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MINUTES OF THE JOINT MEETING OF THE BOARD OF SELECTMEN AND THE PLANNING BOARD MARCH 31, 1984 A joint meeting of the Board of Selectmen and the Planning Board was held in the Selectmen's Meeting Room, Town Office Building, on Saturday, March 31, 1984, at 10:07 a.m. Present were: Acting Chairman Battin and members Eddison, Marshall, McLaughlin, Sacco of the Board of Selectmen; Chairman Smith and members Cripps, Flemings, Sorensen and Uhrig of the Planning Board; Mr. Hutchinson, Town Manager; and Mr. Bowyer, Planning Director. ARTICLES FOR 1984 TOWN MEETING Acting Chairman Battin opened the meeting by stating that Articles 14-18 of the 1984 Annual Town Meeting, proposed amendments to the Zoning By -Law, posed signifi- cant policy questions for the Town. This meeting had been called by the Board of Selectmen to permit a fuller understanding of the issues and provide an opportunity for the two Boards to discuss the issues jointly. The Selectmen were in receipt of advance copies of the Planning Board's report to the Town Meeting on Articles 14-17. 76. Article 14, Parking Requirements: Mr. Sorensen explained that this article is the first of what the Planning Board anticipates will be a series of comprehensive revisions to modernize various sections of the Zoning By -Law. Mr. McLaughlin ex- pressed three concerns: 1) whether the landscaping requirements would reduce the ' potential number of parking spaces,2) the prohibition against charging a fee for off-street parking, and 3) the parking demand factor for medical uses. The Planning Board had a diagram that showed that, due to a reduction in the dimensional re- quirements for parking spaces, both the parking spaces and the landscaping could be located in the overall dimension now required by the Zoning By -Law. The Planning Board said that some communities have found that motorists park on the street to avoid a fee, thus defeating the purpose of requiring off-street parking. The demand factor for medical uses was based on local surveys and national data and the Planning Board agreed to review that factor. Mr. Sacco questioned how the new regulations would be enforced and whether the Town had the resources to administer what appeared to be a complicated regulations. Mr. Bowyer and Mr. Sorensen responded that the regulations would be administered in the same way as the other requirements in the Zoning By -Law. In most cases a building permit would be needed; other cases are triggered by complaints and some by the building inspectors. There was a consensus of the Board of Selectmen to support Article 14 in concept. 77. Article 15, Rezone to CG: Mrs. Flemings explained this amendment would redesignate two CB districts, one in East Lexington and the other at Worthen Road - Bedford Street, to CG districts because Articles 16 and 17 propose unique provi- sions tailor-made to Lexington Center. It would not be appropriate to have those unique requirements apply to the other CB districts. Discussion centered on whether or not the Board of Selectmen could exercise land use type of controls in the granting of licenses for liquor stores and amusements centers. Additional informa- tion will be obtained from Town Counsel on that point. It was agreed the Board of Selectmen would support Article 15 in principle.