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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2008-03-19-PB-min PLANNING BOARD MINUTES MEETING OF MARCH 19, 2008 A regular meeting of the Lexington Planning Board was held in the Planning Office, Room G-1, Town Office Building, and called to order at 6:00 p.m. by Chairman Hornig with members Canale, Galaitsis, Zurlo and Manz and planning staff McCall-Taylor, Henry and Kaufman present. ************************SUBDIVISION ADMINISTRATION****************************** APPROVAL NOT REQUIRED Form A/2008-3, 62 & 64 Cary Avenue: On a motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to endorse the plan entitled “ Approval Not Required Plan, Plan of Land in Lexington, Massachusetts, Middlesex County, being a subdivision of lots 115 & 116 as shown on Land Court Plan 6962C” dated March 15, 2008, prepared and certified by James R. Keenan, Professional Land Surveyor, Keenan Survey, Winchester, MA, with Form A/2008-3, submitted by Homes Development Corporation, applicant, as it does not require approval under the Subdivision Control Law. ************************ ARTICLES FOR 2008 TOWN MEETING************************** Article 53, CM District Floor Area Ratio: Mr. Hornig asked each Board member for a brief statement as to their thoughts on the article. Ms. Manz leaned towards supporting Article 53, although she was not sure if that was the perfect gross floor area (GFA), but it appeared to be nothing that couldn’t be absorbed over 10-12 years, especially since the Air Force base appears open to opening other entrances. This has been an issue with the Minute Man National Historical Park in the past. She was awaiting her colleagues’ thoughts before coming to a conclusion. Mr. Zurlo felt the .35 floor area ratio (FAR) is the lowest threshold that should be considered for growth this year and he would be comfortable supporting the change if the Planning Board were the special permit granting authority (SPGA). He felt the Board would learn more as it began to implement the .35 FAR that might inform future changes. Mr. Canale was against Article 53 and was not sure that increasing FAR parcel by parcel was the best way to approach the issue. He would prefer an overlay district or some other means that would allow the Town to get mitigations. CPTS (Central Transportation Planning Staff) did a license survey at Lincoln Page 2 Minutes for the Meeting of March 19, 2008 Labs and Hanscom Base during the pre-BRAC process that showed 12 to 40 percent of automobile traffic would be going down Wood Street, yet none of the property owners along Wood Street have been involved. Mr. Galaitsis said going to a .35 FAR was a big jump. Since there was multifaceted input being developed by the EDTF, he would wait for the benefit of that information. He felt that something needs to be done before more traffic is allowed. Mr. Hornig said that even if this passes it would need to be redone and would take significant time. Changing the FAR by special permit with findings for safe access of pedestrians, bicycles and transit users could be considered. He felt that a rough cost estimate for safe access improvements would be one to one and a half million dollars. Mr. Hornig asked whether the Board would support an amendment to Article 53 that would allow an increased FAR conditioned on the granting of a special permit with findings, or did they want to vote Article 53 up or down on as presented. After considerable discussion Mr. Hornig asked for a straw poll of the Board as to whether they might consider supporting something like Mr. Zurlo’s proposal. A straw poll was taken, 3-2, in favor. On a motion duly made and seconded, it was voted, 3-2, (Mr. Canale and Mr. Galaitsis opposed) to support amending Article 53 to require a special permit with findings and making the Planning Board the SPGA. A motion was made to not support Article 53 to Town Meeting. This motion was later withdrawn. On a motion duly made and seconded, it was voted, 5-0, to recommend the disapproval of Article 53 to Town Meeting as written. Article 54, Mixed Uses in the CM District: On a motion duly made and seconded, it was voted, 4-1, (Mr. Hornig opposed), to recommend the disapproval of Article 54 to Town Meeting. Article 55, CRO District Floor Area Ratio: The issue was allowing light manufacturing as accessory use in the CRO district, as Mr. Smith was not going forward with the FAR increase for this district. On a motion duly made and seconded, it was voted, 3-2, (Mr. Canale and Mr. Galaitsis opposed), to support Minutes for the Meeting of March 19, 2008 Page 3 passage of Article 55 to Town Meeting with “SP” rather than “Y”. Mr. Zurlo indicated he would also support the Article as written. Article 56, Traffic Bylaw: This article removes the definition of adequate capacity as well as the absolute block to development if a certain level of capacity cannot be reached. On a motion duly made and seconded, it was voted, 3-2, (Mr. Hornig and Ms. Manz opposed), to not recommend Article 56 to Town Meeting. Article 57, Development Standards: The proponent plans to withdraw the article. Article 58, Transition Areas and Setbacks: Mr. Zurlo said there is a lot of opportunity to create an environment that the Town wants on Hartwell Avenue but this might foreclose that opportunity. On a motion made and duly and seconded, it was voted, 3-2, (Mr. Hornig and Ms. Manz opposed), to not support Article 58 to Town Meeting. Article 59, Parking and Bicycle Facility Standards for Office Use: Mr. Canale said the Bike Committee thought this was a good idea, but with no maximums, and they would prefer to see it as a stand-alone motion. Mr. Smith said there were no maximums, but there was still no bike parking required with fewer then 20 automobile parking spaces. Mr. Zurlo said he would support 64(F) without the last sentence. On a motion duly made and seconded, it was voted, 3-2, (Mr. Canale and Mr. Galaitsis opposed), to support Article 59 regarding 64(A), changes in the ratio of office space parking, to Town Meeting. On a motion duly made and seconded, it was voted, 4-1, (Mr. Canale opposed), to approve Article 59 regarding 64(F) to Town Meeting, with amendments to remove the maximum on bike spaces and to add a minimum of two in the last sentence. Article 60, Parking Standards for Retail Sales: The proponent planned to withdraw the Article. Article 52, Countryside Plaza Rezoning: Based on a prior vote, the Board will recommend approval of Page 4 Minutes for the Meeting of March 19, 2008 this article to Town Meeting. ************************************** MINUTES ************************************* Review of Minutes: The Board reviewed and corrected the minutes for the March 5, 2008. On a motion duly made and seconded, it was voted, 5-0, to approve the minutes as amended. *********************************BOARD REPORTS*********************************** There will be a meeting with the consultant on the Open Space and Recreation Plan to address the needed updates. Mr. Hornig said that the Conservation Commission would finally meet next week on 960-990 Waltham Street. The Historical Commission will have 91-93 Hancock Street and 341 Marrett Road before it next week. Mr. Zurlo said the Economic Development Task Force (EDTF) met last week and discussed if they would take a stand in support or opposition of the commercial articles. It was determined that they would only serve an informational role and take no positions. The schedule for the zoning articles is April 9, starting with the report under Article 2, followed by Article 49 and all others that could fit in. There will be no zoning articles before that date. April 14 is a date certain for another article and the zoning articles will continue after that. Mr. Canale said there would be a discussion at TMG about traffic mitigation on Shade Street and they would try to formulate a town-wide process. Draft 3 of the Land Use Reform is moving along. *********************PLANNING BOARD ORGANIZATION SCHEDULE******************* The Stormwater public hearing will be on Thursday, March 27, 2008. The next two Planning Board Meetings will be Monday March 24, 2008 at 6:30 p.m. in the Planning Office and Wednesday March 26, 2008, at 5:00 p.m. in Estabrook Hall. On a motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adjourn the meeting at 7:20 p.m. Wendy Manz, Clerk