Planning Board Minutes, 1994-02-28

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PLANNING BOARD MINUTES MEETING OF FEBRUARY 28, 1994 The meeting of the Lexington Planning Board held in Room G-15, Town Office Building, was called to order at 7 35 p in by Chairman Domnitz, with members Canale, Davison, Williams, Planning Director Bowyer, Assistant Planner Marino and Secretary Tap present Mr Grant arrived during Item 37. 37 Review of Minutes The Board reviewed and corrected the minutes for the meeting of February 7,1994 On the motion of Mrs Davison, seconded by Mr. Canale, it was voted unanimously 5-0 to approve the minutes, as amended. The Board reviewed and corrected the minutes for the meeting of February 14, 1994 On the motion of Mr Canale, seconded by Mrs. Davison, it was voted unanimously 5-0 to approve the minutes, as amended. *********************** ARTICLES FOR 1994 TOWN MEETING *********************** 38 PUBLIC HEARING Article 24. Jumbo House Setbacks Mr. Domnitz opened the hearing at 7 50 p m. by reading the Legal Notice Eight people were in the audience. Mrs Davison, the Vice Chairman, explained that this proposed amendment to the Zoning By-Law is an effort to control the mass of houses in relation to the lot size It will help protect neighborhoods from the construction of overscale houses (having over 2500 square feet of living space) that overshadow existing houses, and to help preserve diversity in Lexington's housing stock Houses in new subdivisions are currently controlled by the setbacks and the proposed amendment would extend the protection to demolition and redevelopment of existing houses Mr Domnitz then invited questions from the audience A number of residents expressed their belief that the amendment would restrict unfairly plans they had to expand their houses Robert Boyer, 104 Spring Street, said that an addition to his small Cape Cod-style house would be prohibited by the new setbacks Mr. Domnitz told him that the exemptions provided by Section 6.4. 1 would probably give him relief Paul Crowley, of 20 Dawes Road, said that his plans for an addition have already been drawn He needs more room for his family and does not want to buy a bigger house in a different neighborhood. The proposed setbacks would penalize him He feels that house additions have enhanced his area of town Ruven Liebhaber, of 87 Waltham Street, referring to Mr Domnitz' earlier reference to applying to the Board of Appeals for a variance, said that variances are hard to get and this would not be a viable avenue for the many people who want to add on to their homes Mr. Domnitz asked what he thought the threshold house size, to be affected by the setbacks, should be. Mr. Liebhaber suggested 3,000 square feet, not counting the basement. The current threshold penalizes owners of what are actually small to average size houses Judy Alexander, 66 Baskin Road, a resident and real estate broker, said that the reading she gets from neighbors of new houses in town is positive. People need and expect more in a house The houses being demolished and replaced are often neglected eyesores She questioned whether trying to preserve diversity in the housing stock is a valid reason for the proposed setbacks