2018-05-30 JM BOS-PB-min - Laserfiche WebLink

Browse Search

Joint Selectmen and Planning Board – May 30, 2018 Page 1 of 6 Joint Board of Selectmen and Planning Board Meeting Hartwell Zoning Initiative Community Meeting May 30, 2018 Battin Hall—Cary Memorial Building A Joint Meeting of the Board of Selectmen and Planning Board was called to order at 7:10 p.m. in Battin Hall of the Cary Memorial Building for the purpose of holding a Community Meeting about the Hartwell Zoning Initiative. Present for the Board of Selectmen (BOS) were Ms. Barry, Chair; Mr. Lucente; Ms. Hai; Mr. Valente, Town Manager; and Ms. Siebert, Recording Secretary. Mr. Pato and Ms. Ciccolo were absent. Present for the Planning Board (PB) were Ms. Johnson, Chair; Mr. Canale; Mr. Hornig; and Ms. Corcoran-Ronchetti. Mr. Creech was absent. Also present were Carol Kowalski, Assistant Town Manager for Development; Ms. Tintocalis, Economic Development Director; and members of the consulting team: David Gamble, presenter and Urban Designer, Gable Associates; Craig Seymour, Fiscal Impact & Infrastructure Analyst, RKG Associates; Walt Woo, Traffic Consultant, Stantec. Absent from the consulting team was Pam Kinney, Real Estate Market Analyst. Mr. Valente provided background for the initiative which started in 2008 as an attempt to rebalance the tax base toward the commercial sector and away from the residential sector that was increasing in value at a faster pace. He noted that residential value increases had been significant due Lexington’s successful school system and associated Capital School projects and because the town’s commercial zoning had not kept up with what the market is looking for. To illustrate the decline in tax revenue from the commercial sector, Mr. Valente stated that in 1988, 33 cents of every tax dollar came from the commercial tax base; today, only 19.8 cents does. Hartwell Avenue is ripe for reinvigoration and represents the best opportunity to address the imbalance. Some zoning updates have been made since 2008 but they have not been adequate to achieve the Town’s goals. Mr. Valente said the Selectmen and Planning Board hope to bring a Hartwell Avenue rezoning initiative to Special Town Meeting in the fall; public input is vital to this process. Ms. Tintocalis echoed Mr. Valente’s points and added that, if nothing is done to reinvigorate the commercial base and rebalance the tax burden, the percentages will shift another 5% toward residential in the next 10 years’ time. She noted that, over the last 50 years, commercial real estate market preferences have changed with regard to the built environment. Hartwell Avenue was first developed for defense contractors in the 60s and 70s and these companies did not mind single-use buildings with low street visibility. However, the desire now is for interconnectivity and walkable campuses with higher aesthetic/design appeal, workplace amenities, and the availability of transportation modes other than single-occupancy vehicles.