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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015-05-06-PB-min PLANNING BOARD MINUTES MEETING OF MAY 6, 2015 A meeting of the Lexington Planning Board, held in the Selectmen’s Meeting Room, was called to order 6:18 p.m. by Chairman Charles Hornig, with members Nancy Corcoran-Ronchetti, Tim Dunn, Richard Canale, Ginna Johnson, and planning staff Maryann McCall-Taylor, Aaron Henry and Lori Kaufman present. *******************************ORGANIZATION ******************************* Interview Planning Director Finalists: Mr. Carl Valente, Town Manager and Ms. Linda Vine, Deputy Town Manager were present. Mr. Valente explained the process that led up to this interview with the Planning Board and said that there were two strong candidates, although one withdrew yesterday. Mr. Valente will bring th his recommendation to the Board at next Planning Board meeting on May 20. Mr. Aaron Henry was then interviewed by the Board about his past experience before working in Lexington, his experience here, on the Danvers Planning Board, and his recommendations for the strengthening the gaps in the Planning Department for the future if appointed Planning Director. At the conclusion of the interview process the Board thanked Maryann McCall-Taylor for her years of service as the Planning Director. Ms. McCall-Taylor responded that she enjoyed her time here. The Board recessed at 6:58 and returned to open session at 7:02 p.m. ***********************DEVELOPMENT REGULATIONS************************** Review of Street Section: Mr. Hornig and Ms. Johnson recused themselves from this discussion since they both live on private ways. Ms. Corcoran-Ronchetti continued the meeting. The following were Board comments regarding the draft regulations street section:  Remove the name Class Three Street and keep the original title Street Determination and try to come up with a better name.  There was concern that clarity was lost between this process and the subdivision process. Make sure applicants know what process they should follow.  Add a paragraph that this would not be applicable to ANR lots. Page 2 Minutes for the Meeting of May 6, 2015  The choice of the 1,000 square foot addition to an existing dwelling should have more information and data behind that number. Check with the Building Department to get an average number of square feet on the last 50 additions.  Delegate some responsibility to the Engineering and Planning Departments to determine street acceptability and streamline the process. Overview: Staff would continue to do a minor cleanup and have the final draft regulations ready for May thrd 20 and ready for possible adoption at the June 3meeting, a public hearing over the summer and ready by September to submit to General Code. *******************************HOUSING POLICY****************************** Planning for Forum: Ms. Johnson contacted the Board of Selectmen regarding the ad hoc housing committee and was waiting for a response. The Planning Board would need to adopt a tighter charge for the committee to see how they would be involved. The housing forum will start with the ground rules being presented, handouts available for those who come in late and comments would be shown on the laptop projector. Audience Comments: Mr. Pressman said that two minutes for comments would be too short and suggested a member of the Housing Partnership Board be designated as a member of the committee. Ms. Johnson will coordinate the publicity for this forum. ***********************DEVELOPMENT ADMINISTRATION********************** 435-439 Lincoln Street, Sketch balanced housing development (BHD): Present were John Farrington, attorney, Ron Lopez, Gary Larson, landscape architect, Jack Sullivan, engineer, Doug Rae, and Leo McSweeney. Rich Kirby did the wetland survey, but was not present. Mr. Farrington said this project would be a BHD. The site consisted of two tracts of land 439 Lincoln Street with 1.8 acres and 135 feet of frontage and 435 Lincoln Street with 2.21 acres and 359 feet of frontage on Lincoln Street located in the RO zone. The City of Cambridge was an abutter and Dave Kaplan, Manager of the Cambridge Water Shed Authority has been kept updated on this matter. Mr. Larson gave a review of the site, which currently has two homes, a detached garage and a 4,000 square foot footprint multi-use building. The initial 21E cleanup has been completed, Mill Minutes for the Meeting of May 6, 2015 Page 3 Street, a paper street was currently being used as a driveway to access the multi-use building. The proof plan showed a six lot conventional subdivision. This project would have Mill Street widened to a 40 foot right of way, would have 14 dwelling units in 9 buildings with four units at 2,500 square feet, six units at 2850 square feet and four units at 3,400 square feet. The garage doors were moved to the side to look more like the development for people rather than cars. The back of each home would be private with access to the wooded area, common open space, and a trail system for the resident’s use. There would be a five foot sidewalk on one side of the street and around the cul-de-sac. There would be guest parking in the driveways, but for a special event cars could park on the sidewalks leaving enough room for emergency vehicles to access the development. This plan would require 3,500 square feet over the impervious surface allowed. Mr. Sullivan said there was an existing 2.5 inch sewer pressure line and an 8 inch water main would be installed. The existing force main would be sufficient, but additional calculations will be filed. A NOI will be filed with the Conservation Commission and all DEP standards and water testing requirements will be met. Board Comments:  What were the rights of the developer of Mill Street? Mr. Farrington gave a brief overview on the history of Mill Street and that the County abandoned it and so part of the road belongs to Cambridge and the other to the owner of the property, and would allow the owner to improve the road. What would be the options to improve Mill Street and are there barriers that should be considered? Mr. Farrington said it is flat, passable, and used daily for access to the commercial building in the rear so was a useable road. Mill Street could be utilized instead of a big turnaround.  Confirm the 2.5 inch sewer pressure line would be sufficient and would not reduce the sewer capacity from existing lots.  Have other types of development been considered. No.  There appeared to be some squatting, a stone pile, and hut on this site; would the owner clean that up? Mr. Lopez would be willing to clean up and re-landscape working in conjunction with the City of Cambridge.  Would the low area become infiltration and was it accepted by the Conservation Commission? It would be filled and if there were wetlands the plan would change.  There was a stunning pine and large oak trees could they be saved? The use of Mill Street for preservation would be good. It would be difficult to save the pine, but could relook at the plan to try and preserve the tree. Page 4 Minutes for the Meeting of May 6, 2015  Have the stormwater plans peer reviewed for this plan since Cambridge has a special interest.  During the remediation process the concrete structure would be taken down would it look at the soils below the building. Once removed if there was something of concern it would be looked at.  Engineering said the sewer would be capable, but if not adequate what would be recommended. There would be an upgrade of the pipe diameter.  Not sure a BHD would be preferable over a conventional development considering the number of units being proposed on this site? A trail here would be a major reason to approve a BHD at this location.  Restore the upper part of Mill Road  The old fill at the end of the lot would be hard to access by foot make it more crossable and attractive.  There was concern about the turning radius with overflow parking on the sidewalk. The cul-de-sac would be 10 feet larger than required and larger than any designed before. Consider other options to address overflow parking.  There should be no parking on street at a 20 foot wide width.  Since this would be lotted ownership have a strong Homeowners Association.  Why weren’t there more attached units to pull things closer together? Mr. Lopez would look at combining the units, but wanted to provide more open space and light. Would all existing structures on the site be demolished? Yes.  The turning circle could be avoided by veering off to the east and joining with Mill Street.  This appears to be too many units for the site. Mr. Larson said if developed as a conventional plan it would eliminate the path and most of the wooded area.  There would only be a few views of the reservoir and consider facing some units on Lincoln Street. Mr. Larson said he was trying to create a community plus there would be additional curb cuts on Lincoln Street.  Check if putting the garage doors to the street and front doors towards the path would be plausible.  How was unit size determined, the goal should be to target 80-120% AMI. It seemed 2500 and 2850 square foot units would be over the line. This type of development was to Minutes for the Meeting of May 6, 2015 Page 5 provide diversification in housing. Encourage the 2,800 square foot to be a little smaller and a little larger on the others.  Make the end units more a part of Lincoln Street so drivers would be more aware of children and cars on Lincoln Street.  The preference would be for the February plan which appeared to be less dense, the current plan appeared to be a continuous house after house and 14 units would not work with the larger houses. The smaller units would provide more open space. This project has the potential to be a magical community.  Making smaller units with an increase in the number of units should be considered. Mr. Farrington said the applicant would look at the site design and hoped not to have to come back at a conventional plan. **********************************SCHEDULE********************************** Work Plan, Center/Banks, other: This summer work plan should focus on residential zoning, banks, zoning regulations and CB boundaries. The Economic Development Officer would like to come in to discuss Payment in Lieu of Parking (PILOP) with the Board during the summer. Summer Schedule: May 20 will be posted as two separate meetings; the beginning will be for the Board to bring forward their recommendations for the Planning Director position at 6:30 and the housing forum rd in the Clarke Middle School Auditorium will begin at 7:00 p.m. June 3 will be the definitive plan for 17 Colony Road. The Board will discuss the next meeting in June for either 10, 17 or 24 for the Board’s reorganization and goal setting and bank discussion. The July meeting schedule thth will be for July 1 and 15. Mr. Canale will be away July 10 through 28 and Ms. Johnson will be away the first two weeks in August. *****************************OTHER MATTERS********************************* Board of Selectmen Goals: The Board discussed the following items to be submitted as recommendations to the Board of Selectmen from the Planning Board:  Work on Banks;  Complete Streets;  Bicycle and pedestrian safety;  Stormwater Regulations; Page 6 Minutes for the Meeting of May 6, 2015  Leave on whatever did not get completed from the previous list;  Determine what needs to be done in the five year capital plan for the Hartwell Avenue Improvements Design to ensure the project gets on the state’s long range plan; and  Comprehensive planning funding. ********************************BOARD REPORTS***************************** The MPO will be voting on a draft TIP for 2016. *********************************STAFF REPORTS***************************** There is a DOT public hearing on May 7 to discuss the reconstruction of Massachusetts Avenue. Mr. Hornig will be present to indicate how the project fits in with the comprehensive plan and complete streets. ***********************************MINUTES********************************* On a motion duly made and seconded, it was voted, 5-0, to approve the minutes for April 22, 2015. On a motion duly made and seconded, it was voted, 5-0, to adjourn at 9:53 p.m. The meeting was recorded by LexMedia. The following documents used at the meeting can be found on file with the Planning Department:  Sketch plan set for 435-439 Lincoln Street, sketch plan, dated April 20, 2015 (4 pages).  Agenda Item Summary & Staff recommendations dated May 1, 2015 (2 pages).  Planning Board Zoning regulations dated May 1, 2015 (63 pages). Timothy Dunn, Clerk