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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021-08-11-PB-min PLANNING BOARD MINUTES MEETING OF AUGUST 11, 2021 Minutes of the Lexington Planning Board Held on August 11, 2021, Virtual Meeting at 7:00 pm Present: Charles Hornig, Chair; Robert Peters, Vice-Chair; Michael Schanbacher, Clerk; Melanie Thompson; and Robert Creech. Also present was Amanda Loomis, Planning Director and Sheila, Page, Assistant Planning Director. Good evening. My name is Charles Hornig. I call to order this meeting of the Lexington Planning Board on Wednesday, August 11, 2021 at 7:00 PM. For this meeting, the Planning Board is convening by video conference via Zoom. Detailed information for remote participation by the public may be found on the Planning Office web page. LexMedia may broadcast this meeting live and will record it for future viewing. At this time, I will ensure that all members of the Board and Town staff can hear and be heard:  Robert Creech  Melanie Thompson  Clerk Michael Schanbacher  Vice-chair Robert Peters  Planning Director Amanda Loomis  Assistant Planning Director Sheila Page I may invite public participation during certain portions of the meeting.  If you wish to ask a question or make a statement during a public participation period, use the Zoom ‘raise hand’ function (*9 on a telephone) and wait to be recognized.  Once recognized, you may unmute yourself (using *6 on a telephone) and speak.  Identify yourself by name and address for the meeting record.  Questions and comments during public participation are limited to 2 minutes or less, except by permission of the Chair, and must be respectful. Written materials for this meeting are available on the Town’s Novus AGENDA dashboard. You may follow the agenda as posted except as I will note. *****************************ZONING PROPOSAL ****************************** Mr. Hornig explained that the goal tonight is to get language good enough to get on the warrant and hold public hearings. The versions being discussed tonight have had changes incorporated from past meetings and recent comments from Town Counsel. Structures in Yards: Mr. Hornig presented the revised proposed Zoning Bylaw for Structures in Yards. Board Member Comments and Questions:  Ms. Thompson asked for clarification on the highlighted four feet in height? Page 2 Minutes for the Meeting of August 11, 2021  Mr. Peters asked for clarification on the fence or retaining wall four feet high limit on front yard walls and asked could someone construct a system with a fence and retaining wall there.  Mr. Creech asked for clarification on section 4.3.1.1 if the height limitations of structures would be 40 feet. Mr. Creech asked if they could add that signs in the RO and RS districts would not be allowed to be illuminated. Mr. Hornig responded that could be an additional bylaw to consider for the next Town Meeting.  Mr. Schanbacher had no questions. Public Comments:  Clarification was requested on how far a wall would need to be set back from the property line. Robert Peters moved that the Planning Board request that the Select Board place this article on the warrant substantially in the form as presented for the Fall Special Town Meeting. Robert Creech seconded the motion. The Planning Board voted in favor of the motion 5-0-0 (Roll call: Robert Peters – yes; Melanie Thompson – yes; Michael Schanbacher – yes; Charles Hornig – yes; Robert Creech - yes). MOTION PASSED Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Permitting: Mr. Hornig presented the revised proposed Zoning Bylaw for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Permitting. Mr. Hornig explained that Town Counsel does agree with the spirit of the proposal, but has some concern with the words being used and was still working on the wording of this proposal. This may come through slightly revised based on Town Counsel’s input and how it is worked out. Board Member Comments and Questions:  Mr. Thompson requested clarification on what some of these highlighted items were being changed to.  Mr. Peters was comfortable with this and recognizes we may revisit this after Town Counsel makes revisions.  Mr. Creech now agreed with the intent but had concerns with a business of loading up a house with school-aged children and requested changing the wording in the definitions for household and roomers. Mr. Hornig said the suggested changes may be considered at a later date.  Mr. Schanbacher had no questions. Public Comments:  A member of the audience had a concern about water quality and runoff. Staff responded that this was out of scope for this proposal but could be addressed in site plan review regulations. Robert Peters moved that the Planning Board request that the Select Board place this article on the warrant substantially in the form as presented for the Fall Special Town Meeting. Melanie Thompson seconded the motion. The Planning Board voted in favor of the motion 5- 0-0 (Roll call: Robert Peters – yes; Melanie Thompson – yes; Michael Schanbacher – yes; Charles Hornig – yes; Robert Creech - yes). MOTION PASSED Minutes for the Meeting of August 11, 2021 Page 3 Open Space Residential Development (OSRD): Mr. Hornig presented the revised proposed Zoning Bylaw for OSRD. There were no substantive changes. Board Comments and Questions:  Ms. Thompson, Mr. Schanbacher, and Mr. Peters had no questions at this time.  Mr. Creech had concerns on by right, assembling lots, eliminating wildlife habitat, wants to eliminate balanced housing, has a problem if eliminating 50% of open space, and believes we should wait to see the results of the Comprehensive Plan. Public Comments:  An SPRD Committee member said that should 50% open space go away they would have a problem with that. The rest would be a win-win. Robert Peters moved that the Planning Board request that the Select Board place this article on the warrant substantially in the form as presented for the Fall Special Town Meeting. Michael Schanbacher seconded the motion. The Planning Board voted in favor of the motion 5-0-0 (Roll call: Robert Peters – yes; Melanie Thompson – yes; Michael Schanbacher – yes; Charles Hornig – yes; Robert Creech - yes). MOTION PASSED Residential Parking: Mr. Hornig presented the revised proposed Zoning Bylaw for Residential Parking which had very few changes. Board Member Comments and Questions:  Ms. Thompson asked for clarification about the changes on the majority vote language.  Mr. Peters asked Ms. Page to discuss the highlights of the memo dated today on residential parking. Mr. Peters was comfortable moving this forward at this time.  Mr. Creech would probably not recommend that Town Meeting vote to approve this bylaw.  Mr. Schanbacher supported this proposal. Robert Peters moved that the Planning Board request that the Select Board place this article on the warrant substantially in the form as presented on the warrant for the Fall Special Town Meeting. Michael Schanbacher seconded the motion. The Planning Board voted in favor of the motion 4-0-1(Roll call: Robert Peters – yes; Melanie Thompson – yes; Michael Schanbacher – yes; Charles Hornig – yes; Robert Creech - abstained). MOTION PASSED Solar Energy Systems: Mr. Hornig presented the revised proposed Zoning Bylaw for Solar Energy Systems with changes mostly from Town Counsel. Board Member Comments and Questions:  Ms. Thompson asked for clarification on what sections the changes came from.  Mr. Peters had no questions and thought it was appropriate to revisit it now and supported it.  Mr. Creech asked that elevation documents and tree removal documentation be required and the Planning Board must review negative feedback in a public view.  Mr. Schanbacher had no questions. Page 4 Minutes for the Meeting of August 11, 2021 Robert Peters moved that the Planning Board request that the Select Board place this article on the warrant substantially in the form as presented for the Fall Special Town Meeting. Bob Creech seconded the motion. The Planning Board voted in favor of the motion 5-0-0 (Roll call: Robert Peters – yes; Melanie Thompson – yes; Michael Schanbacher – yes; Charles Hornig – yes; Robert Creech - yes). MOTION PASSED *********************GENERAL BYLAW PROPOSAL*********************** Fossil Fuel Use: Mr. Hornig presented the history of this proposed general bylaw for Fossil Fuel Use and the working group that was created and is working on this. It was requested that the Planning Board sponsor it and ask the Select Board to place this proposed article on the warrant. Board Comments and Questions:  Ms. Thompson said this was all very vague and asked for clarification on what its purpose was. She said this was not understandable as is and we should strip the language out and forward a bare bones proposal.  Mr. Peters had concerns since Article 29 amending chapter 106 is still in flight by the legislature, which has yet to act. What message are we sending when the legislature hasn’t acted yet on chapter 106 and we are trying to amend that chapter? Mr. Peters agreed with Ms. Thompson to strip out the language.  Mr. Creech agreed with Ms. Thompson to put in the bare bones language. He asked for clarification on how the technical language will be filled out.  Mr. Schanbacher agreed to move forward the way Ms. Thompson suggested. Public Comments:  There was concern expressed about making changes on Chapter 106 while it is still not finalized by the legislature and would put us in an awkward position and may not be approved by the Attorney General.  Another resident was also concerned about putting this forward while it is in flux with the legislature and kicking the can down the road prematurely is saying we do not know what we want. We should re-discuss incentive zoning for the Hartwell proposal. Mr. Hornig said he got an email from Cindy Ahrens and did not have a chance to read and will forward it to staff. Mr. Peters said he can’t support this with the reference to Chapter 106. That would need to be removed and only use Fossil Fuel Use for him to support this proposal. Audience Comments:  It was asked for clarification what power a general bylaw would have? They were not sure they would support this at this time without more information, but reference to Chapter 106 should be removed.  Concern was expressed about the language and the intent at this moment of the meeting and votes being taken on something we do not understand.  Clarification was asked for a definition of renewable energy. Staff recommended to bring this back to the next meeting for further discussion.  Ms. Thompson said to delete everything and use just the two bold lines. Minutes for the Meeting of August 11, 2021 Page 5  Mr. Peters said to leave it open to amend the bylaw for fossil fuel use so it can be either a general bylaw or a zoning bylaw.  Mr. Creech agreed with Mr. Peters.  Mr. Schanbacher supported what Mr. Peters recommended. Public Comments:  Concern was expressed that we should be meeting more often and why a letter from Ms. Ahrens was not read. Mr. Hornig said we will ask the Select Board to put an article on the warrant as discussed. Robert Peters moved that the Planning Board request that the Select Board place this article on the warrant substantially in the form as discussed for the Fall Special Town Meeting. Michael Schanbacher Creech seconded the motion. The Planning Board voted in favor of the motion 5-0-0 (Roll call: Robert Peters – yes; Melanie Thompson – yes; Michael Schanbacher – yes; Charles Hornig – yes; Robert Creech - yes). MOTION PASSED **********************BOARD ADMINISTRATION************************* Site Plan Review, Special Permit, Sustainability and Landscaping Regulations: Ms. Loomis presented the proposed plan to create regulations for Landscaping; Sustainability and Site Plan Review. After review she wanted to know when the Planning Board would like to hold the public hearing for the regulations. Mr. Hornig suggested September 9, 2021 for the public hearing and asked that members read the document before the September 1 meeting. Planning Board Comments: th.  Ms. Thompson was fine for the September 1 and public hearing on the 9 th  Mr. Peters schedule is fine for September 1 and public hearing on the 9. th  Mr. Creech is also fine with for September 1 and public hearing on the 9. th  Mr. Schanbacher is fine for September 1 and public hearing on the 9. Ms. Loomis will send out the documents to the Board members again. Appointments for Housing Partnership Board and Vision for Lexington Committee: Mr. Peters has been serving on those two boards and would like to continue on both Boards. Mr. Schanbacher moved that the Planning Board recommend the Select Board reappoint Mr. Peters to those Boards. Robert Creech seconded the motion. The Planning Board voted in favor of the motion 5-0-0 (Roll call: Robert Peters – yes; Melanie Thompson – yes; Michael Schanbacher – yes; Charles Hornig – yes; Robert Creech - yes). MOTION PASSED Staff Updates: The Lexington Next webpage is up and running and on August 16 will run a social campaign to get public views. The Comprehensive Plan Advisory Committee is holding a public forum on September 21 on housing at 7:00 p.m. and will send out invitations. It will be a virtual meeting. Ms. Page said VHB is working on a survey that will be going out in September on the Complete Streets 25% design for Hartwell /Bedford Street. On September 1 Transportation Safety Group will hold a public meeting on the Cedar Street project. Page 6 Minutes for the Meeting of August 11, 2021 Board Member Updates: Mr. Hornig said the Historic District Commission acting as the Historic District Study Committee and adopted a preliminary report on the proposed Mount Independence Historic District. The Planning Board will have 60 days to consider and comment on the report. This will be discussed at the next meeting on September 1. Be sure to read the document that was sent to you dated July 14. Upcoming Meetings: The Housing Partnership Board is meeting on August 19. Since I am presenting one item and two members are going to be present a Planning Board meeting will need to be posted. The next meeting will be September 1 on other matters other than Town Meeting items. Thursday, September 9 will be the first public hearings for regulations and two sketch plans. September 22 will be public hearings pn the Planning Board zoning proposals. Review of Meeting Minutes July 14, 2021: Robert Peters moved that the Planning Board approve the minutes of the July 14, 2021 meeting as presented. Michael Schanbacher seconded the motion. The Planning Board voted in favor of the motion 5-0-0 (Roll call: Robert Peters – yes; Melanie Thompson – yes; Michael Schanbacher – yes; Charles Hornig – yes; Robert Creech - yes). MOTION PASSED Robert Peters moved that the Planning Board adjourn the meeting of August 11, 2021. Robert Creech seconded the motion. The Planning Board voted in favor of the motion 5-0-0 (Roll call: Robert Peters – yes; Melanie Thompson – yes; Michael Schanbacher – yes; Charles Hornig – yes; Robert Creech - yes). MOTION PASSED Meeting adjourned at 9:18 p.m. The meeting was recorded by LexMedia. The following documents used at the meeting can be found on the Planning Board website in Planning Board packets. Zoning Proposals:  Draft amend Zoning Bylaw Structures in Yards dated August 10, 2021 (2 pages).  Draft amend Zoning Bylaw Open Space Residential Developments dated August 10, 2021 (5 pages).  Draft amend Zoning Bylaw Residential Parking dated August 11, 2021 (1 page).  Memo on draft amend Zoning Bylaw Residential Parking dated August 11, 2021 (2 pages).  Draft amend Zoning Bylaw Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Permitting dated August 11, 2021 (3 pages).  Draft amend Zoning Bylaw Solar Energy Systems dated August 10, 2021 (2 page). Zoning Regulations:  Draft proposed regulations for Solar Energy Systems dated May 26, 2021 (4 pages). Minutes for the Meeting of August 11, 2021 Page 7  Draft proposed regulations for Site Plan Review and Special Permit Design Regulations dated August 9, 2021 (9 pages).  Draft proposed Planting List dated July 6, 2021 (3 pages). General Bylaws:  Draft General Bylaw for Fossil Fuel Use dated August 4, 2021 (1 page). Michael Schanbacher, Clerk of the Planning Board