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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2013-08-14-PB-min PLANNING BOARD MINUTES MEETING OF AUGUST 14, 2013 A regular meeting of the Lexington Planning Board, held in the Selectmen’s Meeting Room, was called to order at 7:30 p.m. by Chairman Charles Hornig with members Richard Canale, Michelle Ciccolo, and Nancy Corcoran-Ronchetti, and planning staff Maryann McCall-Taylor, Aaron Henry, and Lori Kaufman present. Greg Zurlo was absent. ************************DEVELOPMENT ADMINISTRATION********************* PUBLIC HEARING 137-139 Shade Street, Definitive Site Sensitive Development (SSD): Mr. Hornig called the public hearing to order at 7:32 p.m. There were 3 people in the audience. Present were Fred Russell, project engineer, and Fred Keefe, applicant. Mr. Russell gave a brief recap of the project changes. The driveways were changed to a front entrance, the proposed driveway circle would be eliminated, there would be smaller infiltration systems, more trees preserved with the SSD, the drive for 137 Shade Street would be kept, and the proposed houses rotated. Board Comments:  Was the footprint for 137 remaining the same? Mr. Russell said yes.  The new trees to be planted should be three to four inch caliper not two inch.  Try to minimize tree removal; there were two trees in the middle that seem unnecessary to remove try to save them and reduce the size of the circle. Mr. Russell said the circle was part of lot four and not within the easement of parking in the common drive, but would look into saving the trees if healthy.  What would be the parking plan for the site? There would be a two car garage and two additional spaces for the houses at the rear of the site and the drive would be 18 feet wide.  It was difficult to read the plan with all the lines it should be simplified.  Has the Fire Department weighed in on this? Ms. McCall-Taylor said no.  Draft legal documents would need to be submitted at the continued hearing.  Would there be any need to park within the shared drive? Mr. Russell said no.  The utilities were going outside the easement on the plans and would need to be corrected.  The drainage study was confusing and does not appear to work. Page 2 Minutes for the Meeting of August 14, 2013  Provide a tree removal plan that showed how many trees would be taken down within the setbacks of the new lot lines and how many inches would be replaced?  While open to prohibiting tree removal in the back, there should be some flexibility on the new interior lot lines. Audience Comments:  What would regulate the number of trees to be taken down on this wooded site? The special permit conditions would address that. The application was not complete and there were other issues that have been raised. On a motion duly made and seconded, it was voted, 4-0, to continue the public hearing to September 25 at 7:30 p.m. in the Selectmen’s Meeting Room. PUBLIC INFORMATION MEETING 38-34 Robinson Road, sketch plan 2 Site Sensitive Development (SSD): Present were Todd Cataldo, applicant, Rick Waitt, engineer, Mike Novak, project engineer, and Jeff Thoma, landscape architect from Meridian Associates. Mr. Waitt said that the previous sketch plan had the front yard setbacks at 30 feet. The updated plans showed the houses being pushed back to 60 feet, the basement grade raised four to six feet, the driveways would have an 11% grade, the height of the retaining wall would be reduced from eleven feet to six feet, the cutting in the back would be reduced, and garages would be under the houses. The number of trees to be removed for a cul-de-sac within the right of way (ROW) would be 170 trees. The SSD plan in comparison would only remove 80 to 85 trees, the impervious surface would be reduced by 9,000 square feet with four times less cut of earth. Board Comments:  This plan took into account the concerns about tree removal and noise levels.  The plan was moving in the right direction, but show more detail on the streetscape.  There was a letter received by an abutter in support of this project. The Board was looking for more neighborhood input.  Work the shape of the houses to be less square to get more distance between the houses. Minutes for the Meeting of August 14, 2013 Page 3 Audience Comments:  When putting three houses next to each other on the road it was creating a tract look. Push the proposed houses back further and possibly stagger them it would be look better aesthetically.  The proof plan was undesirable even though three houses in a row would look funny, but it would be more environmentally friendly and keep more trees in the back. Board Comments:  The applicant could go on to a preliminary or definitive plan since the updated plan responded to the previous comments. Mr. Cataldo said design was as important as placement and had enough information to move forward to a definitive plan. 376 Lincoln Street /76 Middle Street, sign mylars and accept surety: On a motion duly made and seconded, it was voted, 4-0, to endorse the plans for 376 Lincoln Street and 76 Middle Street. On a motion duly made and seconded, it was voted, 4-0, to accept surety in the form of a Tri- Partite Agreement between the Town, Developer and Bank. ********************************ZONING BYLAWS***************************** Proposed Bylaw for Medical Marijuana Treatment Centers (MMTC): In June at the Special Town Meeting the Board put forward a zoning bylaw amendment for a temporary moratorium for siting of the MMTC to allow the Town time to engage in the planning process and this would be the start of that process. Ms. McCall-Taylor said there were various aspects of this process and the zoning portion was in the Planning Board’s purview. Then Board of Health (BOH) would determine if more regulations and buffering on the local level would be needed and the Board of Selectmen (BOS) would decide if a licensing component would be required. Ms. McCall-Taylor will attend a meeting with the Town Manager, BOH Director and Chair of the BOS to discuss these options. The Police Chief was very concerned that this would be a difficult use in the Town Center based on the secondary experiences elsewhere. What would the Board recommend as the best approach th for the public information meeting on September 11? Page 4 Minutes for the Meeting of August 14, 2013 The following items were recommended by Board members:  Permitting manufacturing in the CM District and distribution in the CB or CRS could be considered.  The CM district could be the best place to allow all three components to occur.  Make the zoning as clean and simple as possible and leave the regulation details to the BOH and BOS.  Determine who was being protected in the buffer zones, customers, children, or the establishment?  There should be more input from the Police Chief and the public. Audience Comments:  Would the point of distribution be regulated like cigarettes? The State would regulate that more like a pharmacy then a liquor store. ***********************************MINUTES********************************** On a motion duly made and seconded, it was voted, 4-0, to approve the minutes for July 17, 2013, as amended. ********************************TOWN REPORT******************************* The Board reviewed the draft of the Annual Report for the Planning Board and discussed th including Ms. Manz three terms of service before stepping down, the Town’s 300 year Anniversary and spell out more information on the subdivision projects. If there were more edits the Board wanted to include, please forward them to staff. ********************************STAFF REPORTS******************************* The property off Wheeler Road, in Burlington was being rezoned to office use and offering the same road improvements as when it was going to be a Target. The public hearing scheduled for this week has been continued to September 5. The Town was applying for a MassWorks Grant for Hartwell Avenue based on UniQure’s signing of the lease. The State was looking favorably in supporting part of the funding since this would bring new jobs to Massachusetts, Lexington and the United States. Minutes for the Meeting of August 14, 2013 Page 5 ********************************BOARD REPORTS****************************** Mr. Canale said the Health Department grant proposal for Healthy Communities was due at the end of September. There was support to incorporate a strong transportation element into the application. Once there was a draft the Board might want to write a letter of strong support. Ms. Ciccolo said the zoning reform was moving forward and wanted to send a letter of support. On a motion duly made and seconded, it was voted, 4-0, to send correspondence to reaffirm a previous letter sent to the Legislature endorsing the current House Bill 1859 “An Act promoting the planning and development of sustainable communities.” Ms. Ciccolo said MAPC was moving ahead on funding to help the development of complete street policies. *******************************ORGANIZATION******************************** The Meeting on August 28 meeting would include the 495 Lowell Street subdivision and a discussion on the complete draft of the development regulations. The public forum on the Medical Marijuana Treatment Center and a continuing discussion of the development regulations would be held on September 11. The continued public hearing on 137-139 Shade Street would be on September 25. On a motion duly made and seconded, it was voted, 4-0, to adjourn at 9:02 p.m. The meeting was recorded by Lexmedia. The following documents used at the meeting can be found on file with the Planning Department: 1. Application for 28-34 Robinson Road, dated August 2, 2013 (8 pages). 2. Memorandum from staff for 28 & 34 Robinson Road, dated August 9, 2013 (1 page). 3. Sketch Subdivision Plan Set for 28 & 34 Robinson Road dated June 28, 2013 (4 pages). 4. Sketch Subdivision Plan Set for 28 & 34 Robinson Road dated August 2, 2013 (1 page). 5. Letter from Hamed Eshraghian abutter of the 28 Robinson Road subdivision, dated August 13, 2013 (1 page). 6. Memorandum from staff for 137 Shade Street, dated August 9, 2013 (1 page). 7. Memorandum from Michael Flamang for 137 Shade Street, dated August 14, 2013 (1 page). Page 6 Minutes for the Meeting of August 14, 2013 8. Proof plan for 137 Shade Street, dated June 20, 2013 (1 page). 9. Sketch Subdivision Plan Set for 137 Shade Street dated June 20, 2013 (9 pages). 10. Application for 137-139 Shade Street, dated July 5, 2013 (100 pages). 11. Revised draft Annual Report for Town Report. Nancy Corcoran-Ronchetti, Clerk