2021-11-08-STM#1-min-as Amended June 2022

Browse Search

November 8,2021 Special Town Meeting#1(2021-1),cont. 9:27 p.m. Wendy Reasenberg,Pct. 8,noted that she could see that section 1 was a statement of principal and section 4 provided a definition but asked why sections 2 and 3 were different than what is usually at the Planning Board and asked why they repeated. Mr.Hornig stated that section 1 was a"statement of intent"with 2,3,and 4 attempting to actually implement principals in the permit process and noted that it was sometimes difficult from a Resolution to putting it into effect. They hoped to increase the weight of DEI in the permitting decisions for Zoning Board and Planning board and reduce the impact of considerations that have been listed but have historically been used to defeat DEI in Lexington and elsewhere. 9:28 p.m. Wendy Reasenberg,Pct. 8 asked why this seemed to duplicate things already in proposals for Special Permits and questioned whether the extra details helped to accomplish the goals. Mr.Hornig asked that the Amendment be added to the screen and noted that at 9.4.2, it makes changes to DEI and removing things such as"neighborhood social structures"that have historically have been used to defeat those goals. Ms.Reasenberg felt that it could be further simplified in order to be better understood and that clarity and consensus should be addressed in sections 2 and 3. 9:31 p.m. Lin Jensen,Pct. 8,asked that the Amendment be placed on screen and asked if there were any change to section 3. The proposed Amendment was shown on-screen. 9:33 p.m. Mr.Daggett said that he appreciated that the Planning Board was taking an important step from a high level Resolution to putting it into practice. He further stated that if the Members were only interested in sections 1 and 4,that a substitute Motion via a request to the Moderator. 9:35 p.m. Voting commenced on the substitute Amendment. The Moderator noted that a simple majority was required to pass the Amendment. Following remote electronic vote tallying,the Moderator declared the: Motion to Amend Article 13 Adopted on a vote of: Yes No Abstain 159 15 6 MOTION CARRIES 9:39 p.m. The Moderator noted that the substitute Motion had now become Main Motion. Jill Hai,Select Board Chair,reported five members in favor of the Amended Motion. Charles Hornig,Planning Board Chair,reported the unanimous support of the Board in favor of the Amended Motion. Jeanne Krieger,Zoning Board member stated that she could not speak for the Zoning Board. 9:40 p.m. The Moderator called debate and questions open on Article 13,as Amended. 9:41 p.m. David Kanter thought the screen had mentioned the requirement of a majority vote. The Moderator explained that this may have been up for the Motion to Substitute,but that the upcoming vote would require a 2/3rds passage. 9:42 p.m. Alessandro Alessandrini,Pct.4 stated that he would vote no because part 1 of the Article should be the sentiment of the Town expressed across all bylaws and felt that it was put in to make the rest of the Motion more palatable. 9:43 p.m. Deborah Strod,Pct.6,stated that she was supportive of the Article and that the language of equity shouldn't be held in higher standard than existing wording and was glad that the Town was working together to create a framework.