2006-05-31-PB-min - Laserfiche WebLink

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PLANNING BOARD MINUTES MEETING OF MAY 31, 2006 A regular meeting of the Lexington Planning Board held in the Selectmen's Meeting Room, Town Office Building, was called to order at 7:30 p.m. by Chairman Manz with members Galaitsis, Hornig, Canale, Zurlo and planning staff McCall-Taylor and Schilt present. ************************************* MINUTES ************************************** Review of Minutes: The Board reviewed and corrected the minutes for the meeting of May 3, 2006. On a motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the minutes as amended. ************ ADMINISTRATION OF LAND DEVELOPMENT REGULATIONS ************* SUBDIVISION OF LAND 92-110 Shade Street (Journey’s End) Sketch Plan: Present for this item were Mr. Chris Spilios and Mr. Arthur Spilios, the property owners, Mr. Michael Snow, landscape architect, and Mr. Richard Waitt, civil engineer. Mr. Snow provided an overview of the proposed sketch plan, noting that the site is approximately 8.09 acres and it is zoned RO. The properties to the west of the site are zoned CD and the properties across Shade Street are zoned RS. Members of the Board noted that the property to the north was rezoned last year, and it is now zoned CD and not RD as noted on the plans. Mr. Snow noted the correction. He continued with a description of the existing site conditions, stating that there is a single-family dwelling on each of the existing lots, and a barn is sited on the Journey’s End property (at 110 Shade Street). The Journey’s End property is currently on a septic system but it is served by the Town’s water system. There are steep slopes along the back of the property, with slopes of 15 percent or greater transitioning down to the Patriot Partners development to the rear. There are large open areas in the front of the property, which provide significant views of the property from Shade Street; the areas on the southern and western perimeters of the property are heavily forested. The wetlands that exist on the property, and on the adjacent property, are currently being delineated to determine their location, and the topographic survey is currently being redone as well. Mr. Hornig noted that he had walked the site, and at 92 Shade Street some of the slopes seemed greater than 15 percent. Mr. Snow stated that the applicants have provided four conceptual subdivision layouts for the Board to consider, however three of the layouts (two 10-unit conventional concepts, and one 10-unit cluster) proposed were two-dimensional concepts only, and are not preferred by the applicants. The proposed sketch plan shows combining the two parcels, and extracting three lots through an Approval Not Required (ANR) process; one of the ANR lots would be approximately 136,000 square feet and would retain the existing Journey’s End mansion. Of the remaining land, the applicants are proposing a three-lot conventional subdivision, with frontage on a new cul-de-sac that would align with Cary Avenue across Shade Street. Two of the lots would be at the end of the cul-de-sac at the rear of the property; the other lot would have frontage on Shade Street, and could potentially become another ANR lot if the current survey and future design work determines that enough frontage could be provided. Mr. Galaitsis inquired why a cluster was not one of the preferred alternatives, with open space that would be accessible from all of the new lots. Mr. Snow replied that the applicants preferred a conventional layout to protect the integrity of the Journey’s End property, which they intend to maintain. Mr. Galaitsis asked if the property currently has any historic protection, and Mr. Spilios stated that it did not and that the family would not want to see the mansion torn down. Mr. Waitt described the proposed cul-de-sac, which would be approximately 300 feet long, and would align with Cary Avenue with a 75 degree offset to the centerline in order to preserve wooded areas