Selectmen Discuss Permits to March, Tackle Overnight Parking and Bid Farewell to One of Their Own

The discussed a variety of issues during Monday night’s meeting. Here are the notable discussions and votes.

A “Bittersweet” Goodbye for Selectman Hurd

 After serving for 14 years on the board, Monday evening’s meeting was Selectman John Hurd’s last. Hurd in conjunction with his candidacy for .

During Monday's meeting family members joined in the audience and the selectmen’s office presented Hurd a replica chair of his official selectmen’s seat--as Chairman Diane Mahon put it, "a place to finally rest after all of your service to the town."

As a selectman Hurd served on more than 10 committees in Arlington, including the Transportation Advisory Committee (TAC) which he founded. During his tenure Hurd oversaw the construction of five of the town’s seven elementary schools, the renovation of the and improvements to the Minuteman Bike Path.

“There isn’t a section of town that he has not impacted,” Selectman Kevin Greeley said. “The town will be less without you.”

Fellow Selectman Annie LaCourt thanked Hurd for acting as her mentor, showing her, above all else, how to “disagree calmly.”

“It’s a rare quality to find a person who will have that much patience with someone who is trying to argue them out of their position,” said LaCourt. 

Selectman Hurd deemed the occasion “bittersweet” and said he is excited at the prospect of continuing his public service down the hall as Town Clerk.   

EACCC Withdraws Request to March

Eric Berger of the East Arlington Concerned Citizens Committee (EACCC) appeared before the board to express his concern about the way in which the selectmen handled the group’s request to march. The EACCC applied for a permit to “peacefully demonstrate” against the with a march on April 9, the day of the public hearing on the issue. 

Berger said he was “disappointed to learn” this would not be possible due to time constraints and what he presented as a lack of communication from the board. Berger’s said his attorney had contacted the selectmen’s office several times to determine the necessary procedures for obtaining a permit to march and did not receive a timely response. Berger said he did not find out the requirements until Monday after both he and his attorney attempted to acquire the information in mid-February.

“It’s now two weeks before the public hearing and there simply isn’t time,” said Berger. “I have no problem with filling out applications but I was not sent the application forms. This could happen to any group in our town. They could send in letter, wait and receive no response.”

Town Manager Brian Sullivan said an event like this requires months of advanced planning after the first step is allotted.

“If we were told the date, this could have happened rather quickly,” Sullivan said.

Berger said he learned that in order to secure a permit to march, the group would have to supply the board and the police department with a safety plan, information about liability insurance, barriers for the lane of traffic and sanitary facilities, among other requirements.

Berger then withdrew the EACCC’s request to march.

“I do it sadly,” he the board. “But there is no way we could meet requirements-as legitimate as they are—in the next two weeks.”

Selectmen to Help Ease Parking Woes in the Heights

Nicholas Zevitas of Arlington Heights appeared before the board to request assistance with an overnight parking issue in his building. Zevitas is the landlord for properties on 1269-1271 Mass Ave. and serves six tenants in his buildings. Due to the overnight parking ban and building restrictions, Zevitas said parking is extremely limited for his properties.

“The whole area is landlocked for parking. The spots just don’t exist at this time,” he said. “We have no place to go.”

Zevitas said he's looked into municipal lots and business lots for available spots. He has tried to strike an agreement with businesses in the area, like or , so that tenants can use their lots for overnight parking once their respective stores close, but he has not been able to reach an agreement with any of them.

“We’ve looked everywhere, believe me,” Zevitas told the board.

Zevitas then requested six overnight parking spaces on Mass Ave. to accommodate his tenants. While the selectmen could not grant Zevitas the six spots at this time, they did agree to help the landlord find a viable solution.

“We can certainly send those businesses a letter to see if we can strike a deal,” Selectman Hurd said. “We’ve been working with a number of people on that and we’re trying to help out with this as much as we can. If that falls through, we’ll do what we can to help you.”