2018-04-23 JM BOS-PB-min - Laserfiche WebLink

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Joint Selectmen and Planning Board Page 1 of 2 JOINT SELECTMEN AND PLANNING BOARD MEETING Monday, April 23, 2018 A Joint Meeting of the Lexington Board of Selectmen and the Lexington Planning Board was called to order at 6:31 p.m. on Monday, April 23, 2018 in the Selectmen’s Meeting Room in Town Office Building, 1625 Massachusetts Avenue. Present for the Board of Selectmen were Ms. Barry, Chair; Mr. Pato; Ms. Ciccolo; Mr. Lucente; Ms. Hai; Mr. Valente, Town Manager; and Ms. Siebert, Recording Secretary. Present for the Planning Board were Mr. Canale, Chair; Mr. Hornig; Mr. Creech; Ms. Corcoran- Ronchetti; Ms. Johnson; Mr. Henry, Planning Director; and Mr. Kucharsky, Assistant Planning Director. Mr. Canale called the Planning Board back to order from an Open Session recess. 2018 Town Meeting Action Regarding Article 42—Balanced Housing Bylaw Mr. Canale said the Planning Board is amenable to the decision made by Annual Town Meeting on April 11, 2018 to refer Article 42 back to the Selectmen. The Planning Board is likewise amenable to re-opening the matter so that the article is ultimately referred back to Planning Board, or alternatively, that is referred to the two boards collaboratively. He asked the Selectmen to describe how they view the matter moving forward. Ms. Barry said that the Board of Selectmen has so far had only very preliminary discussions about the direction to take. The Board had considered the formation of an ad hoc committee operating under Open Meeting Laws; Ms. Barry believes the group would preferably include members of the Planning Board; Board of Selectmen; the article proponent; Matt Daggett; a representative or two from the housing community; one or two developers; a lawyer; and one or two community members. Entwined in the work are also matters of policy, to be determined by the Selectmen. Mr. Valente has also indicated there might be funds available to hire outside consultants who would facilitate committee discussions and do the technical work of writing the bylaw and motion. Ms. Barry acknowledged that a November deadline is extremely ambitious; she does not want to give Town Meeting false hope that this timeframe is certain. Mr. Lucente agreed with Ms. Barry’s assessment and added that the issues are complex. He approves of establishing an ad hoc committee. Mr. Pato remains hopeful that the work could be completed by fall and agreed that the Planning Board and Selectmen should work together. He believes the effort should be a public process. Ms. Hai agreed that fall is the desired timeframe for bringing the matter back before Town Meeting but it may not be possible, given everything else. Ms. Ciccolo noted that the community has made clear that it wants action on this matter; she said the boards should guard against allowing time slipping away and believes the two should work together. She asked that the current Comprehensive Plan ad hoc committee be kept informed about the Balanced Housing ad hoc committee and its direction. Ms. Ciccolo applauded the work done by article proponent Matt Daggett. Mr. Hornig said he is amenable to all the previously expressed opinions about how to move forward and is agnostic about whether an ad hoc committee or working group is formed. His main concern about opening the matter for reconsideration is the amount of time such a discussion will absorb at Town Meeting.