HomeMy WebLinkAbout2007-11-06-2020ECON-min.pdf 2020 Vision Committee Meeting
November 6,2007
Selectmen's Meeting Room
Meeting Time: 7:30 A.M.
In attendance: Fernando Quezada(Chair), Mollie Garberg, Ann Redmon, George
Burnell, Peter Enrich, Candy McLaughlin, & Matt Courchene
Meeting began: 7:35 a.m.
Economic Development Task Force:
o Mollie Garberg updated the Committee with the latest information regarding the
Economic Development Task Force. Outreach continues, and most reactions for
the task force have been positive. A Chamber business panel is scheduled for
November 29th. The Task Force is planning a public stakeholder event. It is
critical to maintain effective communication.
o The Town has contracted with Steve Cecil to develop an economic development
evaluation of three sections within Lexington. The outcome will be an analysis of
the minimum/maximum development that could occur under existing zoning.
The commercial areas include: the Forbes Road area, Hayden, and Hartwell
Avenue. One of the early strategies of the project includes speaking to
stakeholders directly, mostly by phone interviews. The goal is to present the final
results of the analysis to the spring Town Meeting. Traffic mitigation will be a
topic of discussion.
o The Committee discussed how the Planning Board is not working on any zoning
change for the spring Town Meeting, but there is likely to be a citizen petition on
the warrant to change the FAR. Members of the 2020 Committee agreed that the
current 12-member Economic Development Task Force would conclude its work
with the report to Town Meeting. Mollie explained how the results from this
report wouldn't be the definitive conclusion,but rather it's an attempt to scratch
the surface of this issue.
Image of Lexington:
o Fernando stated that the image of the community is important for economic
development. He has seen how image has played a role in the perception of
communities such as Waltham and Cambridge. Fernando asked if the Cecil
report would help illustrate projections of the image of Lexington.
o George Burnell explained how the Town tries to provide the best services for its
citizens with a diverse tax base. There isn't a lot of commercial land available-
within Lexington, and the Town doesn't intend to zone the remaining space into
commercial areas. The goal should be to maximize what we already have zoned.
o Peter Enrich stated there would be many residents who would desire commercial
development within Lexington. Mollie pointed out that many people feel more
comfortable with development when it occurs in stages. Getting long-term fiscal
figures of development would be valuable for the Town. The Cecil Group's
timeframe is to generate a report by February.
o Candy suggested utilizing the Town's web site for further outreach. Mollie
thought the slides from the PowerPoint presentation could be added to the
website.
o Fernando and Mollie discussed how important sustainability is in the development
process.
Demographic Scoping Group:
o The group has met three times and will be meeting again on November 8th. Thus
far the group has been working on creating specific language for the direction of
the task force. Peter Lee is the chair of the group.
o 2020 Committee members stressed the importance of creating a diverse Task
Force that will reflect the Lexington community. Involvement from the school
department is important for the task force.
o Candy reported that the scoping group has been examining a wide range of issues,
and is beginning to narrow the focus. It is important to determine what big issues
the Task Force should address. Examples include aging of the population and
increasing cultural diversity.
o Timeframe: Peter suggested a Task Force schedule to report back in September
of 2008. Fernando believes that will give the committee a long time to prepare
for an open community discussion of demographic change in relation to the vision
and goals. After more discussion about the events scheduled during the fall of
2008, such as the presidential election,the committee determined it would be best
to schedule a public meeting after the election, but before Thanksgiving. The
demographic data should elicit broad-based community engagement in a
discussion of what is happening compared to the desired vision.
Meeting Ended: 8:53 a.m.
Next Meeting: December 4th