Article 40 ARB Presentation¶
ARTICLE 40
Zoning Map Change Requirements
Annual Town Meeting || April 27, 2026
Kin Lau, Chair
Arlington Redevelopment Board
Zoning Map Change Requirements
BACKGROUND – ARTICLE 40
Ø Zoning Bylaw Section 1.5, Amendment
of the Zoning Bylaw, states that a
petition for a change to the zoning map
must include proof that notification has
been sent to all owners and immediate
abutters of the subject properties via
registered or certified mail. This
notification requirement is unique to
Arlington.
Ø Registered and Certified Mail are
significantly more expensive than
traditional first-class mail, which is the
standard notification method for public
hearings.
Ø A proposed zoning map change applying
to a large number of properties can be
both cost- and time-prohibitive for
citizen petitioners without necessarily
resulting in a more accurate notification
process to abutters.
Ø Article 40 proposes to maintain the
notification requirement to owners and
immediate abutters, but to amend the
language to only require the use of first-
class mail, significantly reducing the cost
and time burden on a citizen petitioner.
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AMENDMENT TEXT
Article 40
1.5 AMENDMENT
This Bylaw may from time to time be changed by amendment, addition, or repeal by
the Town Meeting in the manner provided for in M.G.L. c. 40A, § 5. When a petition for a
change in the zoning map is filed, such petition shall show that copies of the petition
have been sent by registered or certified mail first-class mail, postage prepaid, to all
owners and immediate abutters of the land referred to in the petition. The Department
of Planning and Community Development shall provide advance notice of the
Redevelopment Board public hearing on the petition by first class mail, postage prepaid,
to the petitioner, the owners of the land, abutters of the land, owners of land directly
opposite on any public or private street or way, and abutters to the abutters within
three hundred feet of the property line of the owners as they appear on the most
recent applicable tax list.
AMENDMENT TEXT
Amend Section 1.5, as follows:
ZONING AMENDMENT – ARTICLE 40
