Arlington ZBA Closes Pergola Hearing, Sets April 28 Decision Vote

ARLINGTON -- April 14, 2026, Arlington's Zoning Board of Appeals voted 7-0 to close a public hearing on a louvered pergola at 51 Greeley Circle and then opened a discussion on the first overhaul of the board's rules and regulations in years. Homeowner Nadesh Petit and contractor Edson Kefter presented engineered plans for a 219-square-foot pre-engineered pergola with operable louvers and roll-down screens on the rear deck of their newly constructed home; Chair Christian Klein told the board the property's usable open space would remain at 34 percent, above the required 30 percent minimum, and that the sole zoning trigger was the deck's 16.7-foot rear setback against a 26.7-foot requirement. Direct abutter Danielle Dean of 55 Greeley Circle told the board the structure is "consistent with the neighborhood." A written decision in favor of approval is to be voted at the board's April 28 meeting. In a second discussion, member Patrick Hanlon proposed a two-phase rewrite of the ZBA's procedural rules, which he said are written in statutory language aimed at lawyers while most applicants today are unrepresented homeowners who "have absolutely no idea" what the special-permit criteria mean; Klein named himself, Hanlon, and associate member Nicholas Rosenberg to a subcommittee to begin that work.