2008-12-10-PB-min - Laserfiche WebLink

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PLANNING BOARD MINUTES MEETING OF DECEMBER 10, 2008 A regular meeting of the Lexington Planning Board in the Selectmen’s Meeting Room, Town Office Building was called to order at 7:30 p.m. by Chairman Hornig with members Manz, Galaitsis and Canale and planning staff McCall-Taylor, Henry and Kaufman present. Mr. Zurlo was absent *****************************HARTWELL AVENUE AREA STUDY*********************** Forum on Proposed Zoning Bylaw changes: Mr. Hornig did a power point presentation on the proposed zoning bylaw changes clarifying the goals, guiding principles, process, dimensional controls, site plan review and traffic. Mr. Hornig explained that .35 floor area ratio (FAR) would yield an additional 500,000 square feet of development and that Hartwell Avenue was more appropriate for denser development then Hayden Avenue. The following items were discussed: the sky view ratio and how it was calculated; site plan review with its tiered process; and a district-wide traffic mitigation plan. The Board was now looking for feedback regarding these proposals. Mr. Canale clarified that the Board has not had any formal votes regarding the parameters presented tonight. The Town would need to take some responsibility and make a commitment so the Board could determine what would be needed from the developers. Ms. Manz said pedestrian and bicycle access as well as sustainable buildings would be looked at. Mr. Galaitsis said that this was the first time he was seeing some of these numbers such as the sky view ratio. Audience comments: ?? What would happen if you could not get a majority vote for site plan review? ?? Lexington’s calculations for the FAR have not been discussed tonight with regards to wetlands. ?? How would traffic mitigation fees be collected as a one-time payment or an annual payment? Mr. Hornig said the mitigation would be a one-time payment for improvements spanning over a 10-20 year time frame. ?? Monies could be used for interest and bond payments. ?? The global approach was good, but the devil would be in the details. ?? With sloping lots the height of a building would be critical; how it would affect the sky view, especially in Ledgemont. ?? Garages rather than acres of parking were acceptable, but on Hartwell Avenue it would be much more massive.