Planning Board minutes 03-25-1996

Browse Search

PLANNING BOARD MINUTES MEETING OF MARCH 25, 1996 The meeting of the Lexington Planning Board, held in Room G-15, Town Office Building, was called to order at 7.48 p.m. by Chairman Davison, with members Canale, Colman, Planning Director Bowyer, and Assistant Planner Marino present. Mr. Merrill arrived during Item 61 Mr Colman left the meeting during Item 65 Mr Davies was absent. ****************** PLANNING BOARD ORGANIZATION, SCHEDULE ******************* 57 Welcome to New Member. The Board welcomed new member, Steven L. Colman. who was elected to a five-year term in the Town election on March 18, 1996. 58. Signature sheets for Registry of Deeds and Land Court: As required by State statute, the Board endorsed signature sheets, required to be on file with the Registry of Deeds and the Land Court, reflecting the current membership of the Board and staff members authorized to sign for the Board. ************************ ARTICLES FOR 1996 TOWN MEETING ************************ Citizens' Rezoning Petitions: Direction to the Staff to Prepare Reports to Town Meeting: 59 Discussion of General Procedures and Schedule for Zoning Articles at Town Meeting: The Board discussed the public hearings held on March 4 for the three citizens' articles. Mr Bowyer outlined the contents of the reports to Town Meeting and the likely production timetable. 60. Article 31 RS to RD Pelham Road. Grey Nuns: Mr Canale and Mrs. Davison reported on some of the issues that came out of the Town Meeting Members' bus tour of sites that are the subject of rezoning petitions to the Town Meeting. Regarding the 10 Pelham Road rezoning, some questioned the permanence of the proposed 500 foot setback on the Grey Nuns property to preserve the "front lawn." Others felt that the petitioner should offer more benefits to the town than those currently planned. Mr Canale wants to see the contents of Appendix E of the Preliminary Site Development and Use Plan moved into the main body of the document. Other issues discussed included. the tenant selection process, and the proposed marking of Massachusetts Avenue to improve safety at the Pelham Road intersection. 61 Article 32. RO to CD Waltham Street. Gravestar Inc. The Board observed that Gravestar, Inc.'s (the new property manager of the shopping plaza) proposal to use the rezoned parcel of land in Lexington for parking and landscaping is reasonable. The Board is concerned though that the proposal is not part of a larger plan to deal with the problems of the shopping plaza parking lot and traffic in the area. In all, there appear to be many loose ends in this proposal. Mr Bowyer observed that there are not enough commitments from the applicants at this point. The Board agreed to encourage the applicants to keep moving in the direction they are going and to come back when the details are more firm. Mr Colman suggested that the applicant be told their performance will be monitored over the year ahead. The Board agreed to recommend that Town Meeting disapprove the current proposal. 62. Article 33 CS to RS. Marrett Road. Butler Realty. A number of questions arose in the discussion about this rezoning petition for land at 581 Marrett Road. Are uses allowed in the CS commercial zone so uneconomic that houses offer more economic return than businesses do? Maybe the concept of the CS district - to provide a district for tradesmen and marginal uses -is not viable and residential property is too valuable. Perhaps this land should be zoned for a different commercial use, e.g., neighborhood, or retail and shopping. Mr Marino f presented a revenue comparison of the various zoning districts. r After more discussion, the Board agreed that the CS zone is an important part of the overall zoning scheme in Lexington. But, based on the deep penetration of this piece of property into the adjoining single family