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Arlington Finance Committee Flags Enforcement Costs, Fee Hikes, and School Energy Questions Ahead of Town Meeting

With a $14.8 million Proposition 2½ override on the horizon, Arlington's Finance Committee spent its March 18 meeting pressing Town Manager Jim Feeney, Deputy Town Manager Julie Wayman, and Deputy Town Manager Christine Bongiorno on the real costs behind several warrant articles — including a proposed dark sky lighting bylaw that drew sharp skepticism, a three-part fee modernization package, and a school electrification feasibility study with uncertain outside funding.

Government

Arlington Students Push Bird-Safe Windows as School Committee Eyes New State Graduation Rules

Three Arlington High School freshmen stood before the School Committee on May 28 to describe finding dead birds in the AHS courtyard — and to propose a fix. Their presentation opened a meeting that also surfaced a potentially sweeping change for every Arlington high schooler: a new state graduation framework that could require senior capstones, end-of-course assessments, and FAFSA completion.

Government

Arlington Town Meeting Wraps Up: Union Contracts Ratified, $3M in Community Preservation Funds Approved

Arlington's 2026 Annual Town Meeting closed its final session Wednesday night by ratifying long-delayed union contracts for police and firefighters and directing more than $3 million in Community Preservation Act funds — the two votes with the most immediate impact on town employees and residents — before working through a slate of resolutions on surveillance privacy, healthcare, environmental policy, and workplace rights.

Government

Arlington ZBA Clears Path for Historic Cottage Renovation, Sets Final Vote for June 9

The Arlington Zoning Board of Appeals voted unanimously Tuesday night to close the public hearing on a special permit application for a second-floor bathroom addition to a circa-1900 workers' cottage at 9 Lancaster Road — setting up a formal approval vote for June 9 after the board directed Co-Chair Patrick Hanlon to draft a written decision in favor of the permit.

Government

Arlington Town Meeting Night 7: Red Line Ban Repeal, MBTA Zoning Rules Among Key Votes

Town meeting members on Monday voted to authorize the Select Board to seek repeal of a 46-year-old state law banning Red Line expansion into Arlington — a symbolic but potentially consequential step — while also revising how the town's MBTA Communities zoning overlay defines ground-floor commercial space, in a session that worked through the fine print of Arlington's post-MBTA Communities zoning reality.

Government

Arlington Schools Land $2M Green Grant, Expand Free Meals Program

Arlington Public Schools received a $2 million state grant for the Hardy Elementary School electrification project the same evening the district's food services team showcased a universal free meals program that has erased income-based barriers for families across all 11 schools — the two headline outcomes from the School Committee's May 14 hybrid meeting.

Government

Arlington Conservation Commission Faces Twin Crossroads on Open Space, Tribal Access

Two of Arlington's most consequential conservation decisions — what to do with a deteriorating historic house atop Mount Gilboa, and whether to formalize Indigenous access to a site the Massachusett Tribe considers its last foothold in town — moved to the front of the agenda at the May 7, 2026 Conservation Commission meeting. Both questions hinge on the same constitutional provision: Article 97.

Government

Arlington Redevelopment Board Weighs In on Town Meeting Warrant Articles, Reviews Commercial Design Changes

With Town Meeting already underway, the Arlington Redevelopment Board used its April 27 session to stake out positions on substitute motions for zoning-related warrant articles — signaling where the five-member board, chaired by Kin Lau, stands as voters prepare to weigh in — while also approving a commercial facade amendment and scheduling a comprehensive plan presentation for May.

Government

Volunteers Walked Every Route: Arlington Updates Safe Routes to School Maps as Town Finances Run Ahead of Budget

Members of Arlington's Transportation Advisory Committee laced up their shoes this winter and walked more than 100 miles through every elementary school district in town — in some cases during major snowstorms — to verify and revise student walking routes that had not been updated since 2016. The Select Board unanimously approved the resulting maps Monday night, a vote that also set the stage for a crossing-sign improvement package TAC plans to submit for future grant funding.