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Selectmen – April 4, 2018 <br />Page 2 of 6 <br /> <br />Mr. Pato said his suggested edits predate the ad hoc committee’s most recent draft and mirror <br />concerns he expressed at the March 7, 2018 Selectmen’s meeting following the ad hoc <br />committee’s presentation on Article 45. Taking the proposed edits in order as they appear in the <br />text, Mr. Pato explained his concerns and offered potential remedies in the revised language: <br /> aii: Definition of Structures: Mr. Pato sees the issue of sidewalk jurisdiction as a policy <br />question, noting that in the existing Special Act, jurisdiction over sidewalks is <br />ambiguous. Given that sidewalks are a passionate issue in Lexington, he would prefer <br />not to establish HDC jurisdiction over them. Chapter 40C, Section 8 of the General Act <br />allows structures, including sidewalks, to be excluded from HDC authority; individual <br />communities can determine which type of structures to exclude. <br /> <br /> b: Nominating Authority: Mr. Pato has a number of concerns in this area. 1) He <br />recommends that the length of term for both full and associate seats be changed from 5 to <br />3 years to encourage potential nominees and to match generally accepted term lengths; 2) <br />Mr. Pato recommends broadening, rather than narrowing, the selection of nominating <br />bodies; 3) Mr. Pato proposes that an HDC Nominating Committee be added to the current <br />process and sees the number and identity of the appropriate groups as a policy question; <br />4) Mr. Pato added language that limits consecutive terms to three (of 3 years each, rather <br />than two terms of 5 years each) to ensure turnover of permanent members; 5) Mr. Pato <br />added language directly from 40C that allows the HDC to solicit nominations from the <br />community at large if an identified nominating entity fails to provide candidates when <br />called upon to do so; 6) Mr. Pato added language about how to identify quality nominees <br />other those who reside or do business in the historic districts, in case no candidates are <br />found that fit the primary criteria. <br /> <br /> Section 6 Exclusions d (i): Mr. Pato has restored previous language about public safety <br />inspections because he feels they are best done by the Building Inspector rather than by <br />two Public Safety staff members (from the Health and Fire departments) as recommended <br />by the ad hoc committee; <br /> <br /> Section 9: Powers (a): With the exception of the Center District, Mr. Pato generally <br />agrees with the language about the HDC’s jurisdiction over building/structure massing in <br />the historic districts. <br />Because he has not been able to study the revised draft, Mr. Pato does not yet know if he will <br />have additional comments. <br />Ms. Ciccolo noted that Center Committee has not yet provided input and that the Selectmen have <br />also recently received lengthy, multi-page comments from a resident. She asked that the <br />resident’s comments be forwarded to the ad hoc committee for consideration. She stressed her <br />appreciation for the ad hoc committee and the amount of thought and effort that has gone into the <br />recommendations but, given the amount of input still to be processed, she would like to see the <br />work continue until the community is comfortable and ready to support the motion. Ms. Barry <br />said her understanding is that discussion of Article 45 is on the Center Committee’s agenda for <br />later in the week. <br /> <br />