mugar land in East Arlington, and from several abutters and other members of the public. Many questions were raised by ZBA members and residents, with no resolution. The case was continued until April 14, 2020.
For more information, see the ZBA draft minutes of December 10 meeting.
Next Steps in the 40B Process
A developer acting under Chapter 40B submits a single application to the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) for a “comprehensive permit,” so-called because all permitting procedures are consolidated under the ZBA. The zoning board notifies applicable local boards such as the Planning Board, the Board of Health, and the Conservation Commission and requests their recommendations.
Within thirty days of the receipt of the application (expected in April) the zoning board begins a public hearing, which lasts up to six months. The ZBA must issue a decision within forty days after ending the public hearing.
At the conclusion of the public hearing process the ZBA may approve the application as submitted, it can approve the project with conditions or changes, or it can deny the application altogether.
Zoning boards and other town officials often work with developers to modify the project. The board may include conditions and requirements on any aspect of the project, such as height, density, site plan, utility improvements, or long-term affordability. If the ZBA denies the application or imposes conditions which render the project “uneconomic,” the developer may appeal the decision to the state Housing Appeals Committee. HAC is generally disposed to favor developers, but may uphold the ZBA decision if it finds that “local concerns,” including health and safety matters and open space needs, outweigh the regional need for affordable housing.
The comprehensive permit process offers two advantages to the developer: a streamlined and expedited path to permitting the project; and the ability to ask the ZBA to apply less stringent standards than those required by local bylaws, as long as they meet the state’s minimum requirements. A developer may ask for a waiver of any local regulation that it claims renders the project “uneconomic.” For example, Oaktree has already given notice that it may request:
- Waiver to forego full compliance with the Arlington Wetlands Bylaw
- Waiver from prohibition of a new habitable structure in an Inland Wetlands District
- Waiver to allow less than 2:1 compensatory flood storage
Our Conservation Commission will review the project under the state’s Wetlands Protection Act, which cannot be waived, but Arlington like many communities has wisely adopted more stringent requirements to protect its natural resources. ALT will urge that these reasonable and prudent local environmental standards be upheld.
December 2019: Mugar Development Hearing Begins
Zoning Board of Appeals
Tuesday December 10th at 7:45pm
Lyons Hearing Room, Town Hall Second Floor
Oaktree Development will appear before the Zoning Board of Appeals to begin the public hearing process on its proposal to build a 291-unit housing project in East Arlington. The meeting is scheduled for 7:45pm.
An overview of the 40B permitting process is below. More background on the proposed project is available on the ALT website and from the Coalition to Save the Mugar Wetlands, which will hold a public discussion at 7:30 pm Tuesday on the steps of Town Hall prior to the Board of Appeals hearing.
Next Steps in the 40B Process
A developer acting under Chapter 40B submits a single application to the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) for a “comprehensive permit,” so-called because all permitting procedures are consolidated under the ZBA. The zoning board notifies applicable local boards such as the Planning Board, the Board of Health, and the Conservation Commission and requests their recommendations.
Within thirty days of the receipt of the application, the zoning board begins a public hearing, which lasts up to six months. The ZBA must issue a decision within forty days after ending the public hearing. That timeline for the proposal by Oaktree Development was paused by various state-level administrative proceedings from the time of its original submission in 2015 until the hearing resumes on December 10, 2019.
At the conclusion of the public hearing process the ZBA may approve the application as submitted, it can approve the project with conditions or changes, or it can deny the application altogether.
Zoning boards and other town officials often work with developers to modify the project. The board may include conditions and requirements on any aspect of the project, such as height, density, site plan, utility improvements, or long-term affordability. If the ZBA denies the application or imposes conditions which render the project “uneconomic,” the developer may appeal the decision to the state Housing Appeals Committee. HAC is generally disposed to favor developers, but may uphold the ZBA decision if it finds that “local concerns,” including health and safety matters and open space needs, outweigh the regional need for affordable housing.
The comprehensive permit process offers two advantages to the developer: a streamlined and expedited path to permitting the project; and the ability to ask the ZBA to apply less stringent standards than those required by local bylaws, as long as they meet the state’s minimum requirements. A developer may ask for a waiver of any local regulation that it claims renders the project “uneconomic.” For example, Oaktree has already given notice that it may request:
Waiver to forego full compliance with the Arlington Wetlands Bylaw
Waiver from prohibition of a new habitable structure in an Inland Wetlands District
Waiver to allow less than 2:1 compensatory flood storage
Our Conservation Commission will review the project under the state’s Wetlands Protection Act, which cannot be waived, but Arlington like many communities has wisely adopted more stringent requirements to protect its natural resources. ALT will urge that these reasonable and prudent local environmental standards be upheld.