Report Excerpt:This amendment would limit the types of uses that the Zoning Bylaw currently allows in mixed-use projects. It would require that the uses in a mixed-use structure are only those that are allowed in the applicable Zoning District. The ARB believes that this article would limit flexibility in creating beneficial and creative projects that also fulfill community goals. Mixed-use projects are reviewed by the ARB through a discretionary Special Permit process. Compatibility of proposed uses is considered in relationship to the surrounding neighborhood as part of that process. The Master Plan recommends supporting vibrant commercial areas by encouraging mixed-use redevelopment. By limiting the uses that could be considered as part of a mixed-use development, this Warrant Article is inconsistent with the goals of the Master Plan. For example, providing housing units as part of a mixeduse development increases the economic viability of developments, allows the town to meet consumer demand by integrating a variety of uses into a single development project, improves the walkability of Arlington’s commercial districts, and allows with some constraints the ARB to incorporate locally strong performing sectors into projects.
The ARB does not believe that there is any ambiguity in the definition and, as such as, does not need any clarification. The ARB also notes that a substantive change to requirements should not be in the definitions section of the Zoning Bylaw, as is proposed in this article, but should be in a substantive section of the Bylaw.