2004-05-03-PB-min - Laserfiche WebLink

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PLANNING BOARD MINUTES MEETING OF MAY 3, 2004 The meeting of the Lexington Planning Board held in Room 227 of the Clarke Middle School, was called to order at 7:10.m. by Chairman Harden with members Davies, Galaitsis, Kastorf, Manz and planning staff McCall- Taylor present. ****** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ** MINUTES ******* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ** Review of Minutes The Board postponed review of the minutes until the next meeting. * * * * * * * * * * ** ADMINISTRATION OF LAND DEVELOPMENT REGULATIONS * * * * * * * * * * * ** PLANS NOT REQUIRING APPROVAL UNDER THE SUBDIVISION CONTROL LAW Marrett Road at Tufts Road, Approval Not Required Plan 2004 -1: The Board endorsed a second original of an Approval Not Required Plan for land at Marrett and Tufts Roads. As there was Land Court land involved there needed to be two originals, one for the Registry and one for Land Court. The other original had been signed on January 14, 2004. The members endorsed the plan entitled "Plan of Land in Lexington in Mass., dated December 8, 2003, prepared and certified by James R. Keenan, Professional Land Surveyor, Winchester, Mass., submitted by Glenn Comeau, as it does not require approval under the Subdivision Control Law. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ** ARTICLES FOR 2004 TOWN MEETING Articles 12 and 13 — Metropolitan State Hospital Redevelopment — The Board received various correspondence on these matters, including a proposed amendment to Article 13 by Steven Heinrich. Mr. Heinrich's amendment would limit the development to no more than 331 units. Mr. Harden reported that the Appropriations Committee was voting on a recommendation on Article 13 that evening. The Committee had already spent some amount of time discussing the report put together by Loren Wood critiquing the fiscal analysis. Mr. Kastorf said that AvalonBay had appeared to address the issues raised by Mr. Wood in considerable detail. Ms. McCall - Taylor said that the Planning Director Mr. Garber was at the Appropriations Committee, which was meeting concurrently, in order to answer questions. The Board discussed the issue of fiscal neutrality and felt that it was important to emphasize that fiscal neutrality was a goal, not a requirement. Mr. Kastorf reported that in talking with people who had read the Planning Board's report, many had commented that they had not realized that fiscal neutrality was not a requirement. He also said that he was amazed at how positive people were about both the project and the Board's report. Mr. Harden said that he would continue to worry about the fiscal piece and that the Appropriations Committee report will carry a lot of weight. The Board then discussed the process that would be followed at Town Meeting as Ed Grant, on behalf of AvalonBay, would be offering an amendment to the PSDUP that would incorporate the latest mitigation offers and the change in unit mix. Ms. McCall - Taylor said that there was an issue of a covenant as well as amendments to the PSDUP. She reported that Town Counsel wants many of the special conditions removed from the PSDUP and placed in a covenant instead. This is still being debated between the attorneys. Members felt that the changes expressed in the Grant amendment would be important selling points for the project and should come first before the Heinrich amendment. Mr. Harden said that the Board would have to take a position on the 331 —unit proposal. He said it was unusual for the Planning Board to not be advocating for reduced density but the benefit of being above the 40B threshold for several decades is a strong argument for the 387 units. Mr. Kastorf said that