Vote Language:The Redevelopment Board voted (5-0) to recommend Action on Article 33. That the Zoning Bylaw be and hereby is amended as follows:
Amend SECTION 3.1.4.B:_______________________________________
B. The Building Inspector may, with the approval of the Board of Selectmen Select Board, institute the appropriate criminal action or proceeding at law or in equity to prevent any unlawful action, use or condition, and to restrain, correct or abate such violation. Penalties for violations may, upon conviction, be affixed in an amount not to exceed three-hundred dollars ($300.00) for each offense. Each day, or portion of a day, in which a violation exists shall be deemed a separate offense.
Amend SECTION 3.2.1.:________________________________________
3.2.1. Establishment
There shall be a Zoning Board of Appeals (“Board of Appeals”) consisting of five members and two associate members appointed by the Board of Selectmen Select Board. All members of the Board of Appeals shall be Arlington residents, one member shall be an attorney-at-law, and at least one of the remaining members shall be a registered architect or a registered professional engineer. The appointment, service, and removal or replacement of members and associate members and other actions of the Board of Appeals shall be as provided for in G.L. c. 40A.
Amend SECTION 3.2.1.A:_______________________________________
A. The Chairman Chair of the Board of Appeals, or in his their absence the Acting Chairman Chair, may administer oaths, but must do so for hearings involving G.L. c. 40B, summon witnesses and call for the production of papers. All hearings shall be open to the public. The Board of Appeals and all permit and special permit granting authorities shall hold hearings and render decisions in accordance with the applicable time limitations as set forth in G.L. c. 40A §§ 9 and 15. The Board of Appeals shall cause to be made a detailed record of its proceedings which in the case of G.L. c. 40B hearings shall require that all testimony be electronically recorded, showing the vote of each member upon each question, or if absent or failing to vote, indicating such fact, and setting forth clearly the reasons for its decisions, and of its other official actions, copies of all of which shall be filed within14 days in the office of the Town Clerk and the office of the Arlington Redevelopment Board and shall be a public record, and notice or decisions shall be mailed immediately to the petitioner and to the owners of all property deemed by the Board of Appeals to be affected thereby, including the abutters and the owners of land next adjoining the land of the abutters, notwithstanding that the abutting land or the next adjoining land is located in another city or town, as they appear on the most recent local tax list, and to every person present at the hearing who requests that notice be sent to him them and states the address to which such notice is to be sent. Upon the granting of a limited or conditional zoning variance or special permit, the Board of Appeals shall issue to the land owner a notice, certified by the chairman chair or clerk, containing the name and address of the land owner, identifying the land affected, and stating that a limited or conditional variance or special permit has been granted which is set forth in the decision of the Board on file in the office of the Town Clerk. No such variance or permit shall take effect until such notice is recorded in the Middlesex County Registry of Deeds.
The fee for recording such notice shall be paid by the owner and the notice shall be indexed in the grantor index under the name of the owner of record.
The concurring vote of all members of the Board shall be necessary to reverse any order or decision of any administrative official, or to decide in favor of the applicant on any matter upon which it is required to pass under this Bylaw, or to effect any variance in the application of this Bylaw.
Amend SECTION 6.2.7.D:_______________________________________
D. Removal of a nonconforming sign, or replacement of a nonconforming sign with a conforming sign, is required when the use of the sign and/or the property on which the sign is located has been abandoned, ceased operations, become vacant, or been unoccupied for a period of 180 consecutive days or more as long as the period of non-use is attributable at least in part to the property owner, tenant, or other person or entity in control of the use. For purposes of this Section, rental payments or lease payments and taxes shall not be considered as a continued use. In the event this should occur, these conditions will be considered as evidence of abandonment, requiring removal of the nonconforming sign by the owner of the property, his/her their agent, or person having the beneficial use of the property, building or structure upon which the nonconforming sign or sign structure is erected within 30 days after written notification from the Building Inspector. If, within the 30-day period, the nonconforming sign is not removed, enforcement action consistent with Section 3.1 shall be pursued.
Amend SECTION 5.4.2.:________________________________________
C. One exception is made for attached single-family dwellings on Sunnyside Avenue, Gardner Street, Silk Street, Marrigan Street, and Fremont Street. Attached single-family dwellings existing in August 28, 1975, on these streets are permitted as a right.
D. In the R0, R1 and R2 districts no new licensed nursing home, rest home, convalescent home facilities shall be constructed except at sites whereon these facilities existed as of August 28, 1975. These existing facilities may be reconstructed to meet code requirements in accordance with a special permit under 3.3 and 3.4.
Amend SECTION 3.3.4.A:_______________________________________
E. Dimensional standards more restrictive than those set forth in Section 7 Section 5 of this Bylaw;
Amend SECTION 5.3.22.A(2):____________________________________
A. For the purposes of this bylaw, the following areas of buildings are to be included in the calculation of Gross Floor Area:
(1) Elevator shafts and stairwells on each floor;
(2) Attic areas with headroom, measured from subfloor to the bottom of the roof structure, of seven feet three inches or more, except as excluded in (4) below;
(3) Interior mezzanines;
(4) Penthouses;
(5) Basement areas except as excluded in (2) below;
(6) Cellars in residential uses;
(7) All-weather habitable porches and balconies; and
(8) Parking garages except as excluded in (1) below.