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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPlanning Board minutes 1989-11-06 PLANNING BOARD MINUTES MEETING OF NOVEMBER 6, 1989 The meeting of the Lexington Planning Board held in Room G-15, Town Office Building, was called to order at 7:37 p.m. by the Chairman, Mrs. Wood, with members Klauminzer, Sorensen, Planning Director Bowyer, Assistant Planner Nordby, Planning Aide Kotval and Secretary Peters present. Mrs. Uhrig was absent. Mr. Williams arrived during Item 270. 262. Review of Minutes: The Board reviewed and corrected the minutes for the meetings of October 2 and 16, 1989. On the motion of Mrs. Klauminzer, seconded by Mr. Sorensen, it was voted 3-0 to approve the minutes, as amended. On the motion of Mr. Sorensen, seconded by Mrs. Klauminzer, it was voted 3-0 to reaffirm approval of the minutes for the meeting of September 27, 1989. Later in the evening, after the arrival of Mr. Williams, the Board reviewed and corrected the minutes for the meeting of October 23, 1989. On the motion of Mr. Williams, seconded by Mrs. Klauminzer, it was voted 3-0-1 (Mr. Sorensen abstained since he had not attended the meeting) to approve the minutes, as amended. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION: Mr. Robert Domnitz, 14 Oakland Street, asked if the Board had any plans to present a zoning change dealing with parking factors, that he proposed last year, for the 1990 Annual Town Meeting. He described a revision that would base the amount of parking required for restaurants on the number of seats only, rather than on seats and employees, as is now in effect. He noted that some restaurants have changed operations and come forward with proposals to have fewer employees, more seats and still have no increase in the amount of parking required. Mrs. Wood thanked him for his timely reminder and said the Board has begun to discuss what zoning articles they may wish to propose for Town Meeting. Mr. Sorensen suggested a list be kept. He proposed two articles be considered: one that would clarify when a change of conditions in a permitted use would require a new special permit, and one that would deal with not allowing an accessory use that was not specifically listed in the Zoning By-Law. Mr. Bowyer added that an article, exempting religious and educational uses from the provision that any building over 10,000 sq. ft. requires a special permit, should also be prepared. ****************************** REPORTS ********************************* 263. Planning Director a. House Move to New Scattered Site Lot: Mr. Bowyer reported on plans by Peter Kelley to move a surplus house to a lot owned by the Town on Skyview Road. The house will be donated to the Town by Mr. Kelley for use as affordable housing, under the direction of LexHAB. b. Farm Road: Mr. Bowyer reported that work has begun this week on the completion of the road. Ms. Nordby added that Mr. Busa also hopes to have Lillian Road completed by winter. Minutes for the Meeting of November 6, 1989 2 c. East Emerson Road: Ms. Nordby reported there has been a problem with driveway berms at two locations on the road, that need to be corrected. Developer Ted Freeman will pay for the work, and the En- gineering Department will find a contractor to do the work. d. Wood Street. Comprehensive Permit. A. J. Lane: Mr. Bowyer reported that he and Ms. Nordby had met with a representative of A. J. Lane Co. , to discuss his proposal for a comprehensive permit adjacent to Woodpark Circle. Mr. Bowyer noted that the plan presented bore little relation to the topography and contours of the site. No wetlands delineation work has been done, and the representative was advised to prepare a wetlands delineation plan before proceeding further in any meetings with Town officials. e. Montesorri School, Rollout for Informational Purposes (as a follow- up of an earlier review by the Board): Mr. Bowyer reported they have applied for a building permit, and that the plans are circulating among concerned Town departments and boards. ************************** ARTICLES FOR 1990 TOWN MEETING ******************** 264. Article to Authorize an Associate Member for the Planning Board: The Board discussed whether to propose an article enabling the Town to adopt the provisions of Chapter 239 of the Acts of 1989, that amended Chapter 40A, Section 9, MGL to authorize the position of an associate member to the Planning Board when the Planning Board acts as a Special Permit Granting Authority. The law was approved on July 12, 1989 and will take effect on October 10, 1989. The Board discussed whether there was a need for an associate member, and agreed it would be difficult to find a person with enough experience unless, it was a previous member. They agreed to propose it for the Warrant, and asked the staff to draft suitable language. They agreed the Planning Board should be designated as the appointing body for the associate member. ************ ADMINISTRATION OF LAND DEVELOPMENT REGULATIONS *************** PLANS NOT REQUIRING APPROVAL UNDER THE SUBDIVISION CONTROL LAW 265. Form A/89-12. Solomon Pierce Road, Robert Cataldo: Mr. Roger Corbin of The BSC Group - Bedford, Inc. and representing Mr. Cataldo, presented a plan showing a revision of lot lines resulting in two lots, conforming to the frontage and lot area requirements of the zoning district. The remaining back land is to be joined to abutting land owned by the Four Seasons Garden Center. On the motion of Mr. Sorensen, seconded by Mrs. Klauminzer, it was voted 3-0: to endorse the plan entitled "Plan of Land in Lexington, Mass. (Middle- sex County)", dated October 30, 1989, by The BSC Group - Bedford, Inc. , certified by Roger M. Corbin, Professional Land Surveyor, with applica- tion Form A/89-12, by Robert Cataldo, applicant, as it does not require approval under the Subdivision Control Law. RECOMMENDATIONS ON APPLICATIONS TO THE BOARD OF APPEALS 266. Additional Case Scheduled for November 9. 1989: Mr. Sorensen gave an oral review, and the Board agreed to make no comment on the following case: 0 Minutes for the Meeting of November 6, 1989 3 30 Bloomfield Street, Janis Hersh & Marc Frader, variance, to allow Iconstruction of a two-car garage with a side yard setback of 6 feet to the overhang instead of the required 15 feet. DETERMINATION OF GRADE AND CONSTRUCTION OF UNACCEPTED STREETS 267. Valley Road. Lot 18A, Mau 79. Maria Massucco: Michael Sacco, represent- ing the applicant, reported they had approached the Building Department for a determination of whether the Lot 18A is a buildable lot. Zoning Officer Joseph Marino, in a letter dated October 26, 1989, determined the lot was "grandfathered and buildable". In the letter Mr. Marino also noted that, prior to the issuance of a building permit, if the property is on an unac- cepted street, the Planning Board must determine that the street is of ade- quate grade and construction, as defined in the Board's Policy on Construction Standards for Unaccepted Streets Relative to Building Lots. Mr. Bowyer read the pertinent language in the Policy that applies in this case. It stated "that construction of new dwellings on more than one lot on a segment of an unaccepted street may require the filing and approval of a definitive subdivision plan if the following rule applies: if any adjacent or abutting lot(s) was/were owned by the same person in any of the 10 years preceding the application, and a building permit was issued for a new dwelling on that lot, this policy shall not apply and instead, the applicant shall file a definitive subdivision plan." Mr. Bowyer added that approximately 18 months ago another lot, which had been in the ownership of the Massucco family, was determined to be a buildable lot under the provisions of the Policy and it might appear this additional lot would require a filing for approval of a subdivision plan. However, he noted if it did apply, there is a requirement that says a subdivision road must connect to a public street, and the nearest one is more than 1,000 feet away. According to the Zoning By-Law, no dead end street can be longer than 650 feet. The Board agreed that they considered the lots were not abutting or adjacent. On the motion of Mr. Sorensen, seconded by Mrs. Klauminzer, it was voted 3-0 to determine: 1) that the two lots in question are not "abutting" or "ad- jacent" because the two lots are on opposite sides of the street, and not even directly across the street from each other, so that the "ownership by the same person in any of the 10 years preceding the application" provision in the Policy does not apply; and 2) that this lot should be treated as any in- dividual lot is treated on an unaccepted street. The Board noted that a determination by the Board, and an evaluation by the Engineering Department of what is necessary to bring the street up to adequate grade and construction under the policy, must be done. The Board will walk the road in the next few weeks. SUBDIVISION OF LAND 268. Wood Street, Joanne Vilasi, Conventional Sketch Plan: The Board reviewed and edited a draft letter prepared by Assistant Planner Nordby, notifying the applicant, Ms. Vilasi, that the Wood Street Development conven- tional subdivision plan is disapproved because it does not comply with the Zoning By-Law and the Planning Board's Development Regulations in a number of areas. On the motion of Mr. Sorensen, seconded by Mrs. Klauminzer, it was Minutes for the Meeting of November 6, 1989 4 voted 3-0 to disapprove the sketch plan for the conventional subdivision and send the letter, as corrected. 269. Status of Subdivisions: The Board reviewed an updated schedule of subdivision activity now before the Board. Mr. Bowyer reported the Hilton group has submitted for an informal review, the material to be included in the application for a special permit with site plan review, soon to be filed. It appears to be in good shape. Comments on the review have been sent by the staff to their attorney, John Farrington. The Board agreed to schedule a public hearing on December 4, 1989 for the definitive plan entitled Opi Road Subdivision if four members can be present, since action on that subdivision must be taken by December 18, 1989. Later in the evening, after the arrival of Mr. Williams, it was confirmed that the public hearing will be held on December 4, 1989. ************************ AFFORDABLE HOUSING ******************************** 270. Analysis of Effect of 774 Revised Regulations on Lexington: The Board reviewed and edited a preliminary draft of an analysis that is proposed to be sent to the membership of all the Town boards and committees involved directly or indirectly with affordable housing. Mr. Sorensen commented that judging from the memo from EOCD a week ago, he believed that the statute still applies in terms of percentage of housing units. He questioned whether the local initiative units really provided more incentive for the production of low and moderate income units. He felt that, because of the requirement of 10 percent of all housing units, the statute penalizes towns for supplying more housing, and that it was advantageous for towns to do as little development as possible in order to meet state goals. He noted that towns like Lexington have a greater difficulty meeting the goals than towns that are zoned at much lower densities. Mr. Bowyer commented that there is still a lot of confusion surrounding the revisions, and one of the questions still to be resolved is why the same standards do not apply to local initiative rental projects as do to state- aided rental projects. He noted more work and clarification has to be made on what units count under what programs. ************** ADMINISTRATION OF LAND DEVELOPMENT REGULATIONS ************* SUBDIVISION OF LAND 271. PUBLIC HEARING. Pheasant Brook II , Definitive Subdivision Plan: Mrs. Wood opened the hearing at 9:03 p.m. by reading the legal notice. Approxi- mately 11 persons were in attendance. Roger Corbin of The BSC Group - Bedford, Inc. , representing the applicant, Robert Cataldo, presented the site plan and gave a brief history of events leading up to this hearing. He reported that all changes recommended by the Board have been addressed in this plan, and that they have met with the Conservation Commission and have satisfied their concerns. He pointed out the existing trail system that has been added to the drawings. He added they have provided access by easements to this trail system. Minutes for the Meeting of November 6, 1989 5 In response to questions from Board members, Mr. Corbin said they were requesting waivers for two common driveways, and for the width of the pavement to be 24 feet instead of 30 feet, as required by the Development Regulations. He pointed out the sidewalk along the entire length of the extension of Butterfield Road to the junction of Maple Street. He added that, at the request of the Conservation Commission, they have eliminated one easement that would have provided a second access to the conservation restriction with a walking easement along the ridge at the rear of Lots 1,2,3,4 and 5. Ms. Nordby reported that borings in the roadway have been done to confirm that the road base meets Town requirements, a schedule of borings has been filed, and the borings will continue to be monitored by the Engineering Department. In response to questions from Lawrence Smetana, 4 Lothrup Circle, there are no Town restrictions on the use of Solomon Pierce Road for construction vehicles. Mr. Cataldo said he would repair any damage caused by construction vehicles. Attorney Frederick DeAngelis, representing Mr. Cataldo, said the deeds for the new lots would be subject to the covenants and declarations of Pheasant Brook I. He added that the development is in compliance with these covenants and declarations. Responding to a question from Sheila Mello, 4 Lothrop Circle, Mr. Bowyer said standard language in the Special Permit forbids construction work on the sub- division before 7:00 a.m. and after 5:00 p.m. or sunset, whichever comes first. Richard Zangara, 4 Maple Tree Lane, thanked the applicant for addressing the concerns of the neighbors on Maple Tree Lane, and added he was happy with the final plan. Mrs. Wood declared the hearing closed at 9:29 p.m. Later in the evening, the Board directed the staff to proceed with preparation of the certificate of action and special permit. **************************** REPORTS **************************************** 272. Planning Board. Subcommittees a. Meagherville Site Development Committee: Mrs. Wood reported the committee will meet this Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. in the Selectmen's Meeting Room. Several meetings in November are planned, and they hope to have the concept plan completed by the end of the month, and be ready to present a proposal to the 1990 Annual Town Meeting. b. Waltham Street. Comprehensive Permit: A joint meeting of the Board and the Selectmen has been scheduled for Monday, November 13, 1989 to hear a preliminary presentation of the proposal by the applicant. The meeting was adjourned at 10:15 p.m. (volij 1,,i'LLLA„,.. David G. Williams, Clerk