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Lexington Planning Board Meeting Minutes March 1, 2023 Page 1 of 7 Minutes of the Lexington Planning Board Held on Wednesday, March 1, 2023, 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 Carol Kowalski, Assistant Town Manager for Development; Abby McCabe, Planning Director; and Molly Belanger, Planner. Robert Peters, Chair, called to order the meeting of the Lexington Planning Board on Wednesday, March 1, 2023, at 6:00 pm. For this meeting, the Planning Board is convening by video conference 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 Packet dashboard. Town Meeting Continued Public Hearing: Article 33 Amend Zoning Bylaw Relative to Special Permit Residential Developments (SPRD), Special Permit Residential Development Amendment Committee (Ad Hoc) Ms. Manz represented the SPRD Committee and gave an overview of recent amendments to the article language as a result of the recent public outreach and the public hearings, which were to add language specifying how to determine the number of allowable dwellings from the proof plan, limits on the total building size, and to add provisions for common open space (15% of developable site area). Ms. Manz also summarized the public outreach done by the Committee. Ms. Manz clarified that the changes were discussed with the Building Division, who saw no issues with the changes. Also present was SPRD Committee Chair, Jill Hai who discussed changes to the number of total dwellings and Gross Floor Area allowed, as a part of the recent amendments. Mr. Leon had concerns about a by-right approval process, rather than allowing by special permit approval since the Planning Board is already bringing Article 34 to Town Meeting to allow an increase in by-right housing. Ms. Hai explained that by-right is to provide more predictability for builders and strengthens the chance of these developments. Mr. Hornig thanked the SPRD Committee members for their work throughout the years and voiced his hope for the Planning Board’s support of the article. Mr. Creech, Ms. Thompson, and Mr. Peters also commented on their support for the article. Chair Peters opened the hearing up to public comments and questions. Public Comments: Ms. McBride asked if the photo on page four of a recent presentation was of the Riverwalk development. Mr. Hornig mentioned that the photo was not of Riverwalk. Ms. McBride mentioned that Riverwalk was not approved as a by-right project and was approved by a special permit, which gave the town control over many