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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2008-07-30-PB-min PLANNING BOARD MINUTES MEETING OF JULY 30, 2008 A regular meeting of the Lexington Planning Board in the Selectmen’s Meeting Room, Town Office Building was called to order at 7:35 p.m. by Chairman Hornig with members Manz and Canale and planning staff Henry and McCall-Taylor present. Mr. Zurlo joined the meeting in progress. Mr. Galaitsis was absent. **************************************MINUTES************************************** The Board reviewed and corrected the minutes for the June 25, 2008 meeting. On a motion duly made and seconded, it was voted, 3-0, to approve the minutes. The Board reviewed and corrected the minutes for the July 9, 2008 meeting. On a motion duly made and seconded, it was voted, 3-0, to approve the minutes as amended. The Board reviewed and corrected the minutes for the July 16, 2008 meeting. On a motion duly made and seconded, it was voted, 3-0, to approve the minutes as amended. ***************************SUBDIVISION ADMINISTRATION*************************** Diehl Road Release of Surety for Road Construction – Members reported that they had been out to the site, some during heavy rainfalls and found that the road design was working to handle the storm water. Ms. Bebe Fallick of 4 Diehl Road submitted a letter for the file and read parts of it to the Board. On a motion duly made and seconded it was voted 3-0 to release the passbook surety of $31,155 for the completion of the improvements to Diehl Road. These improvements were required for the Planning Board to make the determination that Diehl Road was of adequate grade and construction. Lexington Hills Subdivision – Mr. Henry gave a brief update on two issues at the site - the sewer connection and the recent overflow of stormwater into Walnut Street. The developer is requesting a change from the approved forced main sewer to a gravity sewer connection using the Waltham sewer. The determination of it being a minor or major change will await the input of the Town Counsel. The matter is tentatively scheduled for August 13. Page 2 Minutes for the Meeting of July 30, 2008 *************************HARTWELL AVENUE AREA STUDY************************** Traffic Engineering Study - The Board continued its discussion from the last meeting as to how they thought the limited traffic engineering money could be best utilized in their study of commercial development in the Hartwell Avenue area. Mr. Canale said that at a minimum he wanted to look at two scenarios – a build out at .35 FAR and an area-wide FAR of .9. To help limit the scope he said the traffic plan should assume the number of automobiles to be equivalent to what is generated by 2.5 spaces per 1,000 square feet of building and that the rest of trips would be by foot, bicycle, or transit. He wanted to see controls on Wood Street to limit the traffic to 10,000 vehicles per day as well as capping the number of vehicles on Eldred and Winter streets to roughly current levels. The consultant would be asked to propose how to make that happen, and to do some models using Synchrosoftware. Ms. Manz thought the best use was to get suggestions for physical configurations to limit traffic, assuming there will be aggressive transportation demand management required of the landowners. She would want to limit traffic on Wood Street but was not as familiar with the situation on Eldred and Winter streets. Mr. Hornig said that there were four categories of roads to consider. The first are the roads within the commercial areas of Hartwell and Maguire. As that traffic won’t directly affect the neighbors, it is not his first concern. Then there is Wood, Westview and Massachusetts Avenue by the Minute Man National Historic Park. These carry a fair amount of commercial and residential traffic and are the areas he would put resources into. He was not ready to state an absolute cap but did want conditions to limit impacts as much as possible. The state highways in the area, 4, 225 and 128, have regional problems that we did not solely cause and cannot solve by ourselves. While we should continue regional efforts to address their issues, it is not an area to expend our limited resources on. The last category he saw was the other streets in the area and he did not want to see any significant increase in traffic on those streets. Mr. Canale said looking at the Battle Road Scenic Byway would be helpful. He felt that there was a need for a better definition of the role of streets in the area - collector, arterial, etc. He wanted to ensure there is adequate pedestrian, bicycle, and transit access in the area. There is currently a study of the 128/95 capacity issues. Mr. Hornig felt that with the limited funds they don’t need to look at 128 or Hartwell Avenue and that the Minutes for the Meeting of July 30, 2008 Page 3 first priority should be the collector streets followed by the residential streets. Mr. Zurlo, who had just joined the meeting in progress, said that he would like to improve the condition on residential streets by addressing pedestrian safety along with improving the overall vehicular traffic conditions. He gave an example of someone having to wait 20 minutes to make a turn from Eldred Street onto Bedford Street, which should be improved. The overall vision for Hartwell Avenue is that it generally flows better. Specifically, the jug handle should be improved so that the maximum backup would be no more than 20 vehicles. A reasonable use of the traffic study funds may be in assistance in classifying streets by categories to determine current and desired charters as described by Mr. Canale Mr. Hornig reported that Mr. Galaitsis who was ill that evening had asked that his desire to see traffic calming be brought forward. Ms. Manz said her recollection was that the Wood Street residents seemed to prefer congestion occur during an intense short period rather than spread the congestion through a longer period, and as a result, she wondered if slowing traffic was a primary issue. Mr. Canale said the Board should consider the Mass Highway Design Guide on sub-area types and figure out what do we want the character of these roads to be. He wants to encourage vehicles to travel at a reasonable speed so that pedestrians and bicyclist feel safe. Wood Street should be considered in context of the desired character, which he feels should be low-density. Ms. Manz said that while she didn’t want to turn Wood Street into a speedway, slowing traffic might not be the primary focus, but rather it would be limiting the amount of traffic. She wanted there to be some attention focused on Hartwell, for instance how to design it to facilitate shuttles. Mr. Frank Sandy said that the most important goal is to address Eldred Street access and the ability to turn onto and off of Bedford Street. There is no pedestrian light to serve the intersection. He pointed out that motel employees who take the bus have to cross the road. He felt the state should be pressed to do something after all these years. Mr. Dick Thuma said he doesn’t know of any Wood Street neighbors who care about what happens to the FAR, only about the traffic impacts. He said that the residential character issue was important. There are people who still remember when parts of Wood Street weren’t paved. He said Wood was not a mixed category, that the commercial activities of Lincoln Lab had no business being there and that the Board should correct the inappropriate decision of past boards. He wanted a clear statement of intention Page 4 Minutes for the Meeting of July 30, 2008 regarding the Wood Street character. He felt that Hartwell Avenue design could not be left to the landowners as it will not happen and traffic will be pushed onto other streets. He said that speed is an issue, particularly on the straight section of Wood Street between Woodpark Circle and Patterson Road; that area could use a speed table. Not only is there no signal on Bedford Street, there isn’t even a crosswalk. He was disappointed to hear talk of a ten to eleven percent increase in traffic on Wood Street being acceptable. Mr. Canale reported that the HATS towns have asked for money from the MPO to study the 4-225 corridor and those study funds may be available by November of 2009. Permitted Uses in Hartwell Avenue Area – Mr. Hornig began the discussion by pointing out that in spite of the discussion at Town Meeting, restaurants are already an allowed use in the CM district. He asked Board members to give their thoughts on any changes they would like to see in allowed uses. Ms. Manz thought restaurants, convenience stores and health clubs would be appropriate. Mr. Zurlo saw Hartwell Avenue as an opportunity to strengthen the Center. Minimally, any additional uses allowed should be distinct from what is in the Center, and not be stores that need volume to support them. He would look for a redefinition of accessory uses and allow some lunch places, but not large enough to compete with the Center services. Mr. Canale said ditto. He would look more towards goals of what he would like to see. He suggested looking at what was currently allowed as some thing like a medical clinic with high parking demand would not necessarily be appropriate but would be grandfathered. He was looking for uses with a higher value per square foot that generate less auto traffic. Mr. Hornig said he had a few principles for determining appropriate uses. First, the CM zone is the only zone that permits industrial uses and the things that are unique to the CM should stay. Since some of these uses are not compatible with residential uses he might consider residential in the CRO but not the CM. As to limiting convenience retail in order to protect the Center, the CM zone already allows restaurants and he saw no issue with allowing things such as dry cleaning, and the sale of flowers and greeting cards as these are things that one would not make a trip to the Center for. Ms. Manz agreed that she did not see these things as threats to uses in the Center, at the same time she saw no point in duplicating the Center but would allow things such as a pharmacy or a sub shop. She felt people would continue to go to the Center restaurants for special occasions as they do now. She had no interest in allowing residential in the CM zone. Minutes for the Meeting of July 30, 2008 Page 5 Mr. Zurlo said there is a hierarchy of intended uses in the various commercial districts and he felt the current distribution retains the character of the town. He felt the current life-style centers being developed in other towns abused the way things grow organically and stimulate suburban sprawl on a micro level. The real estate community incorrectly markets any mixed-use project as being compatible with smart growth principles. He suggested that the Center could actually be strengthened by looking at the LEXPRESS routes and having them serve Hartwell Avenue as well as the other large commercial districts. Mr. Canale suggested that frequency of transit service and fare price were major factors. He pointed out that Burlington was trying to increase the bus routes to the Mall for lunchtime uses. He noted that many Lexington workers come from Boston, Arlington and other neighboring towns might use local roads rather than the major highways. Since housing has apparently successfully been brought to the commercial areas of Bedford, he would not rule out residential uses. He said he would support services for those working in the CM zone that did not attract people from outside, as he did not want negative impacts on the retail in the Center. He suggested limiting the amount of floor space and types of uses. Mr. Henry said that what people seem to want is in conflict. They want to take cars off the street, yet don’t want to allow services. Mr. Zurlo said is inaccurate to say allowing retail uses of 7000sf, like a Panera Bread, would be a means to reducing traffic. Those types of businesses require a large customer base, which will only increase traffic. There was a discussion of the role of LEXPRESS and automobile traffic and the relative cost of each to Lexington taxpayers. Mr. Dick Thuma said that building owners want amenity services. These include cafes, health clubs (small scale), dry cleaning drop-off, and lobby convenience stores, and, possibly, private banking and brokerage services. He said the Charlie Card should be useable on LEXPRESS. ***************************REGIONAL, INTERTWINE ISSUES*************************** MetroFuture - Mr. Canale reported there are meetings to start implementation of the regional plan. He suggested as the Board moves forward they look at the contemplated commercial zoning changes in relation to the regional plan Hangar 24 – Comments on the demolition of Hangar 24 at Hanscom are due this Friday and the FAA will rule on the matter in the next four to six weeks. Page 6 Minutes for the Meeting of July 30, 2008 ******************* PLANNING BOARD ORGANIZATION, SCHEDULE******************* The members agreed to have a site visit to Hartwell Avenue at 7:00 am on Monday, August 11. Staff will look into a place to park. Mr. Thuma from the audience asked about the status of the September charrette regarding the Hartwell Avenue area. He was told that it was still too early in the process to set a firm date but it would probably be in late September. Mr. Canale suggested that there might be an op-ed piece in the local paper in early September. ***********************************STAFF REPORTS********************************** The Board was updated on an appeal of the Rangeway Subdivision denial. Ms. McCall-Taylor reported that a brief had been filed with the Attorney General asking that the recently passed stormwater bylaw be disapproved on the grounds that it should have been a zoning bylaw, not a general bylaw. **************************************MINUTES************************************** Mr. Zurlo asked that minutes that had been reviewed and accepted earlier in the meeting be reopened so that he could add his comments. On a motion duly made and seconded the Board voted to reopen consideration of the minutes of June 25 and July 16, 2008. On a motion duly made and seconded, it was voted, 4-0, to amend the approved June 25, 2008 meeting minutes. On a motion duly made and seconded, it was voted, 4-0, to amend the approved July 16, 2008 meeting minutes. ******************************* BOARD MEMBER REPORTS**************************** Mr. Canale reported that he had seen a documentary “The Greening of Southie” on the Sundance channel. He recommended it to his fellow Board members and will see if he can make a DVD to circulate for individual’s viewing. On a motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adjourn the meeting at 9:50 p.m. Wendy Manz, Clerk