2004-04-12-PB-min - Laserfiche WebLink

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Minutes for the Meeting of April 12, 2004 2 was a little hard to tell if AvalonBay was still covering two years of complimentary Lexpress tickets, which she felt was a very important part of the previous offer, along with the free Alewife shuttle tickets. Ms. Manz wondered if another $10,000 could be provided to underwrite tickets and thereby encourage use in the initial two years. Ms. Castleman said Lexpress could cap the cost to AvalonBay at $10,000 a year for tickets. Mr. Kastorf said that the concession could come from either side; it is not a cash contribution by Lexpress if there are empty seats on the bus. Mr. Harden suggested that some of the already proffered $450,000 could be used to provide free or subsidized tickets if that is what the Town choose to do. Ms. Castleman said it is really the connection to a transportation hub that matters, not specifically to Alewife. Mr. Garber suggested that the language could be changed to "Alewife station or other designated transportation hub." Ms. Dratch wanted to see a commitment to meeting annually with the transportation coordinator. Mr. Harden said there would be language requiring the development to be part of the South Lexington Transportation Organization (SLTO) and that would be the mechanism for coordination. Mr. Harden said that it was time for the Planning Board to make a decision on the project based on what was now before them. There will always be some changes being suggested or made but the Board will need to take a snapshot and use it to make their decision. He felt that areas that might need further exploration are Kline Hall, the DMH units, the Land Disposition Agreement and recreation uses on the site. Mr. Kevin Johnson asked about what he saw as an obligation of the developer to provide recreational facilities for the residents of Lexington, not just the development, and he wondered how important that had been in the Task Force's recommendation. Mr. Johnson suggested that AvalonBay might provide a community tot lot on their property or adjacent DCR land. Mr. Kastorf who is a member of the Task Force said that he felt the obligation to provide recreational facilities was so the residents of the development won't impact the scarce recreational facilities available in south Lexington, not to provide for the larger community directly on site. He also pointed out that the larger site, which is currently closed to the public, would be opened and available for recreational use. Ms. Manz commented that it might be nice if there were a softball field available. Mr. Garber said that the MDC, now DCR, had not been open to active recreation uses in the planning sessions. Ms. McCall - Taylor added that in dividing up the hospital site, the lot lines for the housing development had been tightly drawn and really wouldn't allow the siting of athletic fields within the development. Mr. Harden said that he would favor a lower number of units for DMH clients on -site as that would free up more affordable units for Lexington residents. Mr. Kastorf said that it was likely that the DMH clients would also be Lexington residents. The Board agreed to continue their discussion of the AvalonBay proposal at the next meeting. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ** PLANNING BOARD ORGANIZATION, SCHEDULE * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ** The Board will meet on Tuesday, April 13 at 7:30 in the planning office to continue deliberations on the Met State redevelopment, and on Wednesday, April 14 at 7:00, prior to Town Meeting, to review a sketch plan for a cluster subdivision on Cary Avenue. On a motion duly made and seconded, the Board voted unanimously , adjou75 p.m. %John L. Davies, Clerk