HomeMy WebLinkAboutPlanning Board minutes 01-04-1996 PLANNING BOARD MINUTES
MEETING OF JANUARY 4, 1996
The meeting of the Lexington Planning Board held in Room G-3, Town Office Building, was called to
order at 7:50 p.m. by Vice Chairman Canale, with members Davies, Grant, Planning Director Bowyer,
and Assistant Planner Marino present. Mr. Merrill arrived during Item 1. Mrs. Davison was absent.
**************************** COMPREHENSIVE PLANNING ****************************
1. Land Use Element.Site Analyses:The Board continued its evaluation of significant parcels of open
land left in Lexington, and based its discussions on site analyses and maps prepared by the staff.
a. Winning Farm. off Blueberry Lane at Winchester/Woburn Town lines: The Board agreed that this
site presents a number of difficulties with regard to development.
1) Most of the Winning Farm property is in two neighboring towns just nine acres are in
Lexington—and what happens there will dominate the future character of the site. Getting the
three towns to act in unison in the short time available to keep the site open is unlikely
2) The only access to the site from Lexington is from Blueberry Lane, a small loop residential
street off Tyler Road, another loop street off Winchester Drive. A new through street would
have to connect to a street in Woburn.
The property is now on the market and the Town Manager received a letter from The Trust for Public
Land expressing its desire to act as a"catalyst"in efforts to keep the land open. While the Board believes
leaving all or most of the land as open space would be preferable, it is unlikely that either of the towns
or Woburn has enough money to buy their portion. Lexington's parcel, if left open, could act as a buffer
against development in the other two towns. A low-impact use, such as an assisted living facility, might
be desirable.
b. 202 Cedar Street: The Board agreed that because the site is in an area well endowed with open
space, any future use should relate to and enhance that asset. A cluster subdivision with smaller units
to relate it to the scale of the surrounding neighborhood of smaller older houses was deemed a good use.
Enlarging and improving the area in the existing Freemont Street playground site could constitute the •
substantial public benefit called for in the proposed cluster regulations. If the land becomes available,the S
Town might be interested in using parts of it to improve the Pine Meadows Golf Course
c. Leary Pronerty on Vine Street: This 14.3 acre site on Vine Street also appealed to the Board as a
good spot for a cluster subdivision. The back of the site is already protected from development by
wetlands.
The Board entered into a discussion about the remaining undeveloped land in Lexington,and the criteria
it could use to decide if and how the Town should try to acquire it. The members agreed that there is
a place for more development but if the Town is to acquire more land, the following questions should
be asked about each parcel.
a. Is it likely to be developed?
b. Does the land have value to the Town in and of itself, e.g., aesthetic or habitat value, apart from
just saving it from development?
c. Does it connect with other Town owned land,offering potential linkages for biking,walking and
cross-country ski trails?
d. What is the size of the parcel? Is there other open space in that neighborhood?
e. Does it offer a gateway to the town on a major street?
f. Does it offer a vista? How many residents does it benefit? (The Winning Farm and Leary
properties are visible only to the adjacent neighbors).
2 Minutes for the Meeting of January 4, 1996
g. How would it best be used as town land? For passive or active recreation, or for affordable
housing?
The Board talked about developing an idealized open space plan.
************************ ARTICLES FOR 1996 TOWN MEETING ************************
2. Citizens' Rezoning Petitions: Mr. Bowyer outlined the citizens' petition rezoning process for the
Board. He said a development usually has a project budget with a margin for community benefits and
that most sponsors (applicants) are prepared to talk with the community about some benefits. In
Lexington,there are a variety of groups,advocating housing,traffic,transportation,neighborhood,or land
preservation interests,competing for this margin.He emphasized the importance of sorting out priorities
early on and presenting a coherent'shopping list" to the developer to streamline the bargaining process.
Some of the citizen article sponsors are not usually in the development business.
With reference to the Grey Nuns proposal for 10 Pelham Road, he said that it is in a high visibility
location. The Planning Board needs to work with other boards, committees and neighborhood groups
to define the most important needs/desires.
3. Article B. Living Facilities for Seniors: Mr. Bowyer reported that he has received help from the
Linda Vine,COA director, and Susan McDonough,of Covenant Health Systems,in preparing this article.
4. Article C. Amendment of Section 7 4.5. Frontage Reduction: In considering this suggested change
in the frontage requirement in Section 7 4.5 of the Zoning By-Law, Mr. Davies expressed his discomfort
with the prospect of having to justify it to Town Meeting, seemingly to benefit just one developer. Mr.
Bowyer pointed out that there will always be at least one developer with a project just below the cutoff
number.Mr.Canale said,in his view,the revision of the cluster subdivision regulations is more important.
he would rather do one important article well than a number of articles.
5. Article A. Revision of Section 9 Cluster Subdivisions: In response to a question from Mr. Davies,
Mr Bowyer characterized the present revision of Section 9 as an effort to encourage its use by developers
by improving the format and by offering incentives and removing disincentives. It represents a shift from
a concept that counts dwelling units (essentially, kitchens) to one that looks at the actual impacts
compared to those of a conventional subdivision. This is called"performance zoning" and avoids the"hot
button" density issue. Mr. Grant said that this is a good way to introduce more variety in the housing
stock along with gaining more open space.
Mr. Bowyer said that a written summary and the use of graphics in the presentation to Town Meeting
will help to illustrate the public benefits resulting from the cluster subdivision process.
The meeting was adjourned at 10:32 p.m. intajin&c
Frederick L. Merrill, Jr., rk