HomeMy WebLinkAbout2023-06-28-PB-min
Lexington Planning Board Meeting Minutes
June 28, 2023
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Minutes of the Lexington Planning Board
Held on Wednesday June 28, 2023, Virtual Meeting at 6:00 pm
Planning Board members present: Robert Peters, Chair; Michael Schanbacher, Vice-Chair; Melanie
Thompson, Clerk; Robert Creech, Charles Hornig, and Michael Leon, Associate Member.
Also present were: Abby McCabe, Planning Director; Sheila Page, Assistant Planning Director; Molly
Belanger, Planner; Carol Kowalski, Assistant Town Manager for Development; and Kiruthika
Ramakrishnan, Planning Coordinator.
Robert Peters, Chair of the Planning Board, called to order the meeting of the Lexington Planning Board
on Wednesday, June 28, 2023, at 6:00 p.m. 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 here. 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 Packet dashboard.
Board Administration
1-3-5 Hartwell Place (fka 91 Hartwell Ave.) – Request for an extension of 2020 Site Plan
Review approval
Ms. McCabe gave a brief overview of the project at 1-3-5 Hartwell Place, formerly known as 91 Hartwell
Avenue. Ms. McCabe reminded the Board about the approval of the applicant’s Site Plan Review
application from August 2020, which would expire in August 2023 if a building permit was not issued prior
to that and hence the Applicant is seeking an extension of the approval. Mr. Adam Myers, the applicant
explained that due to the high interest rates and construction costs, the lab life science tenant space has
gone through a lot of changes and requested the Board to extend the permit. They still intend to proceed
but won’t have a building permit for the building prior to August. They have a building permit for the
parking garage.
The Board asked about the timing for an extension. Mr. Meyers responded they are requesting two
additional years and that they feel that is realistic time frame.
Mr. Schanbacher moved to extend the Site Plan Review and Special Permit approval granted on August
26, 2020 for 91 Hartwell Ave./1-3-5 Hartwell Place until August 26, 2025. Ms. Thompson seconded the
motion. The Planning Board voted in favor of the motion 5-0-0 (Roll call: Creech – yes; Peters – yes;
Schanbacher – yes; Hornig-yes; Thompson – yes). MOTION PASSED
Lexington Planning Board Meeting Minutes
June 28, 2023
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Planning Board work session to review amendments to various sections of the Board’s Zoning
Regulations. Amendments related to Town Meeting zoning amendments articles 33, 34, & 37 .
Mr. Peters explained that this was a work session for the Planning Board members to update their
Regulations and they will also take public comments at certain portions as they move through section
chapters of the Regulations. Staff has prepared a draft for Board members, also posted in Novus.
Ms. McCabe reminded the Board about the Board’s progress on updating the regulations in the last
meeting and presented the staff’s recommended revisions to the Planning Board’s zoning regulations. Ms.
McCabe shared the draft amendments and staff suggestions related to Section 176 of the Planning Board
regulations and went over the recommended changes.
Ms. McCabe first presented the staff’s recommendations in Section 3 - General Regulations. Ms. McCabe
said that the first recommendation was to update the regulations to reflect that the application
submission process will be fully electronic through the ViewPoint Online Permitting System. Ms. McCabe
said that changes were made in the regulations to reflect the recently adopted Article 33 stating that the
review process for the applications will mostly be Site Plan Review going forward and if it were a Special
Permit it would be consolidated into the same review. Ms. McCabe went over the recommended changes
related to projects that came up with a proposal more than 45 feet in height and that the Board may
require the applicant to perform a “balloon test” to illustrate the proposed height during site visits.
The next recommendation was changes to the Administrative fees. The members gave their suggestions
to facilitate a simpler fee structure. Mr. Hornig shared his suggestions for the proposed fees to be charged.
The Board members discussed the suggested changes and agreed that the fees have to be updated to
reflect the increase in costs since the time the current fee structure last updated around 2010.
The Board then discussed the project review fees. Ms. McCabe added that staff recommended that peer
review would help in the application review process for Major Site Plan Review. The Board members
discussed and agreed that it was important for the decision regarding Peer Review to be at the discretion
of the Planning Director and that the cost be based on the application. The Board members also discussed
the Landscape Plan and Stormwater Management Plan and gave their recommendations to staff. The
Board discussed the stormwater improvements and concluded to require stormwater improvements at a
lower threshold than what is currently required. Presently the full stormwater improvements are not
triggered unless there is one acre of land disturbance. Staff suggested lowering that threshold, which is
particularly important with the new overlay districts that will lead to development on small lots, the
median of which is 12,000 sq. ft. The Board members suggested changing the threshold to 5,000 sq. ft. of
land-disturbance for the stormwater improvements. Ms. McCabe said that this is where the peer review
consultant will be important to help review the drainage reports/stormwater plans. The stormwater
would be consolidated into the Planning Board’s approval, similar to what is now down with Conservation
Commission an don’t require a separate stormwater permit from engineering. Staff will work with
engineering staff on the specific language for the Board’s Regulations. Mr. Hornig would like to see the
lower threshold for the stormwater improvements lowered across town not just for site plan review. Staff
Lexington Planning Board Meeting Minutes
June 28, 2023
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said that that would be up to the Select Board and staff will also need to review language further and
update the Select Board’s Stormwater Regulations.
The Board members then discussed the Off-Street Parking and Loading Plan and Lighting Plan and gave
their recommendations to staff. Mr. Hornig gave his suggestions regarding Hydrologic and Drainage
Analysis. The staff and the members discussed and decided to revisit the topic on a later date to continue
the discussion.
The Board recessed at 7:38 p.m. and reconvened at 7:44 p.m.
The Board members discussed the provisions of Section 176-6.0 and Section 176-9.0. The members
discussed the value in having a neighborhood meeting prior to filing the application to talk to neighbors
outside the formal public hearing with the Planning Board. The members discussed and agreed that at a
minimum, all the people on the abutters list should be invited and it should pertain only to projects in
residential districts. The members discussed and decided that all projects (multi-family) under §135-6.9
or 7.5 of the zoning bylaw must have a neighborhood meeting. The board members recommended staff
provide some guidance to applicants on how to run this meeting; a Frequently Asked Questions was
recommended. Staff also suggested a draft meeting notice template could be provided to Applicants.
The Board reviewed the regulations pertaining to Major Site Plan Review and made edits and came up
with recommendations. The Board discussed requiring parking for bicycles both indoor and outdoor.
Outdoor is generally short-term parking and then long term for residents of a housing development. The
board discussed how many spaces should be required and if they should require indoor spaces. The board
recommended staff look at the bike parking requirements of other communities such as Arlington and
Cambridge.
Public Comments
Jeff Howry, 5 Bennett Avenue, wanted the regulations to require visuals and shadow studies from abutter
views to show the effect of shadows on abutting properties.
The Board members then discussed the provisions of Section 12. Ms. McCabe explained that the
regulations would now be applicable only for Site Plan Reviews. Ms. McCabe added that based on the
comments from the Sustainable Lexington Committee, a few edits were made in the regulations. The
Board members reviewed the regulations and came up with their recommendations.
Public Comments
Tom Shiple, 18 Phinney Road, agreed with Mr. Schanbacher on the indoor bicycle storage and that bikes
should be treated as a primary mode of transportation. Mr. Shiple also wanted to make changes to the
provisions pertaining to Site Plan Review for residential developments and to include language to enforce
bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure.
Jeff Howry, 5 Bennett Avenue, shared a picture of an example of an abutter’s view of a multifamily building
taken from the property line of the abutter.
Board Member Updates
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June 28, 2023
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Mr. Hornig updated the Board about the Hanscom Area Towns Committee (HATS) meeting and shared
the details of the discussion on the new North Airfield project at Hanscom.
Upcoming Meetings: July 19, August 9, August 30
Mr. Peters reminded the Board about the upcoming meetings scheduled for July 19, August 9, August 30
and went over the anticipated agenda items for the meetings.
Review fall meeting schedule
Mr. Peters asked the Board members to confirm their availability for the proposed meeting dates for the
rest of 2023.
Review of Meeting Minutes: 6/7/23
Mr. Schanbacher moved that the Planning Board approve the Minutes of 6/7/23 meeting as presented.
Ms. Thompson seconded the motion. The Planning Board voted in favor of the motion 5 -0-0 (Roll call:
Creech – yes; Peters – yes; Schanbacher – yes; Thompson – yes; Hornig – yes). MOTION PASSED
Adjourn
Mr. Schanbacher moved that the Planning Board adjourn the meeting of June 28, 2023. Ms. Thompson
seconded the motion. The Planning Board voted in favor of the motion 5 -0-0 (Roll call: Creech – yes;
Peters – yes; Schanbacher – yes; Thompson – yes; Hornig – yes). MOTION PASSED
Meeting adjourned at 11.01 p.m. Lex Media recorded the meeting.
Material from the meeting can be found in the Planning Board’s Novus Packet.
List of Documents
1. 1-3-5 Hartwell Place- Stamped decision from Town Clerk, request letter to Planning Board
2. Planning Board work session to review amendments to various sections of the Board’s Zoning
Regulations. – Current Zoning regulations, Summary of changes from Planning Director dated June
23, 2023.
3. Staff draft of Regulations Changes Section 3, 4, 5, 6 dated June 23, 2023 (28 pages), Section 9
dated June 23, 2023 (9 pages), Section 12 dated June 23 and revised June 26, 2023 (23 pages)
4. Suggested changes to Regulations Section 9 & 12 from Lexington Sustainability Committee
members
5. Letter titled “Guiding Plan for Bicycle/Pedestrian Paths in MBTA-C Districts” from Lexington
Cluster Housing study Group, June 2023
6. Email from Tom Shiple to Planning Board Members, sent June 26, 2023, subject: striking a
regulatory balance to encourage housing development
7. Image from Jeffrey Howry
8. Draft meeting minutes for 6/7/23