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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2022-10-12-PB-min Minutes of the Lexington Planning Board Held on Wednesday, October 12, 2022, Virtual Meeting at 6:00 pm Present: Robert Peters, Chair; Michael Schanbacher, Vice-Chair; Melanie Thompson, Clerk; Robert Creech, and Charles Hornig. Also present were Abby McCabe, Planning Director; Sheila Page, Assistant Planning Director; Carol Kowalski, Assistant Town Manager for Development and, Kiruthika Ramakrishnan, Planning Coordinator. Robert Peters, Chair, called to order the meeting of the Lexington Planning Board on Wednesday, October 12, 2022, at 6:00 pm. For this meeting, the Planning Board is convening by video conference via Zoom. LexMedia is filming this meeting and will record it for future viewing. Detailed information for remote participation by the public may be found on the Planning Office web page. Mr. Peters conducted a roll call to ensure all members of the Planning Board and members of staff present could hear and be heard. Mr. Peters provided a summary of instructions for members of the public in attendance. It was further noted that materials for this meeting are available on the Town's NOVUS AGENDA dashboard. Board Administration Public Presentation of Draft Recommendations for the Transportation Management Overlay District (TMO-1) Hartwell Area District Plan Update Ms. Tien-Tien Chan gave a presentation to provide an update on the TMO-1 Hartwell Area Plan for the Transportation Management Overlay District. The focus of the presentation was on recommendations. Ms. Chan gave an overview of the study and its goals. Ms. Chan shared a map which showed the district boundaries on a map. Ms. Chan shared the first TMO District Plan that was developed by Lexington and stressed the need to update the plan based on current conditions and expectations and to reflect the continued growth and change in the district and in Metro Boston. Ms. Chan said that the purpose of the plan is to develop a clear and transparent policy and regulatory framework for the district that would reflect the Town’s goals. Ms. Chan shared the TMO-1 District Plan Update consisting of four Recommendations categorized as Regulatory, Programmatic/ Service, Infrastructure, and Administration. Ms. Chan listed the importance, current challenges and the recommendations for each category. For Regulatory updates, the key challenge was the applicability to only new developments and the recommendation was that all new buildings and major renovations should trigger TDM and the establishment of large scale and small scale TDM plans. The next challenge for regulatory updates was the inapplicability of the district rules to all major trip generators. The recommendation was to expand the borders of the district to include additional parcels. The other challenge faced was insufficient funding and staffing. The recommendation was to update the TMOD fee structure to be a source of sustainable funding and Ms. Chan shared a table detailing the recommendation. Mr. Hornig agreed with the recommendations and asked if the legal landscape has changed compared to 2010, when the TMO-1 District plan was first put together, in terms of mandating the fee. Ms. Chan said that she has to do some research to find the answer. Mr. Creech wanted clarity on the definition of development size. Mr. Creech also wanted to know how the TMOD fund can be expanded. Ms. Page said that the zoning has to be modified to clarify the use of that fund. Mr. Schanbacher had a question regarding the change in the trigger for participation, that would include renovations and if it would align to the thresholds in the building code. Ms. Page answered in the affirmative. Mr. Peters wanted to know if they had communicated to Hanscom Air Force Base and Lincoln Labs regarding their TDM measures. Ms. Page said that Lincoln Labs is interested in TDM efforts and Hanscom Air Force Base is also willing to share their data. Ms. Chan explained the importance of Capital Structure and the need for safe bicycle paths, sidewalks and crosswalks. Ms. Thompson wanted to know more about the traffic calming strategies. Ms. Constantine explained about the proposed buffered bike lanes, crosswalks, stoplights and pavement markings. Ms. Chan stressed the importance of programmatic recommendations to enforce district wide TDM and proposed enforcement of TMA membership, exploring bike share and car share options, and raising awareness among employees. Ms. Chan gave the recommendations for TDM administration, which included long term monitoring of TDM plan requirements and using performance standards to hold the developers accountable for monitoring. Ms. Chan went over the Implementation Plan and briefly described the performance measures that help ensure the effectiveness of TDM plan. Ms. Chan shared a list of monitoring and compliance activities that can be executed by the Town. Ms. Chan said that based on the feedback from the members and the Town, the recommendations for the plan update will be finalized. Affordable Housing Trust Bylaw - Request for support for the Special Town Meeting Warrant Article from the Affordable Housing Trusty Study Committee Ms. Reisig, the vice chair of the Affordable Housing Trust Study Committee, gave a brief overview of the objectives of the Affordable Housing Trust. Ms. Reisig stressed the need for an Affordable Housing Trust in Lexington and what can be accomplished by an Affordable Housing Trust. Ms. Reisig explained the powers of Affordable Housing Trusts and their funding sources in detail. Ms. Reisig gave a detailed view of the process by which the Trust and the CPC can work together and the value in having a prefunded trust. Checks and Balances for an affordable housing trust were explained along with the expertise and experience required for the proposed trustees. Ms. Reisig listed the committees before which they have presented and gave the details on the path to the Fall Special Town Meeting and beyond. Mr. Hornig wanted to know when the Affordable Housing Trust Study Committee envisioned asking for prefunding. Ms. Reisig shared the committee’s proposal to start seeking the Brookhaven affordable housing stabilization fund during the Spring Annual Town Meeting. Ms. Thompson wanted to know about the negative feedback that the Affordable Housing Trust Study Committee had received from their presentation to various committees and how they would overcome the same questions during Town Meeting. Ms. Reisig said that most of the feedback they have received has been positive. Mr. Creech wanted to know how the Trust was going to deal with competition from real estate agents and developers and be informed of upcoming property sales. Ms. Weiss said that it will be a part of a to-be-developed action plan, which will be developed as soon as the trust is formed, and that the intent is to have a real estate agent as one the trustees to help inform the trust about upcoming property sales. Mr. Peters asked if the Affordable Housing Trust will be able to purchase Deed-restricted properties in commercial housing development. Ms. Elizabeth Rust, the Director of Regional Housing Services Office answered that the Trust would be set up with broad powers, has controls in terms of buying property, and, if it involves CPA funds, it would have to be with Deed restrictions. Ms. Rust added that the Trust could buy Deed restrictions on property, essentially buying them down or placing Deed restrictions on market rate units. Mr. Peters then asked if the Affordable Housing Trust (AHT) can act as a developer of affordable housing. Ms. Rust said that it can do construction and added that the AHT is a municipal entity and is subject to all the public procurement and public construction laws. On a motion made by Mr. Schanbacher, seconded by Ms. Thompson, the board voted 5-0 on a roll call vote to move to support and recommend favorable action by Town Meeting for Article 12 for the creation of an Affordable Housing Trust. (Board vote: Hornig – yes, Peters – yes, Schanbacher – yes, Creech- yes, Thompson – yes). Open Space Residential Development (OSRD) Zoning Regulations - Public Meeting to review draft regulations Ms. McCabe gave a brief update from the last time the committee discussed the OSRD Zoning Regulations, including the prohibition on long areas being included in the open land calculations and the addition of more details on what should be submitted. Ms. McCabe also informed about the section that gives details of the Design Review on architectural scale and materials in order to be more sensitive and compatible with the surrounding residential neighborhoods. Ms. McCabe explained about the addition of a provision regarding submission of applications that would trigger circulation of the application to various committees and the ability to show the subsequent review of floor plans for the inclusionary units. Ms. McCabe shared the feedback from Lexington Cluster Housing discussion. The committee discussed the comments from Ms. Barbara Katzenberg and Mr. Tom Shiple. Ms. Katzenberg agreed with Ms. McCabe and suggested a land management company which has some expertise in ecological land use be made responsible for open land restoration. Mr. Peters asked that if this would be financially viable for any developer. Ms. Katzenberg said that it would be feasible with anyone who has the expertise and experience. Mr. Hornig said that Section 12 should be revisited at a later point since it needs a lot of work and the Board should only discuss Section 13 in today’s meeting. Mr. Schanbacher wanted to know the Board’s view on the design standards for architectural design and wanted to remove architectural detailing and exterior materials from the OSRD regulations. Mr. Hornig agreed with Mr. Schanbacher and felt that inclusion of those might lead to the Board serving as design review committee. All the Board members agreed that the architectural details and exterior materials be removed from the regulations. On a motion made by Mr. Schanbacher, seconded by Ms. Thompson, the Board voted 5-0 on a roll call vote to approve the OSRD zoning regulation. (Board vote: Hornig – yes, Peters – yes, Schanbacher – yes, Creech- yes, Thompson – yes). The Board recessed at 8:03 p.m. and reconvened at 8:07 p.m. Public Work Session on Multi-Family Housing Zoning for MBTA Communities The Board reviewed and discussed the new state requirements and final state guidelines. The Board will begin considering possible locations and begin working on zoning to bring to a future Town Meeting. Ms. McCabe presented a summary of the amendments to the State Zoning Act. Ms. McCabe said that the primary purpose of the new law was to produce more multi-family housing near MBTA public transportation to address the housing crisis in the region, making Massachusetts one of the expensive places to live. Ms. McCabe said that Lexington has allowed multi-family housing in the past through comprehensive permitting under 40B and through re-zoning at Town Meeting. Ms. McCabe stressed the value of multi-family housing as an economic development tool to create more jobs and retain the educated and the importance of zoning that could promote multi-family housing. Ms. McCabe said that the key components of the law required at least one zoning district of a reasonable size. Ms. McCabe added that the required minimum gross density was 15 units per acre, the housing must be suitable for families with children, permitted by-right and must be multi-family. Ms. McCabe said that the guidelines require the Town to come up with an action plan by January 31st of 2023 and to be in compliance from December 31st of 2024 and explained the guidelines in detail. Ms. McCabe shared pictures of a few examples for the audience to get a better idea of the proposed density. Ms. McCabe also shared the timeline for Annual Town Meeting. Mr. Hornig said the proposed housing district should be at a neighborhood scale, include walkable neighborhoods, and blend with the existing neighborhoods. Mr. Hornig also felt that this new zoning can have a big role in revitalizing some areas of the Town and nominated two areas for the members to consider, one being East Lexington and the other being Bedford St from Worthen Road to North Lexington. Mr. Schanbacher agreed with Mr. Hornig and added that strategically locating the neighborhoods with a focus on density should be the goal. Ms. Thompson agreed with Mr. Hornig and felt that East Lexington would be a good place to start and added that Bedford St and Lexington Center could also be good locations. Mr. Peters agreed with everyone and added that access to transit is very important. Mr. Creech also felt that East Lexington and Lexington Center were good locations. Ms. McCabe explained the process and the goals of the Housing Workshop to be held on October 25th. Ms. McCabe said there will be a brief presentation and large maps will be spread on tables to get ideas from the participating community members to know what would be ideal locations to permit multi-family housing. Mr. Peters opened the discussion up to any public comments. Mr. Shiple said that though he had earlier envisioned multi-unit developments similar to the ones shared by Ms. McCabe, recently he realized that the same density can be achieved by redeveloping single family lots with another single building. Mr. Tang lives on Waltham Street near the Waltham line and asked the Planning Board to consider that area as a possibility to allow more housing. Ms. Theodosiou asked if exterior material and architectural details could be considered to help with tasteful design of projects. She noted that Bedford Street in the areas of Worthen Road and Lois Lane could be a possibility. Development Administration 69 Pleasant Street - Accept covenant and endorse plan for Site Sensitive Special Permit Residential Subdivision approved on September 7, 2022 . Ms. McCabe informed the Board that the appeal period for 69 Pleasant Street had ended without any appeal, she does not see any issues with the covenant, and informed the Board that they can accept the covenant and vote to sign the plans. Mr. Pressman had a question regarding the exterior finish for one of the moderate income units in the final plan. Mr. Pressman said that this exterior finish has to match the other units. Mr. Pressman also told the Board that the plan said that the size of the moderate income unit will be determined in the future and wanted to know the process to determine if the size would be adequate. Ms. McCabe answered the question saying that when the application was submitted, there was a total allowance and each unit was not quantified with a GFA, but a condition was included for the developer to submit housing marketing plans for each individual unit. On a motion made by Mr. Schanbacher, seconded by Ms. Thompson, the Board voted 5-0 on a roll call vote to accept and sign the draft covenant and endorse the approved plan for recording at the registry of Deeds. (Board vote: Hornig – yes, Peters – yes, Schanbacher – yes, Creech- yes, Thompson – yes). Board Administration Staff updates Ms. McCabe reminded the Board about the Planning Board’s joint meeting with the Select Board, the School Committee and Vision for Lexington to review the survey results. Ms. McCabe also mentioned the proposal of the Special Permit Residential Development (SPRD) Bylaw Committee to appear before the Planning Board to discuss on their progress and possible zoning bylaw amendment to be proposed in the Annual Town Meeting. Ms. McCabe also mentioned the SPRD’s presentation to the Select Board on November 7th. Board Member updates Mr. Hornig gave details about the SPRD Committee’s proposed zoning change to be brought before the Annual Town Meeting. Mr. Hornig said that the key points of the zoning change are the requirement of inclusionary housing in all these developments and that these developments will be permitted through Site Plan Review instead of Special Permit. Mr. Hornig also mentioned the update from the MBTA regarding their public meeting to discuss their next iteration of their bus network redesign. Upcoming Meetings Ms. McCabe informed the Board about the upcoming meeting of the Planning Board on October 19th at 6:00 p.m. and the Housing Workshop on October 25th at 6:00 p.m. Review of Meeting Minutes of September 21, 2022 Mr. Schanbacher moved that the Planning Board approve the minutes of September 21, 2022 as submitted tonight. Ms. Thompson seconded the motion. The Planning Board voted in favor of the motion 5-0 on a roll call vote to approve the meeting minutes from September 21, 2022 as written. (Board vote: Hornig – yes, Peters – yes, Schanbacher – yes, Creech- yes, Thompson – yes). Adjourn Michael Schanbacher moved that the Planning Board adjourn the meeting of October 12, 2022. Melanie Thompson seconded the motion. The Planning Board voted in favor of the motion 5-0-0 (Roll call: Bob Creech – yes; Robert Peters – yes; Michael Schanbacher – yes; Melanie Thompson – yes; Charles Hornig – yes). MOTION PASSED Meeting adjourned at 9.10 p.m. Lex Media recorded the meeting. Material from the meeting can be found in Planning Board’s NOVUS packet here. List of Documents: 1. Presentation with draft recommendations to update the TMO-1 Hartwell Area District Plan, from Nelson Nygaard dated October 12, 2022. 2. The Affordable Housing Trust Study Committee’s Draft Trust Bylaw, Housing Trust FAQs, and information on the Town's control over the Trust. 3. Open Space Residential Developments (OSRD) Zoning Bylaw article 35 from Annual Town Meeting. Summary of changes, and Draft OSRD regulations dated 10.07.22 4. Final Department of Housing & Community Development (DHCD)’s guidelines dated 8.10.22, staff memo on final guidelines, March 9 2022 Law Debriefing, Housing Workshop 10.25.22 flyer, Planning Board’s presentation dated 10.12.22 5. 69 Pleasant Street- Final decision, approved plan set, draft covenant. 6. Draft meeting minutes of September 21, 2022