ZONING BYLAW AMENDMENT / SHADED PARKING LOTS

To see if the Town will vote to amend Section 6.1.11.D. of the Zoning Bylaw to require that trees or other shade be provided in parking lots with more than 25 spaces; or take any action related thereto.

Inserted at the request of Susan Stamps and ten registered voters

Article 30 would require newly developed and newly expanded parking lots of more than 25 spaces to include trees and/or solar panels in order to provide shade to portions of the parking lot. This would mitigate heat island effects and increase the tree canopy in Arlington, goals expressed in multiple Town plans and supported by the Redevelopment Board.

Currently, the Zoning Bylaw requires that parking lots with more than 25 spaces be at least 8% landscaped. The Zoning Bylaw also requires that measures be taken for parking lots in the Industrial Districts to reduce the heat given off by the parking surface, which may include trees and solar arrays. Some Board members discussed that it would make sense for larger parking lots in other districts to meet the same requirements, and that it would not be more difficult for developers to include trees within the 8% landscaping requirement. Furthermore, while the Town should also work to increase the tree canopy on public property by planting street trees, this article is a reasonable requirement for private property owners to add to the tree canopy as well.

Three members of the Board voted in favor of Article 30. One other Board member felt that this article would put too much of a burden on developers, perhaps requiring them to give up parking spaces to meet the requirements and thus making their development less economically feasible. Another Board member stated that this article was too prescriptive and rigid, given the space constraints of many sites and competing solar energy and on-site rainwater treatment requirements, among other examples. They noted that the Board and developers have worked effectively together in the past to come up with creative solutions to issues of landscaping that result in shaded areas, without the necessitation of such prescriptive and arbitrary requirements.

Recommend Favorable Action (3-2)

That the Zoning Bylaw be and hereby is amended as follows:

DRAFT AMENDMENT

Amend SECTION 6.1.11, Parking and Loading Space Standards, Subsection D, as follows:

D.    All parking and loading areas containing over five spaces which are not inside a structure shall also be subject to the following.

(6)    Parking areas providing more than 25 spaces, including parking areas expanded to provide more than 25 spaces, shall include landscaped areas in at least 8% of the total paved portion of the parking area. Minimum required landscaped setbacks and buffers at the perimeter of the parking area shall not be counted toward the landscaping requirement of this paragraph. Individual strips of landscaping shall be at least four feet wide. In addition, pavement shade in such parking lots shall be provided by one or both of the following methods (for shading requirements in Industrial Districts, see 6.1.11.F.):

a.       Install one shade tree for every eight parking spaces; such trees must be spaced so that some part of each parking space is not more than 32 feet from a tree. Tree planting areas shall be at least six feet in diameter, or in accordance with the USDA Forest Service Tree Owner’s Manual standards. New trees shall be at least three inches DBH (diameter at breast height) at the time of planting and shall be selected from a large shade tree list for parking lots under this section prepared by the Tree Warden or the Tree Committee.

To the extent practicable, existing trees shall be retained and used to satisfy this section. New trees shall be maintained, including watering, by the installer or its designee in accordance with the USDA Forest Service Tree Owner’s Manual standards, or other standards the Redevelopment Board may designate, for a period of no less than 36 months from the date of planting.

The Redevelopment Board or Board of Appeals, as applicable, may modify this requirement to take into account parking spaces that are currently shaded by off-property trees that are not planned for removal.

b.      Install solar panels over parking spaces allowing cars to park underneath to increase shade to a minimum of 50% of the parking lot surface. This provision is applicable to parking lots in the residential and business districts.

Arlington Redevelopment Board Report

Amendment by Susan Stamps, Precinct 3

Presentation Slides, Susan Stamps and Elisabeth Carr-Jones, Precinct 14