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PLANNING BOARD MINUTES
MEETING OF MAY 16, 2007
A regular meeting of the Lexington Planning Board was held in Estabrook Hall at Cary Hall, and called to
order at 7:30 p.m. by Chairman Manz with members Zurlo, Hornig and Canale and planning staff
McCall-Taylor, Henry and Kaufman present. Mr. Galaitsis was absent.
************************************* MINUTES **************************************
Review of Minutes: The Board deferred the minutes of April 4, 11, 18, and 25, and May 1, 2007 until the
next meeting.
************************* ADMINISTRATION OF LAND DEVELOPMENT*****************
SUBDIVISION OF LAND
147 Shade Street- Preliminary Reduced Frontage Subdivision: The applicant’s engineer submitted revised
plans on May 1, 2007, reflecting the changes sought by the Engineering Division in their memo dated
4/17/07 to the Planning Department. Mr. Henry’s memorandum of May 10, 2007 outlined the revisions,
which are: both easements should be labeled “Access & Utility” easements; permanent bound/markers
must be proposed for all property lines; electrical, cable and telephone service to both the existing and
proposed homes must be shown; if foundations are to be below the Estimated Seasonal High Water Table,
the water removal system must be shown and detailed; definitive plan should demonstrate that the
proposed grade of the usable open space is less than 10%; proposed easements are to be submitted to
Town Counsel before the filing of the definitive plan; and determination of the precise gross floor area
and living area of the proposed house.
Mr. Hornig said Lot 2 handles the water from Lot 1 and yet there is no access or drainage easement to
benefit Lot 1. The Homeowner’s Association would need an easement. Mr. Hornig also stated that the
existing utilities and gas from Lot 1 are not shown and need to be. He is willing to support the preliminary
plan with conditions. He felt that easements for drainage, access and utilities need clarification and
rectification.
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Minutes for the Meeting of May 16, 2007
On a motion duly made and seconded, the Planning Board, by a unanimous 4 to 0 vote of those present,
approved the preliminary plans with the conditions of the 5/10/07 memorandum, and that the existing
utilities, gas service and easements be adjusted and corrected.
Solly’s Way,” Endorsement of plans with minor revisions and acceptance of easements: The easements
and covenants have been reviewed; they could only be completed after the plans were corrected. Town
Counsel has approved the easements and covenants that are being presented. There were minor
modifications regarding the water main.
On a motion duly made and seconded, it was voted unanimously, 4-0, to approve as minor modifications
the changes to the water service, to accept the easements and covenants as approved by Town Counsel,
and to endorse the plans.
*******************************CLUSTER BYLAW************************************
Ms. McCall-Taylor introduced Mr. William Scanlan, the consultant hired to assist in revising the cluster
bylaw and the Cluster Advisory Committee. The committee members are Ms. Iris Wheaton, Ms. Joyce
Miller, Mr. Gary Larson, Mr. Todd Cataldo, Mr. Charles Hornig and Mr. Joe Marino who was not
present. Mr. Scanlan discussed the scope of work and presented a slide show featuring a development
analysis of the existing bylaw.
The slide show presented several cluster developments in Lexington. Issues raised by looking at the final
product are: road pavement dominated some developments; attachment of some units was nominal only;
the houses when attached were massive; garages seemed to dominate the view from the street; the streets
were not conducive to pedestrian use; cul-de-sacs discourage neighborhood connectivity; open space
tended to be steep and not clearly delineated; and perimeter open space acts as a buffers but does not
serve as active open space.
Mr. Scanlan discussed some ideas for potential improvement to the existing cluster subdivision plans. He
noted that trails can be used to enhance the value of open space, and roadway widths could be reduced.
The Impervious Surface Ratio (ISR) and the calculations used to determine the ISR are impediments.
The Board should consider revising these calculations, perhaps using the formula for conventional
subdivisions in determining the number of houses and then applying the same to a cluster subdivision
plan and using a two-plan approach. The Planning Board doesn’t have much impact on design of the
homes. Lexington has fewer lots and large parcels to work with and there are many large single-family
Minutes for the Meeting of May 16, 2007 Page 3
homes, which tend to tower over other neighborhood homes. Encourage the building of more, but smaller
dwellings with different styles of housing, in the cluster subdivisions plans, creating versatility and
diversity in the community. Mr. Scanlan suggested that there was no need to require useable open space
as developers would supply that anyhow. There could be a single requirement for a percentage of open
space with clear markings for public access. The Board could consider offering a cluster bonus.
The Planning Board and Cluster Advisory Committee addressed concerns about the ISR and its
calculation, which impacts everything from road widths to garage locations. Perhaps allowing the use of
pervious surfaces should be considered, making them uniform with the green strategies that are
acceptable to conservation. Perhaps the bylaw could offer conservation drainage credits and other
incentives for doing something different with pathways and walkways and using green strategies.
The height of the homes remains a concern. Limiting units to two stories because basements count as a
story is a large obstacle, especially when there is high seasonal ground water, which has to be taken into
consideration by the developer. Clusters have a lot to offer, but developers will opt for the conventional
subdivision because they have more certainty of approval and minimal restrictions are imposed after
meeting a minimum standard. Cluster subdivisions, which are highly desirable, offer preservation of open
space and variety of housing styles. While the bylaws are good, they can be improved with joint
collaboration. Another idea was to rename the cluster subdivisions, perhaps using the special residential
designation, since it isn’t really possible on small tracts to cluster dwellings. The Planning Board needs to
identify what its priorities and goals are in order to move ahead in making modifications of the bylaws
and implement changes that would benefit Lexington.
**************************BOARD AND STAFF REPORTS*******************************
Mr. Canale gave an update on the MetroFuture. The next step is to review the implementation of the
strategies during the next six months. In reviewing the documents board members should look at the
maturing suburbs section that uses Wilmington as the model. MAPC Council Meeting will be in Danvers
and the guest speaker will be Greg Bialecki, the Economic Development Ombudsman, speaking on the
state endorsed sustainability principles.
Mr. Zurlo said that the Economic Development Task Force would like to attend the Planning Board
meeting on July 11, 2007.
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Minutes for the Meeting of May 16, 2007
Ms. McCall-Taylor said the Attorney Farrington had asked if there would be any interest in a tour of the
Jefferson Union property. The members were interested and suggested a Tuesday at 8:00 a.m.
On a motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adjourn the meeting at 10:15 p.m.
Gregory Zurlo, Clerk