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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015-10-21-EDAC-min Town of Lexington Economic Development Advisory Committee Minutes of Meeting of October 21, 2015 EDAC A meeting of the was held on Wednesday, October 21 at 8:00 a.m. in the Parker Room of the Town Office Building at 1625 Mass Ave. Members Present : John McWeeney, George Burnell, Rick DeAngelis, Narain Bhatia, Larry Smith, Sig Tullman, and Kevin Maguire Liaisons Present: Charles Hornig (Planning Board), Peter Kelly (Board of Selectmen) Staff Present: Carol Kowalski, Melisa Tintocalis Members Absent: Tom Dusel, Bob Richards Action Items: Invite Marci Loeber to attend the next EDAC Invite the Planning Director, Aaron Henry, to review the zoning in Hartwell (Melisa) Provide ridership information on the Alewife Shuttle and the REV shuttle (Melisa) Create a proforma on various uses with a focus on tax implications and compare to current abated tax value (Melisa) Make an appointment with Mark Roopenian of Normandy (Melisa) The meeting was called to order at 8:05 a.m. and acted on the following items: June 17, 2015 minutes were reviewed and approved. There was no EDAC meeting held in August, 2015. Introductions by the EDAC members and Carol Kowalski, the new Assistant Town Manager of Land Use and Development were made. Melisa Tintocalis reported that the new Economic Development Coordinator position had been filled by Megan Devine. She also reported that King Street Properties were planning a ground breaking ceremony for their new th building at 101 Hartwell on October 28 8:30am. In addition, Melisa reported that the REV was successful in securing funding for year three. There were complications with the contribution from Normandy Properties; they decided not to contribute two weeks prior to the start of third year; however, a large tenant in their building, Imprivata, approached the 128Business Council and offered a contribution that helped offset the amount Normandy rescinded. The REV has continued to run with nearly 1,000 rides each month. Rick DeAngelis reported that Boston Properties was continuing to pursue their plans to upgrade 17 Hartwell. He reported that the site and by-right zoning constraints limited the redevelopment potential. The committee discussed other ideas to unlock development potential in Hartwell. John McWeeney proposed the idea for allowing residential uses in Hartwell. He reported that there were inquires made by property owners regarding the Town’s openness to the idea. He recommended that the EDAC and the Town’s leadership consider that there may be certain conditions to allow for residential uses. Some members expressed concern that since Hartwell is one of the Town’s only areas that allow for light manufacturing and commercial, and that the Town would be at risk of losing land to residential uses that would reduce the potential of generating commercial tax revenue. The committee members agreed that it would be helpful to engage the Hartwell property owners in charrette to develop a vision for the future of the area. It was also discussed that Melisa should reach out to Griffith Properties and Normandy – two of the larger property owners in the area. at 9:50AM Meeting Adjourned: Next meeting: Wednesday, November 18, 2015