Planning Board Minutes, 1994-04-04

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PLANNING BOARD MINUTES MEETING OF APRIL 4, 1994 The meeting of the Lexington Planning Board held in Room G-15, Town Office Building, was called to order at 7 14 p m. by Chairman Domnitz, with members Canale, Davison, Grant, Merrill, Planning Director Bowyer, and Assistant Planner Marino present. Mr Grant arrived during Item 64 ************************ PLANNING DIRECTOR'S REPORT *********************** 65 Staff Reports a. MAPD Conference Mr. Bowyer reported that he had attended the Annual Conference of the Massachusetts Association of Planning Directors in Amherst He spoke on a panel with Donald Schmidt of the Executive Office of Communities and Development who has just published "The ANR Handbook", a 75 page compendium of court cases dealing with approval not required plans. Copies of "The ANR Handbook" are available for Planning Board members The MAPD has a session each year with the Massachusetts Town Counsels and City Solicitors Association in which they review the previous year's land use court cases. Attorney Joseph Vrabel observed that this year's cases seemed to tighten up on persons who have "standing" to appeal. Those persons must demonstrate real injury rather than speculation about injury. That should cut down on the number of frivolous appeals Vrabel also noted that the courts were imposing a new standard on non-profit, educational and religious institutions They must demonstrate, and document, adverse economic effects from local regulations to justify an exemption from zoning. b Met State Reuse Plan Mr Bowyer distributed copies of the March 1 draft of the Metropolitan State reuse plan prepared by the Division of Capital Planning and Operations and a draft of the housing section of that report prepared largely by Lexington but with the collaboration of Waltham and Belmont He recommended that the Board approach this material in a structured way He distributed a question- naire, to be completed by each member, and discussed at a future meeting, as one way to approach the issues systematically ******************* PLANNING BOARD PROJECTS, POLICY MAKING ******************* 66. Review of Socio-Economic Characteristics Volume I Population: Several members commented on the breadth of information contained in the draft of Volume 1, which they had reviewed. Discussion focussed primarily on the policy implications, largely of dealing with an aging population, that the report highlights. Mr. Canale observed that the average persons per household and the persons per household by age group explained a great deal about Lexington's population The persons by household graph may be the most important in the whole report but, as presently displayed, is difficult to read. He suggested that it be reviewed and given more prominence Mr. Domnitz noted that it was not clear in the report what the solutions were to the population questions posed. Mr Bowyer responded that policy choices for the town can affect the population composition For instance, depending on whether the Town is, or is not, willing to rezone for housing oriented specifically to older