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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPlanning Board Minutes, 1991-02-11 PLANNING BOARD MINUTES MINUTES OF FEBRUARY 11, 1991 The meeting of the Lexington Planning Board held in Room G-15, Town Office Building, was called to order at 7 32 p m by the Chairman, Mrs Wood, with members, Domnitz, Grant, Williams, Planning Director Bowyer, Acting Assistant Planner Marino and Secretary Peters present. Mrs. Klauminzer was absent. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION In response to a request from Karsten Sorensen, 1 Vinebrook Road, the Board heard his position on a hearing scheduled to come before the Board of Appeals on February 28, 1991 concerning a vacant lot between #1 and #9 Vinebrook Road. Mr. Sorensen is appealing the Building Commissioner's decision that the vacant lot is a buildable lot He presented reasons why he thought the Planning Board should reconsider its recommenda- tion, made to the Board of Appeals last week, that the decision of the Building Commissioner should be upheld. Mr. Domnitz did not sit with the Board on this item, and abstained from any action taken tonight. Mr. Sorensen stated that in his letter to Mrs Wood, dated February 7, 1991, he presented new information that the Board should now discuss and should then reconsider its recommendation made to the Board of Appeals last week. Mrs Wood's response to his letter noted that the Board did not generally hear directly from applicants on petitions to the Board of Appeals, and because Mr. Sorensen was dissatisfied with the Board's recommendation was not a reason for the issue to be reopened with the Planning Board. The Board discussed the information contained in Mr Sorensen's letter and agreed that the focus of Mr. Sorensen's presentation should be with the Board of Appeals Mr Williams noted that he did not think the Board has a policy that it would not hear directly from persons with applications coming before the Board of Appeals, on which the Planning Board will be making recommenda- tions to the Board of Appeals Mrs Wood asked if any of the Board members sitting tonight wished to move reconsideration of last week's recommendation on this application. No member did, and its recommendation made at last week's meeting stands ************************** REPORTS *************************************** 33 Planning Director a. Child Care Centers Mr. Bowyer reported he read in the APA Bulletin Board that there has been a significant amendment to the State Zoning Act dealing with child care facilities. He has just received a copy of the legislation from Town Counsel this evening, and will make it avail- able to the Board as soon as possible *********************** ARTICLES FOR THE 1991 TOWN MEETING ******************* 34 PUBLIC HEARING. Article 29. Technical Corrections As required by Chapter 40A, the Planning Board conducted a public hearing on the Technical Corrections amendment, as of 1-15-91, to the Zoning By-Law. Mrs. Wood opened the hearing at 7 48 p.m. by reading the legal notice and outlining the order the Board follows for conducting public hearings. Approximately 17 residents Minutes for the Meeting of February 11, 1991 2 attended. Mrs Wood will present the article at Town Meeting She provided an explanation on each of the 8 parts of article, and invited questions at the end of each explanation. There were several questions from the audience on Amendment 6-A6, dealing with lots in more than one district or more than one town or city, and the Board agreed that this amendment may need more work. Questions and comments on Amendment 7-A7, dealing with increasing the total height a fence closer than 6 feet from the lot line to 6 feet - 6 inches, focussed on how the height would be measured. Eric Clarke, 29 Moon Hill Road, suggested that the measurement apply only to fence panels, not posts. Mrs. Wood declared the hearing closed at 8 36 p m. 35. PUBLIC HEARING. Article 30. Religious, Educational Institutions As required by Chapter 40A, the Planning Board conducted a public hearing on the Religious, Educational Institutions amendment to the Zoning By-Law. Mrs. Wood opened the hearing at 8 37 p.m. by reading the legal notice. Approximately 17 residents attended. Mr Grant read the draft article as of 1-15-91 and will present the article at Town Meeting. Several residents thought the word "reasonable" in the second sentence of subparagraph 3.1.4 should be deleted since it seems to imply that the remain- der of our regulations are unreasonable Mr. Grant noted that the language merely tracked State statute Mrs. Wood declared the hearing closed at 8 57 p.m. 36 PUBLIC HEARING. Article 31 Parking Factors As required by Chapter 40A, the Planning Board conducted a public hearing on the Parking Factors amendment to the Zoning By-Law Mrs Wood opened the hearing at 8 58 p.m. by reading the legal notice. Approximately 17 residents attended. Mr. Domnitz read the draft article as of 1-15-91 and said that he will present Parts A, B, and C of the article at Town Meeting. Mr Williams will present Part D. In Part B, Mr. Domnitz discussed the administrative difficulties of calculat- ing parking requirements based on the number of seats and employees, since the number of employees can change. He explained why the Board has proposed revisions to base parking requirements on the number of seats and the square footage of the building instead There was extensive discussion about the effects of Parts B and C on a par- ticular business in the Center. In response to questions from Selectman Leo McSweeney, 84 Shade Street, Mr Domnitz said that all existing businesses would be grandfathered, and that the effect of these amendments would tend to be a loosening of parking requirements It was noted that under these re- visions, according to the Building Commissioner, the proposal to replace re- tail space with fast food seating at The Food Emporium would not be feasible. Minutes for the Meeting of February 11, 1991 3 Mr Sorensen asked how it can be determined what parking is being used by take-out users and what is being used by restaurants. He suggested making restaurant and take-out parking requirements the same. In Part C, Mr. Domnitz explained the difficulty in figuring parking require- ments calculated on the number of employees and counter length, and he explained why the Board proposed the revisions basing parking requirements on the number of seats and the square footage of the building instead. In Part D, Mr. Williams noted that this part responds to a request from the Center Committee, who are attempting to promote a more active and vibrant Center. He added that there is less demand for parking in the warmer months, particularly the summer, when the additional benches and seats would be in place It was noted that the location and control of the seats rested with the Board of Selectmen, and that the proposed amendments were intended to deal with incidental effects on zoning compliance rather than with location of the seats. Mr. Sorensen, 1 Vinebrook Road, said he thought the Selectmen would have to allow all who requested seats on the sidewalk to install them, no matter how many tables that resulted in being placed on the sidewalk. Josephine Wil- liams, 344 Lowell Street, thought it was unfair to allow extra tables without requiring extra parking Mrs. Wood declared the hearing closed at 9 56 p.m. ******************* COMPREHENSIVE PLANNING ******************************** 38. New Law Regarding Master Plans The Board discussed a memo from MAPC (Metropolitan Area Planning Council) on the new law regarding Master Plans, and the new law (H 3971) that was signed by Governor Dukakis in December. The memo stated that the plan requires a much more comprehensive look at the com- munity's resources, stipulates that there must be an implementation program to actually put the plan into effect and that zoning and any other implementation tools must be consistent with the plan. Mr. Bowyer commented that the legis- lation is modeled after legislation passed by Rhode Island except funding was also included, and no funding is included in the Massachusetts legislation ***************** ARTICLES FOR THE 1991 TOWN MEETING ******************** 39. Post-Mortem on Planning Board Articles Article 29. Technical Corrections In Article 29, members agreed there were no problems with amendments 1-Al through 5-A5 They also agreed that amend- ment 6-A6 might have problems, as drafted. Mrs Wood noted there were problems as to how this technical correction would affect different residen- tial zones next to each other and next to commercial zones She added she was not sure the amendment would clarify existing language in the Zoning By-Law, which is why it was drafted. On the motion of Mrs. Wood, seconded by Mr Domnitz, it was voted 4-0 to delete Amendment 6-A6 from Article 29, Technical Corrections. Minutes for the Meeting of February 11, 1991 4 The Board also discussed the resident's reactions and potential problems N! administering the By-Law change to Amendment 7-A7 that would change the maximum permitted height of a fence less than six feet from a lot line to six and one/half feet. On the motion of Mrs. Wood, seconded by Mr. Domnitz, it was voted 3-1 (Mr Williams opposed) to delete Amendment 7-A7 from Article 29, Technical Corrections. Article 30. Religious. Non-profit Educational Institutions The Board discussed the information heard at tonight's hearing, and reviewed and edited the draft report Article 31. Parking Factors The Board discussed the information heard at tonight's hearing and the draft report. They agreed there were no problems with part A. In Part B, concern was expressed about a loss of flexibility if someone wished to revert back to retail from a restaurant use, since more parking would be required There followed an extensive discussion on how the article would affect The Food Emporium application to substitute a restau- rant/take-out establishment for a fast food/retail establishment Article 32. Exemptions for Agricultural Uses The Board reviewed and edited the report. Article 35. Private Postal Services Members expressed concerns about potential traffic problems of the proposed use, especially in the Central Business or the CS district. *********************** REPORTS ************************************ 40. Planning Board Subcommittees a. Selectmen's Chairmen Breakfast Mrs. Wood announced the breakfast meeting will be held this Friday morning, and deal with the Town's economic situation. i The meeting was adjourned at 11 18 p.m. nPl / ( / Cle David Williams, Cler k r j