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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015-08-05-PB-min PLANNING BOARD MINUTES MEETING OF AUGUST 5, 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, and planning staff Aaron Henry and Lori Kaufman present. Ginna Johnson was absent. *********************************STAFF REPORTS***************************** General updates: The following documents on the table are items for the Board: 1. Updated meeting schedule; 2. The Board of Selectmen (BOS) preliminary goals framework for FY 2016/2017. The st meeting to discuss the goals is set for August 31, which the Planning Board has been invited to attend; and 3. Zoning Board of Appeals updates show three new cases and comments were made internally. *********************ZONING & LONG RANGE PLANNING*********************** Center Banking Moratorium Melisa Tintocalis, Economic Development Officer, explained that Town Meeting voted to approve a bank moratorium in the CB District (Center) at the 2015 Annual Town Meeting. Ms. Tintocalis has been having trouble getting a meeting together over the summer to get more analysis that the Planning Board requested. Connie Nevell from Sperry Van Ness Commercial Real Estate Firm and a Lexington resident presented a brief overview for a basic understanding on current conditions of tenanting. A handout was submitted and placed in the Planning Board packet for this evening. Ms. Nevell works with landlords and tenants and the primary considerations for tenanting are zoning uses allowed, parking, build out costs, financial security, wear and tear on property, and having non competing businesses in a building. Banks are preferred since mom and pop shops only have 15% success rate. Landlords favor banks since they are well financed, provide corporate type long term leases, and will pay a premium in a Town like Lexington. Board Comments: Page 2 Minutes for the Meeting of August 5, 2015  How are Panera and Bertuccis viewed? They are be considered corporate just like banks.  Have rents in the Center changed in the last six months since banks cannot compete? Not at this time.  The forces of free market will not work in favor of the mom and pop shops people want here. The less intervention there is the less likely people will get what they want in the Center.  The Planning Board should be proactive and try to incentivize what people want in the Center as opposed to what the landlord want. th Ms. Tintocalis said tentatively the next step will be a meeting on September 10 and the Board will be sent an invitation to sit down with real estate experts to make sure everyone is on the same page for this conversation and then review two proposals from the Center Committee.  There needs to be services in the Center that people want.  There needs to be diversity of uses in the Center.  Encourage operations other than chains. Audience comments:  The Lexington Center Alliance (LCA) has been talking to a number of residents and the chains are not a problem but rather the need for more diversity.  Business people on the east end of Town said it is all about the high rents without the foot traffic it does not make sense to open there. If this keeps going on it will just collapse upon itself. Why does Concord have such a nice mix? Something needs to be done with the rents. What is different about Concord? Ms. Tintocalis explained that Concord has an extra hurdle of a special permit for banks and chains and she will get more information in time for the September meeting. ***********************DEVELOPMENT ADMINISTRATION********************** 17 Colony Road, Acceptance of Performance Guarantee and endorsement of plans: The appeal period has run without any appeals and the Board can accept the performance guarantee of a covenant on the vacant lot in exchange for endorsing the mylars. The documents before the Board are the grant of easements, supplemental covenant covering the perpetual maintenance of drainage and other conditions and the statutory covenant that ensures the vacant lot cannot be built on until the road way improvements are made. The supplemental covenant is missing the on-going maintenance of the clear strip. The Board expressed concern about how the enforcement of the maintenance of the clear strip would be done if not included in the supplemental covenant. Minutes for the Meeting of August 5, 2015 Page 3 The Andersons will sign an amended supplemental covenant that adds the specific language in paragraph four reinforcing the on-going maintenance of the clear strip by 19 Colony Road and then record it after the sale of 17 Colony Road. The Building Commissioner will not allow any building permits for this property (19 Colony Road) until the supplemental covenant is recorded. On a motion duly made and seconded, it was voted, 4-0, that the Board would endorse the definitive subdivision plan for 17 Colony Road with the understanding that no building permit could be issued on 19 Colony Road (vacant lot) until the amended supplemental covenant was recorded and all conditions to be met were completed. *********************ZONING & LONG RANGE PLANNING*********************** Governmental-Civic Use District: The BOS want to bring back the Governmental-Civic Use District for the 2015 Fall Special Town Meeting. To make this article more palatable all Town of Lexington property that the Town controls will be dropped and religious and educational institutions and possibly privately owned golf courses added. Board Comments: The Board is supportive, but had some concerns about dropping other municipalities land. The small items should be kept residential since it could be hard to defend against a spot zoning challenge. Look through what other criteria should be considered for filters other than land area? Small areas do not seem worth the trouble. A table with data might help to conceptualize what filters that should be considered? There was some concern that this proposal will further confuse Town Meeting Members. The BOS will discuss this item further at the meeting of August 31. It is very important to do a lot of outreach on this proposal way up front to make sure any issues are addressed early on. A list of parcels with appropriate data will be provided to Board Members. Update on Residential Policy Committee: thth The next meeting will be the field trip August 25 and a meeting on September 8. The August th 25 site visit and will be mapped out on Monday. Items discussed last night included:  Teardowns and wanting to look at the Woodhaven area.  Creating neighborhood preservation districts as a general bylaw instead of zoning bylaw. Page 4 Minutes for the Meeting of August 5, 2015  Looking at how decisions were be made for areas and creating a second article for separate districts. Residents from Turning Mill Paint Rock, Five Fields, and Peacock Farm areas have expressed concerns about preserving those areas and the subcommittee could work with neighborhoods to try to define what would be appropriate building restrictions for those districts.  On the site visit the Board should look at these areas to determine what should be preserved to maintain neighborhood character.  Look at what was done as previous cluster subdivisions like Journeys End and ask Todd Cataldo why he proposed certain things?  Check a mature 40 B development to see how it was integrating into the community. This will be a public meeting and the Board will convene back at the Town Office Building in the Parker Room after the site visit. Board Members should let staff know if there is any place that should be added onto the list before Monday. thth The September 8 meeting will be working on the public workshop. After September 24 the Planning Board will see what is fleshed out enough to bring forward to Town Meeting. Staff should do an outreach the last week in August to publicize the meeting. Payment in Lieu of payment (PILOP) Mr. Henry, Melisa Tintocalis, and the Town Manager have been working at draft document and some policy decisions for PILOP based on the last few projects in the CB district. The proposed policy should be ready early spring and the Planning Board needs to consider if this should wait to fold in future projects or move forward now. The hope is to have the policy vetted by the first meeting in September. ********************************BOARD REPORTS***************************** Stedman Road has the two rocks that were not placed correctly. Staff will send a reminder to the applicant that there is a drainage system that needs to be constructed and other items outstanding to be completed. nd BRSB made further progress on the logo and will meet September 2 and hope to go public. ***********************************MINUTES********************************* On a motion duly made and seconded, it was voted, 4-0, to approve the minutes for July 1, 2015, as submitted. Minutes for the Meeting of August 5, 2015 Page 5 *********************** ORGANIZATION AND SCHEDULE************************ th The regulations will be ready for the August 19 meeting. Hopefully at the next meeting there will be good news on the internal posting. th Mr. Canale will not be at the August 19 meeting. On a motion duly made and seconded, it was voted, 4-0, to adjourn at 9:30 p.m. The meeting was recorded by LexMedia. The following documents used at the meeting can be found on file with the Planning Department:  Board of Appeals Petitions (2 pages)  Board of Selectmen Primary Goals framework for FY 2016-2017 (3 pages).  From staff Article to Amend Civic Use District (20 pages).  Proposed District maps (3 pages)  th Tenanting Considerations dated August 5 (5 pages). Richard Canale, Acting Clerk