Town of Arlington, Fair Housing Action Plan (July 2021)

Citation: Town of Arlington, Fair Housing Action Plan (July 2021)
Jurisdiction: Arlington (municipal)
Source: Official source
Original Source: https://www.arlingtonma.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/57214/637641171662530000 ↗

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unsuitability of the specific site for housing; the impact on schools; the impact on parking and/or traffic; and/or
the architectural design of the proposal.
Opposition is often framed as occurring despite the opposition’s support for housing generally. One opponent to
the Thorndike Place Comprehensive Permit project was quoted in the Arlington Advocate, clearly illustrating this
dynamic: “‘I certainly respect the opportunity to build more housing in town,’ [an opponent] said, ‘but I wonder, if
we bring more kids in town and actually close our fields so they don't have a place to play, what kind of
community are we left with at the end of the day?’”47 Similar framings can be found against other projects, such
as proposals at Mt. Gilboa,48 Spy Pond,49 and Downing Square.50
For any given project, objections on non-housing grounds may or may not be legitimate concerns that must be
addressed. However, even when they are legitimate, the net effect of opposition across projects is to create an
environment that limits the opportunities for housing production (especially multifamily housing production). This
effect disproportionately impacts protected classes.
Increasingly, criticism to housing development also takes a position of being pro-affordable-housing generally,
while finding current development inadequate. One commenter on the 1165R Massachusetts Avenue
Comprehensive Permit project wrote in Your Arlington: “We must rethink our development projects, so that they
will both increase diversity and protect or expand our commercial tax base. Residential development needs to
allow for a range of truly affordable units at 30, 40, 50 AMI, rather than just “market-rate affordable” units at
80 AMI (which given their income, would be beyond reach for both the average person of