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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPlanning Board minutes 1989-03-06 - 1 PLANNING BOARD MINUTES MEETING OF MARCH 6, 1989 The meeting of the Lexington Planning Board held in Room G-15, Town Office Building, was called to order at 7: 33 p.m. by the Chairman, Mrs. Uhrig, with members Klauminzer, Sorensen, Williams, Wood, Planning Director Bowyer, Assistant Planner Nordby and Secretary Peters present. Public Participation: Peter Kelley, 24 Forest Street, stated that he was frustrated and disappointed with the Board of Appeal's determination that the installation of a greenhouse over a deck at 425 Woburn Street, Countryside Manor Apartments , which was installed without a building permit , was not a minor revision and that a public hearing must be held. He thought this was a punitive decision, since he did not know the work required a building permit . He compared the greenhouse to a porch that was added at Morrow Crossing, where the work was not done until a determination had been made by the Board of Appeals that this was a minor change, and a public hearing was not required. Mr. Kelley asked the Planning Board reconsider its recommendation to the Board of Appeals contained in a letter dated January 31, 1989, that recommended that the Board of Appeals determine this is not a minor revision, and that a public hearing be held on the application. He believes the Board of Appeals based its determination on the Planning Board's recommendation. The Planning Board took no action on his request. 67. Approval of Minutes : The Board reviewed and corrected the minutes for the meeting of February 6, 1989. On the motion of Mrs. Wood, seconded by Mrs. Klauminzer, it was voted 4-0-1 (Mr. Sorensen abstained since he was absent for most of the meeting), to approve the minutes, as amended. The Board reviewed and corrected the minutes for the meeting of February 13, 1989. On the motion of Mr. Sorensen, seconded by Mrs. Klauminzer, it was voted 5-0 to approve the minutes, as amended. ******************* PLANNING BOARD ORGANIZATION **************************** 68. Actions, Procedures to Improve Effectiveness Of Planning Board Meetings: The Board discussed ways to increase the efficiency of and to reduce the length of Planning Board meetings. Suggestions included: 1. members exercising more self-discipline, and acting in a more formal manner; 2. eliminating suggested times on agendas (only one member favored this); 3. letting the Board member who reviews Board of Appeal hearings de- cide which applications the Planning Board should make recommenda- tions on; 3. reducing the amount of information handed out at meetings by the staff; and 4. scheduling joint meetings with the Board of Selectmen at least a week in advance and only when the Selectmen have previously reviewed the material to be discussed. Minutes for the meeting of March 6, 1989 2 It was noted by the staff that having weekly meetings did not necessarily shorten the length of the meetings, and that requiring agendas be ready by Thursday, 4: 30 p.m. leaves little "turn around" time between Tuesday morning and Thursday afternoon, for preparation of the next meeting. ********************** ARTICLES FOR 1989 TOWN MEETING *********************** 69. Evaluation of Proposed Zoning Amendments after Public Hearings a. Article 43 - Institutional Uses: The Board reviewed the wording of Article 43, as of January 31, 1989. Mr. Bowyer reported that the FAR and site coverage data, presented at the hearings, was about all that was available from the Town's records without making interior or site inspections of the affected buildings. Mrs. Wood proposed that the allowable FAR be .40, and the allowable site coverage be 33%. The Board discussed setting FAR limits for homes, as well, since there are none in the Zoning By-Law presently. Calcula- tions indicated that .13 would be the comparable FAR for residences. The Board agreed further study was needed on these sections of the article. On the on the motion of Mrs. Wood, seconded by Mrs. Klauminzer, it was voted 5-0: to eliminate sections 3) and 4), dealing with the establishment of FAR and site coverage limits for institutional buildings, from the proposed amendment. b. Article 46, Concentration of Affordable Housing: The Board agreed it does not support the article, and to make a short report outlining the problems with this article. It is more a guideline than a zoning by-law provision. 70. Effect of Sheraton and Hilton Hotel Proposals on Town's Proposed Transportation Improvements: Mr. Bowyer reported he had met with Richard Cook, traffic consultant for the Town, to discuss how the two proposed CD rezonings will affect traffic in that area. Mr. Cook felt the intersection of Marrett Road and Massachusetts Avenue will be seriously impacted, and sig- nalization or a police officer will be necessary. He added that a police officer may improve safety conditions, but also may increase traffic conges- tion in the area, until the intersection is reconstructed with the addition of left-turn lanes. Mr. Bowyer commented that until both the signalization and the intersection reconstruction, with the addition of two left-turn lanes is completed, it is problematical whether the relocation of the entrance drive may not aggravate the problem. He added that with these two measures taken, the intersection will probably operate at Level of Service "C" as long as Old Massachusetts Avenue remains open. The Board asked that Sheraton provide them with some proposals, on paper, of what mitigating measures they are considering, before the Board makes their report to the Town Meeting. Vanasse/Hangen has been asked to further analyze the intersection, and provide a more detailed report. 3 Minutes for the meeting of March 6, 1989 3 71. Evaluation of Hartwell Avenue Rezoning: An informal poll of Board members revealed Mrs. Uhrig, Mrs. Klauminzer, and Mr. Williams are leaning in favor of the article. The staff was asked to prepare a list of possible conditions which the Town might wish to request. Items discussed were: a sidewalk along the front of the property; requiring that the rear parking area be paved, with gas traps installed to protect nearby wetlands; a reduction in the size of the hotel; less site coverage; more landscaping than presently shown and mitigating measures for potential traffic problems. The Board agreed that hotel driveways on either side of the property should be shared with the abutting properties, as was proposed in the Bedford Street/ Hartwell Avenue Improvement Plan prepared for the Town, dated July 1987. 72. Other Articles: The Board discussed other articles on which they may wish to take action and agreed to the following: Article 4 - no comment. Article 23 - no comment. Article 31 - to be prepared if a recommendation in favor is needed, but to wait and see how the debate goes on the article. Article 51 - prepare Planning Board report Article 55 - await action of the Board of Selectmen Article 56 - coordinate action with other involved Town boards Article 58 - prepare a comment on the article (D. Williams will do) Article 59 - no comment Article 2 - to be done, responsibility of Planning Board and Board of Selectmen under Article 50 of the 1987 Town Meeting to issue a report on progress on affordable housing. 73. Planning Director a. Massachusetts Association of Planning Directors: Mr. Bowyer reported he will attend a two day meeting on April 6 and 7. b. Zoning Enforcement Officer: The position will be readvertised, since there were no acceptable applicants. c. Pheasant Brook II - decision on Preliminary Plan: Mr. Bowyer reported that a paragraph (the second paragraph under Recommendations dealing with the violation of the Order of Conditions issued by the Conservation Commission) that the Board had voted to delete at its February 27 meeting, was inadvertently left in the decision that was filed with the Town Clerk. d. Rollout - Childs Road: The Board reviewed, prior to staff review, a definitive plan filed the previous week, for a two lot subdivision. *************** ADMINISTRATION OF LAND DEVELOPMENT REGULATIONS *************** RECOMMENDATIONS ON APPLICATIONS TO THE BOARD OF APPEALS -_J Minutes for the meeting of March 6, 1989 4 74. 396 Waltham Street, Mobil Oil Corporation, SP: to demolish and reconstruct a gasoline service station in the CRS zone, and to replace an internally illuminated free sign. The Board thought this plan was a great improvement over previously submitted plans. They noted that the reduction in the size of the building allowed the curb cuts on Marrett Road and Waltham Street to be moved further away from the intersection, thus providing more space for landscaping. They agreed the landscaping proposed set a good standard for the intersection and for other service stations. They also praised Mobil for working closely with the Planning Staff to establish the size and location of the building, the parking spaces, the trash enclosure, the curb cuts and the selection and placement of plant materials that will be used in the landscaped area of the site. On the motion of Mr. Williams, seconded by Mrs. Wood, it was voted unanimously to recommend the special permit be granted, with the condition that there be no other uses permitted except those normally allowed for a gasoline service station, and that any sale of food must be from vending machines only. 75. Hearings scheduled for March 23, 1989: Mr. Williams gave an oral review of the following hearings scheduled to be heard by the Board of Appeals. 1833 Massachusetts Avenue, Anderson's Jeweler, SP, to allow a projecting sign to remain as installed: The Board noted that the store is located on a corner and there are two wall-mounted signs already in place; that the projecting sign appeared to block the projecting sign for the store next door; and that the hanging sign was installed without applying for the special permit required for this type of sign. On the motion of Mr. Sorensen, seconded by Mrs. Wood, it was voted unanimously to recommend against the application for all the above reasons, particularly since this is another "after the fact" application to legalize something done without the required permit. 1625 Massachusetts Avenue, Seasons Four, SP, to sell Christmas trees and wreaths and to extend spring and Christmas Seasons, for a three year period. On the motion of Mr. Sorensen, seconded by Mrs. Wood, it was voted unanimously to recommend the special permit be renewed with the same conditions that were included in the previous special permit , with no extension of the present hours, until an overall policy is formulated by the Board of Appeals for all such uses in Lexington, that would set uniform hours of operation and standards for lighting. Brookhaven, 1010-1012 Waltham Street, minor revision, to construct covered parking for 36 cars, to add two small storage sheds. The Board agreed they did not think this was a minor revision. On the motion of Mrs. Wood, seconded by Mr. Williams, it was voted unanimously to recommend that the Board of Appeals hold a public hearing on this application. 1 Minutes for the meeting of March 6, 1989 5 The Board agreed to make no comment on the following application: 67 Ward Street, Ada Wong, variance, to install a permanent front step and landing leaving a front yard setback of 25.5 feet. The Board also agreed to hold a public hearing on whether to consent to the following repetitive petition application: 4 Viles Road, David M. Fine, Repetitive Petition which was denied by the Board of Appeals on June 9, 1988, to allow a playhouse/shed to remain as constructed. SUBDIVISION OF LAND 76. Eaton Road, Kevin Duffy: The Board discussed whether they should waive some construction standards for a subdivision road in order to save a stand of mature hardwood trees existing within the right-of-way of the proposed subdivision road. It was noted that the developer can legally satisfy the frontage requirements of the residence district. The Board agreed to allow the width of the pavement to be reduced to 22 feet , and to waive construction of the road to Town standards where necessary to save the trees, providing the road remains a private road, never to be accepted by the Town. *****************************o* REPORTS ************************************* 77. Planning Board, Subcommittees a. Traffic Safety Committee: Mrs. Uhrig reported the Traffic Safety Committee will meet March 15, at 9:00 p.m. Mr. Williams will attend. b. Lexington Center Committee: Mrs Uhrig reported the Committee will meet at noon, Thursday March 16, 1989 in the Selectmen's meeting room with the Design Advisory Committee and David Dixon and Associates. c. HATS II: Mrs. Uhrig reported the Committee will meet on Thursday March 16, 1989 at 7: 30 p.m. in the Lincoln Town Hall, Lincoln Road. She will be unable to attend. c. Moderator's Meeting: Mrs. Uhrig reported the meeting will be held on Tuesday, March 21, 1989 at 7: 30 p.m. She added that Town Meeting is scheduled for March 27, 29, April 3, 5, 10, 12, 24, and 26 with none scheduled for vacation week of April 17, 1989. The meeting was adjourned at 10: 08 p.m. -&i/ 1 Eleanor Klauminzer, Cl