2008-04-07-PB-min - Laserfiche WebLink

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Page 2 Minutes for the Meeting of April 7, 2008 At 6:25 p.m., the Planning Board recessed to join the Board of Selectmen’s Meeting. ******************* JOIN THE BOARD OF SELECTMEN’S MEETING ********************** Chairman Krieger, Mr. Kelley, Mr. Cohen, Mr. Manz and Mr. Burnell; Mr. Valente, Town Manager; and Ms. Pease, Executive Clerk, were present. Article Positions/Assignments Mr. Farrington, representing the owners of the Countryside Plaza, presented information on Article 52, Amend Zoning By-Law, CRS Zone 303, 311-325 Woburn Street, 400 Lowell Street. This article proposes to rezone two pieces of property from RO to CRS: 1) 303 Woburn Street is in the RO zone; and 2) a piece of the existing Countryside Plaza is zoned RO. This could allow a maximum 2,700 square foot expansion of the Countryside Plaza. The owners plan to provide a site plan to the Board of Appeals and ask the Design Advisory Committee to review. They also plan to reduce the curb cuts, improve traffic flow, and add landscape buffering. The owners have agreed to not stack snow on the sidewalks and will make the sidewalks passable by having them better defined. The Planning Board supports this article 3-2. It is an opportunity to improve the intersection and make the sidewalks safer, and a 20-foot buffer zone would be required. It would also increase tax revenue to the Town. Mr. Weiss, Precinct 5, opposes the article. He states that: The owners have not done anything to improve the area in the 20 years they have owned the property. There is no enforcement and it would increase the safety concerns at the corner of Lowell and Woburn Streets. The project would also take away an affordable home. Ms. Crocker, Currier Court, is concerned with pedestrian safety for seniors and children because of the close proximity to the Old Harrington School and the new Harrington School. The neighbors believe the volume of traffic will increase and they want to see traffic calming measures. There is no concrete development plan and this project would encourage future sprawl.