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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015-07-01-PB-min PLANNING BOARD MINUTES MEETING OF JULY 1, 2015 A meeting of the Lexington Planning Board, held in the Selectmen’s Meeting Room, was called to order 7:01 p.m. by Chair Nancy Corcoran-Ronchetti, with members Tim Dunn, Charles Hornig, Richard Canale, Ginna Johnson, and planning staff Aaron Henry and Lori Kaufman present. *********************************STAFF REPORTS***************************** General updates, staff reports:  Staff received information from Mr. Cataldo regarding the Lowell Street installation of the required sidewalk. There was a problem with grading and the driveway aprons. Board Members should send comments to staff regarding this matter.  The BOS at their goal setting meeting wanted more coordination between the two Boards and recommended meeting more often together.  Mr. Henry went to the APA Conference and the materials will be posted on line.  The Board should consider having formalized monthly administration meetings during the day in the planning office. ***********************DEVELOPMENT ADMINISTRATION********************** CONTINUED PUBLIC HEARING 17 Colony Road, definitive subdivision plan: Ms. Concoran-Ronchetti called to order the continued public hearing at 7:11 p.m. Pat Nelson, attorney, Mike Kosmo, engineer, and the daughter of applicants Katie Anderson were in attendance. There were five people in the audience. Ms. Nelson reviewed the updated plan and Mr. Kosmos clarified that the clear zone would be anywhere from two to six feet wide. Board Comment: In the special conditions add a clear zone running along the travelled way must be maintained. The clear zone must be a minimum width of four feet except where existing features such walls, steps, and other items which could obstruct this width, then the minimum width would be no less than two feet. The areas must be planted with Pennsylvania Sedge. Ms. Nelson was concerned about what kind of maintenance that would be imposed on the applicant. Maintenance would be to prevent soil erosion and removing woody plants and other Page 2 Minutes for the Meeting of July 1, 2015 material in the clear zone. Ms. Nelson was requesting that the Andersons be allowed to be free and clear to sell the developed lot and the obligations and surety be attached to the undeveloped lot and asked what would be considered a major improvement to 17 Colony Road? A 1,000 square foot addition would be considered a major improvement and require a street determination of adequacy and construction. Ms. Nelson continued to discuss her revisions to the draft decision. A draft supplemental operations and maintenance agreement for the undeveloped lot was done. There was a concern about the maintenance of the clear zone and legally could not impose that restriction on the neighbors down the road. The easement should be kept to allow maintenance of the infiltration system at the expense of who would be responsible if it was not being maintained. Board Comments:  The easements requests for 6.3.D.(2) were not in the legal documents. An easement would be added to the draft.  There should be an easement to the ROW. Ms. Nelson said they do not have the right to grant an easement to the ROW since they do not own the property.  There should be a plan in place for the maintenance of the landscaping and street for 20 years down the road. Ms. Nelson said this was not fair to impose condition exclusively on one lot for the ongoing upkeep of this entire way. The Board must take into consideration the public interest.  The waiver for clearance was missing.  Specify the number of six red maples to be planted to fill in the removal of trees.  Ground cover and securing the area by the tree removal needed to be added.  The Town has to stop giving variances with this large amount of waivers being requested. If the applicant wanted this approval the lot needed to be responsible for the maintenance of the road.  Clarify responsibility for the part of the road being updated only. The Board recessed at 7:53 p.m. The Board returned to open session at 7:57 p.m. Audience Comments:  This clear space would not meet the objective to make a safe place for people to walk on and the planted area would just wash away and would not be a good recipe for longevity. Minutes for the Meeting of July 1, 2015 Page 3  The obligations should stop where the requirements of bylaw ends. State law says that anyone wanting to build would not have to come before the Board again. The Board was trying to craft access for users being pedestrians or motorists and looking for a balance.  This was as good a compromise as abutters could get on a private way. There should be a condition if the water runoff was made worse. If the maintenance five years from now was not being done how would it work if the Town did the maintenance? Mr. Henry explained that the Mass General Law says the neighbors would have to come to the Town for the improvements and the Town may then assess the abutters who own the private way.  There was a large amount of debris that comes down the street after one rainfall and would totally block the drain unless each abutter cleaned it daily. There should be no additional runoff and debris and this should improve the runoff. There would be an operation and maintenance agreement for those drains. Most of the leaves and pine needles would be in front of my house and the leaves would then pour down after each rain and clog up in front of my house. It was a private road and abutters would need to work together for regular maintenance. Board Comments: Necessary changes to the draft Certificate of Action should be as follows:  Add easements regarding §175.6.3.D.1 & 2 perpetual rights and easements.  §175.6.3.E Maintenance responsibility should go to applicant for the drainage system, landscaping, clear zone, and street; limit the waiver to snow plowing, water, and sewer.  §175.6.5 The security/performance guarantee for the road improvement would be held against the newly created vacant lot only.  §175.7.2.E.1 The grade should be 13% not 10%, add the waiving a planting strip and sidewalk to be replaced by a clear zone.  Need to add a special condition for the clear zone, which would be a four foot strip adjacent to the curb except where existing hardscape features would be reduced to a minimum of a two foot strip with a cross grade of 1 and 50 and no woody plants or new hardscape.  §175.7.2F.1.A Add a waiver to not require clearing the entire ROW.  The Property Rights and Dimensional Standard Plan need to add a drainage easement and draft language regarding operation and maintenance of the infiltration and drainage system. Page 4 Minutes for the Meeting of July 1, 2015  The condition of replanting of trees should include removals on construction plan and the addition of six red maples. Pat Nelson said this was an extraordinary imposition on the applicants for maintenance of such a large section of road. This could be left to any future applicants for upgrades and teardowns on the street. This was part of the bylaw and not an extraordinary imposition to the applicants. Audience comments:  Would the intrusion on my land be more than four feet except by the existing structure? If my forsythia bushes needed to be moved would that be the responsibility of the applicant? Those would be in the special conditions that the applicant would move the items at their expense. Katie Anderson, daughter of the applicants, in the suggested changes would the maintenance include the road? Yes. My parents were very happy to make a $200,000 improvement to the road, but to maintain the road would reduce the value of their property and would not be able to be done. The applicant could go to the abutters and get an agreement or covenant to share the responsibility for the maintenance. Pat Nelson responded it would be unlikely to get that agreement and suggested putting in a time limit instead of in perpetuity for maintenance. Audience comments: My understanding was that the Town expected the abutters to maintain the road and if not the Town would fix at the abutters’ expense. The abutters already have the obligation to maintain the road should it all be placed on only the applicant? Katherine Anderson asked if the requirement for maintenance of the road was for all residents of private way how would it be possible to impose maintenance in perpetuity on the only applicant. All the abutters would have all the rights but none of the responsibility or the road. How would this be done? This would be done through a supplemental covenant that would be filed at the registry. On a motion duly made, and duly seconded, it was voted, 5-0, to approve the subdivision with the modification to the draft decision as discussed tonight. On a motion duly made, and duly seconded, it was voted, 5-0, to close the public hearing at 8:53 p.m. Minutes for the Meeting of July 1, 2015 Page 5 *********************ZONING & LONG RANGE PLANNING*********************** Update on Banking Moratorium: Suzanne explained that there were people interested in a viable alternative option rather than no more banks and were looking for data in a lot of different places and wanted some thoughts from the Board on how to get it done. There was a working group starting but there have not been any updates as of yet. By working with as many people as possible some ideas should come about this in the first step. Staff would look to get a conference call together and figure out how to attack this and find a way to address this in the short term and then look for a long range solution. Something will happen before next July. ***********************DEVELOPMENT ADMINISTRATION********************** Review Zoning Regulations The most glaring thing was the private way section, which was reviewed with the Board. Plain language and pronouns should be neutral and check with Town Counsel before making changes. There was a review of the fee schedule and other items that were being relocated or removed. Staff will get the draft to the Board a week before the next meeting. *********************ZONING & LONG RANGE PLANNING********************** Update on Residential Policy Committee (RPC): The RPC had a second meeting. Affordable and senior housing were not discussed, but would be at the next meeting. The minutes will be forwarded to the Board. Site plan review, neighborhood conservation districts, and teardowns were all being reviewed. ********************************BOARD REPORTS***************************** Next Wednesday, Magic would be doing a tour of River Walk which was a good example of what was being done around the country and would be comparable with the balanced housing development. The public comment letter for the Massachusetts Avenue Corridor should not be sent now, but should be done at a more appropriate time in the near future. Page 6 Minutes for the Meeting of July 1, 2015 The Land Use Manager interviews will begin on July 30. Ms. Corcoran-Ronchetti will be attending. ***********************************MINUTES********************************* On a motion duly made and seconded, it was voted, 5-0, to approve the minutes for June 3, 2015. *********************** ORGANIZATION AND SCHEDULE************************ Review of Board/Committee Liaisons Assignments: The Planning Board Representatives/Liaisons to Town Committees and Commissions were discussed and the assignments for the upcoming year were as follows: Economic Development Advisory Committee Mr. Hornig Greenways Corridor Committee Ms. Johnson Historic Districts Commission Mr. Hornig Historical Commission Mr. Hornig Lexington Bicycle Advisory Committee Mr. Canale Community Preservation Committee Mr. Canale MAGIC Mr. Canale Lexington Center Committee Ms. Johnson Energy Conservation Committee Mr. Dunn Vision 2020/Executive Committee Ms. Johnson Sustainability Committee Ms. Johnson Transportation Advisory Committee Mr. Canale Housing Partnership Board Ms. Corcoran-Ronchetti Sidewalk Committee Mr. Dunn Design Advisory Committee Ms. Corcoran-Ronchetti Hanscom Area Towns Committee Mr. Dunn Tree Committee Ms. Johnson Conservation Commission Mr. Dunn On a motion duly made and seconded, it was voted, 5-0, to appoint Mr. Canale as the representative to the Community Preservation Committee for a term ending June 30, 2017. On a motion duly made and seconded, it was voted, 5-0, to approve without change the existing list of liaisons and representatives to the Town Committees and Commissions. Minutes for the Meeting of July 1, 2015 Page 7 Upcoming Schedule: ndth The Board will meet on July 22 instead of July 15. Annual Work Plan: The next few months the following items are on the Planning Board work plan:  Finish the Zoning Regulations;  Banking Moratorium initiative;  Dealing with what the Residential Policy Committee produce;  There are some CDs and RDs that will happen; and  Parking in the Center. The chair would be approaching the Town Manager regarding the posting of the vacant full time position. On a motion duly made and seconded, it was voted, 5-0, to adjourn at 10:25 p.m. The meeting was recorded by LexMedia. The following documents used at the meeting can be found on file with the Planning Department:  Appeal documentation regarding Rangeway Extension (4 pages).  Draft decision for 17 Colony Road (6 pages).  Comments from Charles Hornig regarding 17 Colony Road (1 page).  Planning Board Representatives/ Liaisons (1 page).  Definitive subdivision plan set for 17 Colony Road dated July 7, 2015 (5 pages). Ginna Johnson, Clerk