Arlington Zoning Board Continues Pond Lane Garage Hearing, Orders Draft Use Conditions

ARLINGTON -- October 22, 2024, Arlington's Zoning Board of Appeals continued a hearing on a commercial garage at 20 Pond Lane, finding that no clear legal record of permitted uses has existed since a 1967 variance. Attorney Doug Troyer of Pierce Atwood, representing owner Pond Lane Realty LLC, told the board that property owners Nick and Belinda Boyd want to sell the 3,375-square-foot block garage but cannot market it without a definitive statement of what commercial activities are allowed. The board voted 6-0 to continue the matter to November 12, directing Troyer to contact town staff member Mike Champa, draft proposed use conditions, and share them with abutters before the next hearing. Member Patrick Hanlon framed the legal problem bluntly: the garage is authorized by variances from 1963 and 1967 that the board "could not grant today" under current state law, meaning the board can clarify and conditionally define the existing grant but cannot expand it. Two neighbors, Paul Creeden and Michael Simidar, both of Pond Lane, raised concerns about undefined "light construction" language and future commercial traffic on a residential cut-through street; longtime neighbor John Cronin of Wyman Terrace spoke in support, noting the street once hosted a plumbing supply warehouse and a window manufacturer.