Arlington ZBA Closes Hearing on Washington Street Corner-Lot Addition, Votes 7-0

ARLINGTON -- May 12, 2026, Arlington ZBA closes hearing on Washington Street addition, advances two prior decisions. The Arlington Zoning Board of Appeals voted unanimously to close the public hearing on docket 3900, a proposal by homeowner Vishwesh Patil to add approximately 405 square feet to the first floor of his corner-lot home at 304 Washington Street, with a final decision vote scheduled for May 26. Architect James Rissling of LR Designs in Cambridge presented plans showing the one-story addition, a bedroom, bathroom, and sitting area intended for the owner's aging parents, would reduce the Wigwam Circle front yard setback from 22.9 feet to 12.3 feet while maintaining the required 25-foot corner-visibility clearance. The board also adopted written decisions in two prior cases: a 5-0 approval of a special permit for a front porch at 27 Brand Street (docket 3897) and a 5-0 approval of a variance for an addition at 26 Dudley Street (docket 3898), the latter conducted with Chair Christian Klein recused. In announcements, Klein reported that Town Meeting passed Article 47 the previous evening, allowing floodplain-district homes to use mean flood elevation as the baseline for calculating building height, a change the ZBA had recommended, and associate member Brad Baranowski disclosed he has accepted a tenure-track post at Southern Methodist University School of Law, then walked back a planned resignation after members noted the board meets by Zoom.