HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015-03-25-PB-min
PLANNING BOARD MINUTES
MEETING OF MARCH 25, 2015
A meeting of the Lexington Planning Board, held in the Lexington High School, Room 143, was
called to order 6:00 p.m. by Chairman Charles Hornig, with members Nancy Corcoran-Ronchetti,
Richard Canale, Timothy Dunn, Ginna Johnson and planning staff Maryann McCall-Taylor and
Aaron Henry present.
**************************TOWN MEETING ARTICLES*************************
Positions on non-zoning articles
Article 35 – The Board indicated that they were ready to take a position on the Complete Streets
Program. On a motion duly made and seconded, it was voted, 5-0, to recommend the passage of
Article 35 to Town Meeting.
Article 8, Community Preservation Act Projects – There was some discussion about whether to
reconsider the vote on Article 8e having to do with the Battle Green Streetscape. Should it go
ahead without being able to see the information resulting from last year’s funding? The issues of
safety in this area were critical. Members agreed to let the previous vote in support stand.
Article 11, Municipal Capital Projects and Equipment – Section 11a (Center Streetscape
improvements and Easements - Phase 1) - The proposed signal at Woburn and Massachusetts
Avenue generated discussion. It was believed that there would be a motion to remove the signal
from the rest of the article. Some members were not in favor of the light as they felt that there
was not enough emphasis on pedestrian and bicycle accommodations. The work on the
streetscape had been a major emphasis of the Board in the last year and so it would be important
to support the article. On a motion duly made and seconded, it was voted, 4-1, (Mr. Canale
opposed), to recommend the passage of Article 11a to Town Meeting.
Sections 11e (Sidewalk Improvements, Additions, designs and Easements), 11g (Town-wide
Signalization Improvements), 11h (Hartwell Avenue Infrastructure Improvements and
Easements), 8i (Street Improvements and Easements), 11j (Bikeway Bridge Repairs and
Engineering), and 11q (Parking Meter Replacement) were all supported by the entire Board and
by a vote of 5 -0 would be recommended for passage. The Board members did want to note that
11e should be an annual stable figure for maintenance and repairs, and other funds should be
Page 2 Minutes for the Meeting of March 25, 2015
found for construction of new sidewalks.
Presentations for Zoning Articles - There were brief run-throughs of the slides that would be
used to present the articles to Town Meeting. The slide shows were for the following articles:
Article 48 - Commercial Zoning District Lines; Article 49 - Civic Use District; Article 50 - CM
;
District, Waltham Line near Route 128/I95; Article 51 Site Plan Review ApplicabilityArticle
52 – Technical Corrections; and Article 53 - Bank Moratorium. It was important to establish the
locus of each slide. The slides for Article 50 were reordered.
**************************ORGANIZATION & SCHEDULE************************
Planning Director Search – Human Resources will do a preliminary screening to make sure
candidates are qualified and then they will be screened by a member of the Planning Board and
the Town Manager for interviews. The Board agreed that Chair Charles Hornig would represent
the Planning Board in the search process.
The discussion of the work plan needs to be done before the demolition delay bylaw comes up at
Town Meeting on April 6. The Board will have a meeting April 1 to accommodate this. There
will also be meetings April 8, 13 and 22.
On a motion duly made and seconded, it was voted, 5-0, to adjourn at 7:15 p.m.
The meeting was recorded by LexMedia.
The following documents used at the meeting can be found on file with the Planning Department:
Presentations for 2015 Annual Town Meeting
1. Art 48 – Commercial District Lines (11 slides)
2. Art 49 – Governmental/Civic Use District (23 slides)
3. Art 50 – CM District, Waltham Line near Route 128/I95 (5 slides)
4. Art 51 – Site Plan Review (2 slides)
5. Art. 52 – Technical Corrections (6 slides)
6. Art. 53 CB District Moratorium on Banks & Credit Unions (8 slides)
Timothy Dunn, Clerk