Report Excerpt:** Please note that this Zoning Bylaw Amendment is subject to M.G.L. c 40A Section 5 such that this zoning bylaw may be enacted by a simple majority vote, rather than the 2/3 supermajority that applies to other zoning amendments. **
This Article aligns with both the Master Plan and Connect Arlington, the Sustainable Transportation Plan. The Master Plan set forth the goal of establishing parking ratios that reflect actual need for parking. Additionally, the Zoning Audit completed as part of the Master Plan noted that the Town’s off-street parking regulations needed to be updated to address current trends in land use, economic development, and transportation planning. This proposed amendment addresses the Master Plan goal by reducing the parking ratios for multi-family uses with access to transit. The reduction in the number of spaces per unit for multi-family uses reflects the fact that these uses are located on major corridors where transit is accessible, and where there is a corresponding lack of demand for additional parking. The amendment also aligns with Connect Arlington, the Sustainable Transportation Plan, which states that excessive parking supply, which can occur through zoning bylaws that require more parking than necessary for a development, increases environmental and climate impacts via stormwater runoff and urban heat island effects. Additionally, oversupply of parking is directly connected to increased amounts of driving and vehicle miles traveled. Research as part of both the 2016 Housing Production Plan and the 2019 Perfect Fit Parking Initiative issued by the Metropolitan Area Planning Council and multiple surveys found that many existing apartment buildings have more parking than necessary, leading to an oversupply of spaces.
This Article applies to apartment buildings, which are allowed by special permit exclusively in the R5, R6, and R7 zoning districts and to mixed-use developments in the Business Districts. These districts are primarily located along the Massachusetts Avenue and Broadway corridors, adjacent to public transportation. This amendment also applies to apartment building conversions of up to 18 units per acre with no exterior alteration is allowed by special permit in the R4 and R5 zoning districts. The R4 district is limited to Pleasant Street, Arlington Center, and along Summer Street in the Heights.
By reducing the minimum parking requirement for apartment buildings to one parking space per unit, the amendment would make the parking requirements for apartments consistent with what is currently required for single-, two-, and three-family dwellings. The amendment would also remove a hindrance to developing mixed-use developments that do not have enough space for parking and ground floor commercial opportunities.
Note: This amendment does not change the parking requirement for public housing for the elderly.