2022-08-17-PB-min - Laserfiche WebLink

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Page 1 of 8 Planning Board Meeting Minutes August 3, 2022 Minutes of the Lexington Planning Board Held on August 17, 2022, Virtual Meeting at 6:00 pm Present: Robert Peters, Chair; Michael Schanbacher, Vice-Chair; Melanie Thompson, Clerk, Robert Creech, Charles Hornig, and Michael Leon, Associate Member. Also present were Abby McCabe, Planning Director, Molly Belanger, Planner, and Carol Kowalski, Assistant Town Manager for Development. Robert Peters, Chair, called to order the meeting of the Lexington Planning Board on Wednesday, August 17, 2022, at 6:00 pm. For this meeting, all members are participating remotely via Zoom. LexMedia is filming this meeting and will record it for future viewing. Detailed information for remote participation by the public may be found on the Planning Office web page. Mr. Peters conducted a roll call to ensure all members of the Planning Board and members of staff present could hear and be heard. Mr. Peters provided a summary of instructions for members of the public in attendance. It was further noted that materials for this meeting are available on the Town's Novus AGENDA dashboard. Draft Comprehensive Plan Review Public Work Session Mr. Peters introduced this item. The Board has been reviewing drafts over the summer and will begin with the written comments received by staff on the posted drafts. Goal 10: Land Use Ms. McCabe shared a Power Point presentation called “LexingtonNext Draft Comprehensive Plan”, dated August 17, 2022 for a new section of Volume 1: Goal 10 – To support and advance goals 1-9 of LexingtonNext through wise land use planning. MGL requires a Land Use section in master plans. The Planning Staff believed it was important to add a 10th goal for Land Use, per the MGL Land Use requirement. Planning Staff have put together the first strategies for goal 10. Abby McCabe presented the goal and strategies to the Planning Board for comment. Ms. McCabe presented an overview of the comments received for Goal 10. There are some land use related goals in other sections of the plan, however, Planning believes a separate section with additional goals is necessary to fulfill the State’s requirements. Board Discussion: • A board member voiced their support for the new section. • A board member suggested broadening strategy 10.2 to cover all zoning districts and changing “large private and public land holdings” to districts. • A board member suggested a cross-referencing system to avoid repeating all zoning strategies in Goal 10. • A member commented that the Land Use inventory is very helpful. The strategies and actions should exhibit the rationale of zoning updates and update definitions.