HomeMy WebLinkAbout2007-04-11-PB-min
PLANNING BOARD MINUTES
MEETING OF April 11, 2007
A regular meeting of the Lexington Planning Board was held in Room G-1, Town Office Building, and
called to order at 6:25 p.m. by Chairman Manz with members Zurlo, Canale and planning staff McCall-
Taylor, Henry and Kaufman present. Mr. Hornig and Mr. Galaitsis were absent.
*********************** APPLICATIONS TO THE BOARD OF APPEALS********************
18 Rockville Avenue:
Ms. McCall- Taylor said the Planning Board should consider commenting on the petition before the
Board of Appeals regarding 18 Rockville Avenue. The applicant Mr. Tom Costello was present to answer
any questions of the Board. Mr. Costello is appealing the Zoning Enforcement Officer’s Decision, dated
February 21, 2007. He stated that his lot is registered with the Land Court and therefore not subject to
approval by the Planning Board. Mr. Costello claims the Planning Board should have put a covenant on
the lot when they endorsed the ANR in 1976, but never did, so he feels that the Planning Board lost their
opportunity to have any say over any construction on this piece of land. He is now challenging what he
characterizes as the Zoning Administrator’s decision to “decline to rule.”
Mr. Canale said his understanding is that the Planning Board has the responsibility to determine adequacy
of construction and layout of a road. Ms. Manz agreed with Mr. Canale and suggested to Mr. Costello that
he go through the normal protocol. She asked why he assumed the Planning Board would not approve his
plans regarding the construction of this road. Mr. Costello stated he planned to follow the Town
Engineer’s Standards and have them supervise and approve it; however, he believed that the normal
standard for existing town roads was different from the standards under the subdivision bylaw. Ms.
McCall-Taylor wondered how the Planning Board would know if the road is being constructed adequately
without plans being submitted first.
On a motion duly made and seconded, it was voted 3-0 to ask the Zoning Board of Appeals to uphold the
Zoning Administrator’s decision.
********************************* ZONING INITIATIVES******************************
Cluster Bylaw Revision:
Ms. McCall-Taylor discussed utilizing an advisory committee to work with the consultant to help review
and revise the cluster bylaw. The advisory committee should be formed by late April to early May. It
Page 2 Minutes for the Meeting of April 11, 2007
would have five to nine members, drawing from Planning Board and other boards and committees. A
general invitation would be sent to TMMA to ask for participation and help get the information out before
the public.
*********************** ARTICLES FOR 2007 TOWN MEETING**************************
Article 4, Inclusionary Housing:
Ms. Manz said that Charles Lamb has suggested bringing back Article 4 for reconsideration, but he would
not do so unless he felt the needed votes to get approval would be there. She felt discussion of the issue
could wait until the next meeting when all Board members would be present. Ms. McCall-Taylor said that
if changes were made to keep the concept of inclusionary units in the bylaw but those changes would
produce virtually no affordable units, it really wasn’t worth pursuing, as considerable staff time that
would be needed to draft the implementation regulations. Mr. Zurlo suggested that if a petition were
presented with 50 names supporting a changed bylaw, it might make it worth reconsideration. The Board
felt that was a prudent move in determining if reconsideration of this article would be sensible.
Article 15, Demolition Delay:
Ms. Manz shared her speech, which she will present tonight at Town Meeting, in support of Article 15,
and asked the Board for any input. Mr. Canale indicated that he would make a similar presentation as
representative to MAPC.
******************************** BOARD REPORTS***********************************
Board Reports: Mr. Canale said that Bedford passed a new bylaw establishing a special permit with site
review process and design guidelines for properties along the Great Road.
On a motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adjourn the meeting at 7:10 p.m.
Gregory Zurlo, Clerk