2008-11-12-PB-min - Laserfiche WebLink

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Page 4 Minutes for the Meeting of November 12, 2008 Ms. Manz said that while she sympathizes with requiring LOS D for affected intersections, that requirement would become a block. She was uncomfortable with banking CM mitigation funds to be used townwide, rather than reserving at least some portion of the funds for the zone immediately affected. Betterments should be considered to bring in monies for improvements sooner. It might be necessary to use all three approaches for substantial improvements. It might be necessary to charge for virtually every parking space to get enough monies for needed improvements. Looking at Beal’s TDM proposal for performance incentives, there needs to be a determination as to whether the Town wants funds or wants a reduction in single occupancy vehicle trips. She would prefer actually discouraging trips. Mr. Zurlo said the Board needs to understand more of the details and would prefer promoting the work being done in the area over collecting funds. Mr. Canale said “do no harm” would be a bad policy considering the existing LOS for pedestrians and bicycles. The wording should promote equality for all mobility options. With regards to Hartwell Avenue there needs to be a determination of what would happen at buildout, what would be needed, how much it would cost, and how to share between the developer, Town, State and Federal funding. Whenever applicants put funds into the mitigation account the Town should match the funds. A traffic study should be done that is more concerned with the average daily trips than peak hours. The base level of parking could first be established. The Board should determine what type of activity would be desirable, such as laboratory over medical use, and set the minimums based on that rather than a bonus for trip reduction levels. Ms. Ginna Johnson, Associate Member, said Lexington should set a standard of excellence. Why should less perfect standards be allowed to impact the quality of life for residents? Decide what intersection LOS should be and the cost to bring it to that level. Ms. Susan Yanofsky, Economic Development Officer said with any plan the Board would need to consider workability, enforceability and how it would affect our competitiveness. Mr. Larry Smith said a practical example would be if you increase the square footage to three million. The monies for mitigations per square foot would go into a fund matched by the Town rather then burden new developers. Developers are limited on the tab they could afford. He did not like trip wires for LOS or using average daily traffic. That would make it far too complicated.