2003-06-04-PB-min - Laserfiche WebLink

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PLANNING BOARD MINUTES MEETING OF .TUNE 4, 2003 The meeting of the Lexington Planning Board held in the Selectmen's Room, Town Office Building, was called to order at 7:35 p.m. by Chairman Galaitsis with members Davies, Harden, Kastorf and planning staff Garber and McCall - Taylor present. COMPREHENSIVE PLANNING PUBLIC HEARING: TRANSPORTATION ELEMENT Present for the hearing were Stewart Kennedy, Elaine Dratch, Edward Ganshirt, William Levinson, Richard Canale, Michael Martignetti and Michael Schroeder. Mr. Galaitsis called the hearing to order and welcomed those who had come, particularly those who had been on the Transportation Element Advisory Committee. Mr. Garber added his thanks and acknowledged the amount of work done by Eli Machek from the planning staff. Mr. Garber explained that the Planning Board had to adopt the Transportation element of the Comprehensive Plan and therefore was having this public hearing. The document reflected much public process, including five workshops and was informed and inspired by the 2020 Visioning process. He said that the changes suggested by the members of the advisory group had been incorporated in this draft version. The thrust of the document was alternative transportation rather than simply expanding the roadway infrastructure. Existing conditions were analyzed and reasons for the problems explored. He hoped that the demise of LEXPRESS would only be short term as Transportation Demand Management {TDM} was emphasized. Board Comments - Mr. Davies asked about the publication schedule and suggested an addendum describing the past week's events, including the non - funding of LEXPRESS and the transportation coordinator. Mr. Garber agreed that something should be incorporated in the final version. Mr. Davies pointed out some corrections. Mr. Harden said that the Town Meeting discussion of 201 Bedford Street and the senior center were major land use issues and that the plan should be a bit more specific about them. Ms. Machek suggested adding a paragraph in the existing conditions section. General Comments - Mr. Richard Canale said that transportation infrastructure and land uses change fairly rapidly and wondered what the schedule of updates would be. Mr. Garber replied that clearly updates were important and that a five -year schedule might be appropriate. Mr. Canale said that the plan was terrific. Mr. Garber pointed out that planning would move forward with the initiatives as resources allowed. Mr. Stewart Kennedy congratulated the drafters but said he was a little daunted by what the Bike Committee had to do. There was some question about the reference to Spring/Hayden and what all it encompassed. Mr. Kennedy suggested adding a definition of betterment district to the definitions. Mr. Ganshirt said that without LEXPRESS the TDM bylaw and policy could not exist, as the town could not collect for what it did not have. Ms. Machek said there actually were other programs, including the 128 - Shuttle. Mr. Levinson suggested adding a definition of overlay district to the glossary. Ms. Elaine Dratch asked if there was any hope for LEXPRESS. Mr. Garber said he thought there was strong constituency and that there would be a push for re- institution of the service. Mr. Michael Martignetti said that new commercial development raises traffic concerns yet commercial areas need to be revitalized and have appropriate development. The current message to the development community is: do not even try it. He urged the Board to invite building owners to come talk about future developments. Mr. Galaitsis said that traffic needs to be considered when expanding and the total capacity of the area should be considered. Mr. Garber said that if some of the techniques catch on that would create an atmosphere in which building expansion would be possible. Ms. Dratch wondered if the May 15th Vision 2020 update meeting raised any issues that should be incorporated in the plan. Mr. Harden said the meeting was a more broad discussion of goals. The hearing was closed at 8:25 p.m. On the motion of Mr. Kastorf, seconded by Mr. Harden the Board voted 4 -0 to adopt the Transportation Element dated May 2003, with the addition of an addendum