2005-03-09-PB-min - Laserfiche WebLink

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PLANNING BOARD MINUTES MEETING OF MARCH 9, 2005 A regular meeting of the Lexington Planning Board held in the Selectmen's Meeting Room, Town Office Building, was called to order at 7:35 p.m. by Chairman Kastorf with members Galaitsis, Harden, Hornig, Manz and planning staff McCall-Taylor and Tap present. Mr. Kastorf began the meeting by congratulating the recently elected members, Anthony Galaitsis and Charles Hornig. It will be Mr. Hornig’s first term on the Board and Mr. Galaitsis’ third term. ************************************* MINUTES ************************************** Review of Minutes: The Board reviewed the minutes for the meeting of February 16, 2005. On a motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the minutes as written. ************ ADMINISTRATION OF LAND DEVELOPMENT REGULATIONS ************* PLANS NOT REQUIRING APPROVAL UNDER THE SUBDIVISION CONTROL LAW Ms. McCall-Taylor reported that the plan for 33 and 29 Prospect Hill Road originally on the agenda will need to be revised if it is to qualify for endorsement by the Planning Board as not needing approval under the subdivision control law. The applicant will be notified of the issue. ****************** PLANNING BOARD ORGANIZATION, SCHEDULE ******************* The Board set up the meeting schedule through April so that regulatory matters could be scheduled within the mandated review period. The Board agreed to meet at 6:00 p.m., prior to Town Meeting sessions, on April 6, 11 and 13. ************ ADMINISTRATION OF LAND DEVELOPMENT REGULATIONS ************* SUBDIVISION OF LAND Cutler Farm Cluster Subdivision Sketch Plan, Tim Callahan, Presentation by the Applicant: The development team, Mr. Callahan, the applicant, and Mr. Ti Johnson, landscape architect, of Larson Associates, Inc. were present: Mr. Johnson indicated that the plan before the Board tonight responds to comments and suggestions made by the Board on the first sketch plan at its January 5, 2005 meeting. Instead of eight dwellings in two clusters on a roadway off of Concord Avenue, with emergency access off Old Spring Street, the current plan shows nine smaller dwellings, less site coverage and includes a unit that would be given to the town for affordable housing. A neighborhood context plan was provided. Mr. Johnson indicated that a survey of Old Spring Street showed it to be adequate to service the three proposed additional houses and in terms of providing a turnaround. He said it was paved last year. Planning Board Comments and Questions Mr. Hornig asked if there are utilities in Old Spring Street to service the new dwellings, how wide the street is, and if they have rights to improve it. Mr. Johnson responded that Old Spring varies from 12 to 15 feet in width and a hammerhead turnaround could be built. Whether they have a right to improve it is uncertain at this point. As to utilities, Mr. Johnson said that the survey work was not complete at this time. Mr. Hornig expressed concern that the ROW is only 15 feet. Mr. Galaitsis commented that the impacts of the proposed subdivision are at the maximums shown in the cluster worksheet. As he had asked for smaller and some attached units at the meeting in January, it seems to him that the proposal is going backwards in terms of acceptability. Mr. Johnson responded that the dwelling units in the current plan are smaller than those in the previous sketch plan. Ms. Manz asked if the affordable unit would differ from the market-rate units. Mr. Johnson indicated it would not. Ms. Manz and Mr. Hornig expressed reservations about the condition of Old Spring Street and its suitability for providing access for the new homes, especially with regard to public safety due its width and because existing stone walls and trees would be affected. Mr. Hornig asked if the applicant has the right to improve the street.