 Hello, I'm Zavitt Pretzer, Town Meeting Member from Precinct 17 and the proponent of this article, and I'd like to talk to you about Warrant Article 39. Arlington has some lovely mixed-use buildings that were built a long time ago. Why don't we see more buildings like these? Part of the picture is floor area ratio. In 2016, Arlington Town Meeting voted to allow mixed-use buildings as tall as five stories near transit corridors, but we haven't seen much of this development. Why? Part of the reason is floor area ratio. So, what is floor area ratio, or FAR? It's a limit on the floor area of a building based on the size of its lot. So, for example, a building with a floor area ratio of two would have a floor area that's twice the size of its lot. Ignoring other requirements, this could be a two-story building covering the full lot, a four-story building covering half the lot, or any other building with that floor area. Article 39 would only impact Arlington's business or B districts, so I wanted to explain what those are. Arlington's B districts are several different classifications along Mass Ave and Broadway with some adjacent areas. They allow commercial and mixed-use buildings, and they currently have a mix of single-story and multi-story buildings. So, what are the limits today in these districts? Current zoning limits the FAR to a number between 1.0 and 1.8, depending on the specific district. So, while today's zoning theoretically allows mixed-use buildings between three and five stories in these districts, these FAR limits make this impractical, because you could only build that high if the building only covered a very small portion of the lot. The main motion in Article 39 would address this by doubling the FAR limit in these districts to a maximum of 3.0. Why should we increase these FAR limits? This is in line with Arlington's Housing Production Plan and Master Plan. It will produce new subsidized affordable units via our existing inclusionary zoning percentage, which only successfully produces subsidized affordable units if actual housing is built. It will support public transit and create more pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods, which is important for our climate goals. It will increase Arlington's tax base via new growth. It provides a practical alternative to 4DB development, which will often be entirely residential rather than mixed-use and does not include any commercial space at all. And it will bring a new life to our existing commercial areas along Mass Ave and Broadway. So, why is 3.0 specifically a good limit? Well, it's called an Arlington's Housing Production Plan as a more appropriate FAR to encourage buildings above two stories. And it's in line with several nearby communities, a bit less than Watertown's Central Business District, and at the same level of Belmont's Cushing Square. One thing I want to be very clear about is that this article would not change any of the other requirements that apply to these buildings. All mixed-use buildings still require a special permit, which provides an opportunity for community input, and it does not change the existing height limits, the open space and setback requirements, or the parking requirements that apply to these buildings. These unchanged requirements still determine what can be built and make sure that it's appropriate for the area and for Arlington's goals. To help you get a sense of what this article could make possible, I wanted to share some examples of buildings that this change could help allow. This is the Capital Building in East Arlington. It's a lovely mixed-use building. It's a three-story building with an FAR of 1.7, which is more than allowed under current zoning. If this is the FAR of a lovely three-story building, you can imagine that the FAR needed to build a comparable five-story building would be notably higher. This is a building that was proposed for East Arlington about a year ago. The proposal was for a four-story building with an FAR of 3.2. It would have included 20% affordable units, which is above the inclusionary zoning minimum. The proposed FAR would have been higher than many buildings because it would have built units above parking and efficient use of Arlington's limited space. The Arlington Redevelopment Board was unable to give a special permit due to the FAR issues, but with Article 39, a modified version of this proposal and others like it would be possible. Finally, for comparison, I wanted to include a mixed-use building in Watertown that has an FAR of 2.8 and includes both commercial space and housing altogether. In conclusion, in Article 39, we have an opportunity to allow new buildings like the ones we love, strengthen the vitality of our commercial corridors, increase Arlington's tax revenue, and make the four-to-five-story mixed-use buildings that Town Meeting already approved possible in practice by increasing the FAR limits in our business districts for mixed use. This is a small but important change to promote housing creation, address climate goals, and support public transit and walkability. It's Town Meeting's role to guide our Town's future, and by passing Article 39, we take a strong, positive step for Arlington. Thank you.