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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1981-03 Metropoltan State Hospital Land Task Force - Charge, 1981 METROPOLITAN STATE HOSPITAL LAND TASK FORCE Members: 5 Appointed by: Board of Selectmen Length of term: Open Appointments made: As needed Meeting Times: Infrequent; as needed Description: The function of the Task Force is to monitor any proposed development of that portion of the Metropolitan State Hospital property situated in Lexington to ensure that it is compatible with town goals and interests. Criteria for Membership: The Board of Selectmen seek to have representatives of the Conservation Commission, the Planning Board, and the Board of Appeals on the Task Force. Ref.: Charge adopted by the Board of Selectmen in March of 1981. Selectmen designated as Special Municipal Employees on January 9, 1984. Selectmen reaffirmed designation as Special Municipal Employees on January 18, 2006. Dissolved August 2, 2006. Metropolitan State Task Force (Met State) Role: Work with our counterparts in Belmont, Waltham, the Metropolitan District Commission (MDC) and Division of Capital Management (DCAM) to implement Met State Reuse Plan. The reuse plan is an agreement arrived at after extensive community involvement to effectively use the 300-acre Met State tract by adopting the following goals: Preserve and protect natural resources Redevelop the Site with a mix of publicly beneficial resuses Consider the site as a whole without regard to municipal boundaries Carry out environmental clean up on the Site as quickly as possible. Very simply under the reuse plan Waltham will receive land for a Golf Course, Lexington will develop the 35-acre campus site for housing and the balance of the tract will remain open under the stewardship of the MDC. The original members of the Selectmen’s Committee: Joyce Miller, Natalie Riffin, David Williams and Jeanne Krieger have been supported by Planning Board members Richard Canale, Stacey Bridge-Denzak and Fred Merrill. Key community participants have lend their expertise to enhance the team’s effectiveness: Rep. Jay Kaufman, Florence Baturin, John Andrews, Jacqueline Davison, Senator Susan Fargo and her staff, Eleanor Klauminzer, Kevin McGuire, Marshall Derby, Richard Safford and Caleb Warner. Planning Director Robert Bowyer has been the mainstay of our deliberations, representing the Town on the working committees and helping the Committee define its issues and strategies. Highlights: Legislation authorizing disposition of the property and creating the necessary funding to prepare the site for development has been completed. The Reuse plan has been reexamined and a questionnaire developed to aid the Committee in prioritizing the criteria for development that will be included in the Request for Proposal (RFP) issued by DCAM to select a developer for the housing site. Subsequently this developer will come before Town Meeting for rezoning. Specifically the Committee has adopted the following criteria: General Housing : Within a primary orientation to senior citizens, provide a variety of housing types. Affordable Housing : Provide at least 25% of the housing units as affordable. Support Services : Include community services e.g. medical care, childcare, art/hobby center, transportation, and convenience store. Fiscal Issues : Avoids negative fiscal impacts and, generates revenue. Site Development : Preserve the feeling of openness of the site, rehabilitate existing buildings, if feasible and employ architectural detail that reinforces the historic character of the buildings. Development Impact Issues : Have traffic impacts within normal day-to day fluctuations. This project promises to be the largest, most complex development undertaken by the Town. The committee continues to work through issues i.e. design and ownership of access road, permitting strategies and the myriad of details demanded to ensure a first rate development for Lexington.