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TOWN OF LEXINGTON 113 114 ANNUAL REPORT of the minority members supplemented by one or two in- dividual expressions that such areas ought to be provided. The majority of the committee feel that there is no necessity to convert Lexington into what some call a many sided, fully rounded district including manufacturing, busi- ness and residences. Lexington will develop as an integral part of the entire metropolitan district, and whether it retain its status as a distant municipality or eventually become merged with other towns in a greater Boston, the fact is that Lexington as a whole is a distinctly residential district; it occupies too high an elevation and is otherwise unsuited to manufacturing or to wholesale business, and there would seem to be no reason for undertaking to build up artifically what the territory as a whole is neither topo- graphically nor geographically adapted to. BUSINESS With respect to the business districts, the majority of the committee adhere generally to the recommendations made in the Planning Board report. T1ie small business district at the ,junction of Massachusetts Avenue and the private right of way leading into the East Lexington rail- road station has been extended southerly on Massachusetts Avenue to Fottler Avenue to include certain business de- velopments that are already planned. The earlier report recommended a business district on both sides of Massachusetts Avenue, extending from the northerly entrance to Curve Street south to a point n.) feet below the old Childs' Auto Repair Shop. Considerable argument has been advanced in favor of extending that business district, upon both sides of Massachusetts Avenue, south to the junction of Pleasant Street and to include the brick store of E. W. Harrod, hut the majority of the com- mittee is disclined to recommend this mainly for reasons given in the earlier report. The reasons are as follows: first, tol extend such business district to Pleasant Street would be to invite serious and dangerous congestion at the important junction of Massachusetts Avenue with Pleasant Street and Follett Road—a junction point already dangerous and which, if business were added, would very much in- crease the danger to human life; second, to so extend that business section would be to place business upon both sides of the entrances to the two important school buildings located upon opposite sides of Massachusetts Avenue in that immediate locality, and it is our firm belief that the school children in entering and leaving the schools should not be obliged to incur the dangers of a busy business district, to say nothing of other conditions usually present in a busi- ness district, which should be kept as far removed as pos- sible from school children, and third, the Catholic Church has recently purchased land on Follen Road near the Junc- tion of Mass. Avenue and Pleasant Street upon which it is intended to erect a church building and the prospective pre- sence of such a church building and the location of Robbins Park close' at hand would seem to furnish the final one sufficient reason why business should not be extended to that point. Mr. I-Iarrod's store may continue undisturbed as a non-confonning,use. The committee recommends establishing a busines> zone at the junction of Middle, Spring and Bridge Streets near the Grassland Farm, extending outward from the junction point on both sides of the intersecting streets for a distance of 150 feet. At North Lexington the Planning Board originally re- commended a business section,.upon the easterly side only of Bedford Street, from and including the car bares to the railroad crossing at North Lexington. The residential pro- perty owners upon the opposite side of the streets have joined in asking that the two sides of the street be similarly limited—either for business or for residences and, since the land where the car barns stands and beyond is already com- mitted .to business, the majority committee recommence that the business section he enlarged to embrace both sides of Bedford Street at that point. This does not mean that both sides will go over to business, but it places the resident owners upon the westerly side of the street upon an equality with the owners upon the oposite side of the street where they will suffer no disadvantage with respect to future development of that district. The original report recommended that the business district above referred to at North Lexington extend beyond and to the north of the railroad crossing^ far enough to include on the westerly side of Bedford Street the present coal yard property, and for a distance of fifty feet upon the easterly side of Bedford Street, At the request of Mr. Burrill whose property on the easterly side of Sedfora Street .at that point was only partially included in ,the busi- ness district previously recommended, the majority- of your Committee now recommend that the business district upon the easterly side of Bedford Street north of the raihoad crossing, be extended to one hundred feet so as to include