Arlington Zoning Board Continues Mystic Valley Parkway Parking Case to January

ARLINGTON -- December 9, 2025, Arlington Zoning Board continues corner-lot parking variance case, citing insufficient documentation. At the board's final meeting of 2025, Chair Christian Klein and members Patrick Hanlon, Venka Hawley, Adam LeBlanc, Brad Baranowski, and Nick Rosenberg voted unanimously to continue Docket 3878, a variance and special permit request by homeowner Dina Brower of 190 Mystic Valley Parkway, to January 27, 2026, after concluding that her sketch-level proposal lacked the dimensions needed to evaluate setback compliance, tree impacts, sewer easement conflicts, and a potential egress window obstruction. Hanlon warned that the four-part Massachusetts variance test, anchored in soil conditions, shape, or topography, is rarely cleared, and LeBlanc said he saw "no way to get past the first test on the variance even with an updated proposal." Resident and Tree Committee co-chair Steve Moore raised concerns about root damage to a protected pine and driveway proximity to a busy stop-sign intersection. The board also accepted the withdrawal of a separate variance at 29 Hemlock Street and adopted written decisions granting special permits for porch work at 15 Foster Street, 19 Farrington Street, and 20 Nicot Street.