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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPlanning Board minutes 1989-03-13 PLANNING BOARD MINUTES MEETING OF MARCH 13, 1989 The meeting of the Lexington Planning Board was called to order in Room G-15, Town Office Building, at 7: 37 p.m. by the Chairman, Mrs. Uhrig, with members Klauminzer, Williams, Wood, Planning Director Bowyer and Assistant Planner Nordby present. Mr. Sorensen arrived at during item 79. 78. Carchia Woods, set surety: The Planning Board determined that the amount of surety needed to insure the completion of the community facilities and the subdivision road, through March 13, 1990, is $46,250. On the motion of Mrs. Klauminzer, seconded by Mrs. Wood, it was voted 4-0: 1) to accept surety in the form of a passbook from BayBank/Middlesex, account number 19447227 in the amount of $47,000, the amount determined necessary to insure the completion of the community facilities and the subdivision; 2) to release Lot 2; and 3) if the subdivision is not completed by March 13, 1990, the amount of surety held will be re-evaluated to determine its relationship between then applicable construction costs and the amount of work remaining to be completed. If little or no work is completed, and the current cost of the amount of work to be completed has increased, the amount of surety will be increased to reflect the costs of completing the work and the developer will be required furnish additional surety to the Town. 79. Planning Director a. Eaton Road, definitive plan, rollout : The Board reviewed, prior to staff review, a definitive plan filed for a two lot subdivision. b. Pheasant Brook II: Conservation Administrator Mendik informed the the Planning Director that since the stop work order was issued by the Conservation Commission, more work has been done by the developer than Mr. Mendik authorized. More gravel was brought in and more work was done on the roadbed. He will be reporting on this to the Conservation Commission. *********************** AFFORDABLE HOUSING ******************************** 80. Preparation for Meeting with Board of Selectmen on Housing: Mrs. Uhrig reported on a memo from Selectmen Chairman Jacquelyn Smith which said the Selectmen, the Housing Authority, LexHAB, have read the revised edition of "Suggested Guidelines .. ." and have agreed to the wording under item 1. ,I Mr. Williams proposed in the first sentence of the second paragraph the deletion of the phrase "than is necessary" at the end of the sentence, so that the sentence would read "The vacant public sites are the Town's principal opportunity to provide a significant amount of affordable housing and are too ..J 1 Minutes for the Meeting of March 13, 1989 2 precious a resource to use for any more market rate housing." Mrs. Klauminzer noted this was a compromise with the Board of Selectmen, who were concerned about how to finance this housing. Mrs. Wood noted that the Guidelines are generic and applied to all vacant sites over a period of time, and therefore should be kept as flexible as possible. At 8: 13 p.m., the Board recessed its meeting to join the Selectmen in their meeting room for more discussion on affordable housing. 81. Meeting with the Selectmen on Affordable Housing: Selectmen Chairman Smith said that adoption of the "Suggested Guidelines for the Development of Affordable Housing on Vacant Public Sites" by the Board of Selectmen and the Planning Board should be provisional, pending response from the community. Mrs Uhrig commented that some Planning Board members prefer that all develop- ment be affordable housing, and that they are reluctant to include any market rate units on proposals involving public land. On the motion of Selectman Eddison, seconded by Selectman McSweeney, it was voted unanimously by the Selectmen to accept and endorse the "Suggested Guidelines for the Development of Affordable Housing on Vacant Public Sites," for purposes of discussion and to obtain reactions from neighborhood and community groups . Discussion followed on the "Policy Positions and Comments about the Construc- tion of Affordable Housing on the Meagherville-Pine Meadows Property." It was reported there was general endorsement of this position by individual members of the Board of Selectmen, the Lexington Housing Authority and LexHAB. Mrs. Uhrig commented that the Planning Board did not want to sell off Town- owned land to make the Meagherville-Pine Meadows project feasible. Mr. Williams noted he opposed the sale of Town-owned land for large homes to finance affordable housing. At 9:24 p.m. , the Planning Board ended its joint meeting with the Board of Selectmen, left their meeting room and at 9:29 p.m. the Planning Board reconvened its meeting in Room G-15. The Board continued their discussion of Item 81. Mrs. Uhrig commented that the statement had been proposed to produce a joint position of the four boards and that this has not happened. Mrs. Klauminzer commented it would have been good to have the Town boards in general agreement before meeting with neigh- borhood and community groups to get their input. The Board discussed the "Policy Positions and Comments about the Construction of Affordable Housing on the Meagherville-Pine Meadows Property." They agreed to revise the fifth item to read "5. Alternative development scenarios, eval- uating various financial and site planning considerations, need to be develop- ed, analyzed and ranked." Minutes for the Meeting of March 13, 1989 3 1 I On the motion of Mr. Williams, seconded by Mrs. Klauminzer, it was voted 4-1 (Mr. Sorensen voted in the negative), to adopt, as amended, the "Policy and Comments about the Construction of Affordable Housing on the Meagherville-Pine Meadows Property." ******************** ARTICLES FOR 1989 TOWN MEETING ************************** 82. Article 45 - Hartwell Avenue, Hilton Hotel: The Board discussed a draft letter entitled "Items for Negotiation With Colangelo-Hilton" which listed proposed changes they recommended be made in the developer's petition for rezoning. Mr. Williams proposed and the Board agreed to add two more items: 1) to require that utilities be placed underground , and 2) to require that the applicant file for a Determination of Applicability from the Conservation Commission. On the motion of Mrs. Klauminzer, seconded by Mr. Williams, it was voted 5-0 to send the letter as corrected. Mrs. Wood and Mr. Sorensen restated their opposition to Article 45. 83. Article 44 - Marrett Road, Sheraton: The Board discussed a draft letter to James O'Neil of the Flatley Company, dated March -- 1989, making cor- rections. On the motion of Mr. Williams, seconded by Mrs. Klauminzer, it was voted 5-0 to send the letter, as amended. The Board noted approval of the letter should not be construed as a favorable vote and recommendation to Town Meeting on this rezoning. The Board's recommendation will depend on Flatley's response. *********************************** REPORTS ******************************** 84. Planning Board, Subcommittees a. Cambridge Reservoir Watershed Advisory Committee: Mr. Williams reported on the March 8 meeting in Weston. They are conducting a study on ways to preserve the water quality of the Cambridge reservoir. , The meeting was adjourned at 10: 50 p.m. Ar-/2 • )64,tuA_A____ .4„c_ v-v-c—ze—k.....> ---6 Eleanor Klauminzer, Clerk