2008-07-16-PB-min - Laserfiche WebLink

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Page 2 Minutes for the Meeting of July 16, 2008 ?? Shared structure parking should be considered for jughandle end of Hartwell Avenue; ?? On building design, we should focus on energy conservation; ?? If tradeoffs for density bonuses were used there would be no reason not to demand certain green practices; and ?? Use performance standards to make sure buildings would be as efficient as possible, avoiding waste. Mr. Hornig ?? Not require the use of certification of standards since some might not be applicable for Hartwell Avenue; ?? Site design items that do apply to green practices should be required without automatically attaching bonuses, that should remain flexible; ?? Materials and construction practices should be in another part of the zoning bylaws so not to impact the original guidelines; and ?? There is a lack of municipal guidelines and structures and no examples to model; the Board would have to develop it’s own system and would not be able to follow in anyone’s footsteps. Mr. Canale ?? The hope would be the Board and Town would reduce the burden on the developers for the number of hoops they would have to jump through; ?? Take responsibility for traffic and do a traffic study on Hartwell Avenue and set the parameters once we know total impacts; ?? From the Town’s perspective how smart is the location and could it be made smarter? ?? Developers should be responsible for the individual site, but we should take the responsibility for the bigger picture. Mr. Canale said MAPC sent a letter to MEPA regarding the site at 175 Wyman Avenue, Waltham, regarding the developers’ request to double the number of parking spaces to five per 1,000 square feet. MAPC’s response was the 2.5 per 1,000 square feet was sufficient, but the if developer wanted an increase they would be required to show proof of the need and then pay a surcharge to build more spaces. Mr. Zurlo said caution should be used with performance-based design that it be specific enough to provide predictability for developers. LEED standards bring to the table choices of areas where you may be judged. There may be a hard time meeting goals unless there was a good rewriting of the development regulations.