HomeMy WebLinkAboutPlanning Board Minutes, 1994-05-16 PLANNING BOARD MINUTES
MEETING OF MAY 16, 1994
The meeting of the Lexington Planning Board held in Room G-15, Town Office Building,
was called to order at 7 50 p.m by Chairman Domnitz, with members Davison, Grant,
Merrill, Planning Director Bowyer, and Assistant Planner Marino present Mr Canale
arrived during Item 98.
98. Review of Minutes The Board reviewed and corrected the minutes for the
meetings of March 14, 28, 30, April 4 and 6, 1994 On the motion of Mrs. Davison,
seconded by Mr. Grant, it was voted 4-0 to approve the minutes, as amended
The Board reviewed the minutes for the meeting of March 21, 1994. On the motion of
Mrs Davison, seconded by Mr Grant, it was voted unanimously 4-0 to approve the
minutes, as written.
***************** ADMINISTRATION OF LAND DEVELOPMENT REGULATIONS ************
DETERMINATION OF GRADE AND CONSTRUCTION OF UNACCEPTED STREETS
99. CUS 94-1. 19/21 Haves Lane, Discussion with the Applicant Sam Sleiman, of H.
Sleiman Associates, engineer for the project, described the project on Hayes Lane,
known as Lot 216C, on town property map #48. The property is in the RO zoning
district and is diagonally across (toward Woburn Street) from lot #280 for which the
Board has already approved a street construction plan The plans that the Planning
Board approved for lot #280 include the improvement of the street in front of this
lot.
The current project involves widening approximately 125' of the portion of the road
that Mark Moore will reconstruct/improve, and widening and reconstructing an
additional 125' of the street beyond that point in the direction of Woburn Street
The Building Commissioner has determined that there are two grandfathered building
lots at this site. The applicants propose to combine the two lots into one and
build a single family house on the lot
There was some discussion about how to integrate this proposal with the work to be
done by Mark Moore It may become necessary for the Board to amend its earlier
decision The Board agreed to strive for an equitable distribution of the work to
be done in this area Mrs Davison asked if the applicants would agree to a legal
restriction preventing the building of two dwellings on this lot.
The plans have been sent to engineering for review by the Town Engineer but a
response has not yet been received. The Board did not make a determination on this
application pending receipt of the recommendation from the Town Engineer
SUBDIVISION OF LAND
100 Monroe Village. Woburn Street. Sketch Subdivision Plan Sam Sleiman, of H
Sleiman Associates, engineer for the project, described the project on Woburn
Street, and presented the sketch plan that was prepared by his firm and Bill Brown,
landscape architect, of the SWA Group The plans submitted are for a cluster
subdivision and include four alternative layouts of the site. Two plans show a
hammerhead layout for the turnaround and the end of the right-of-way; the other two
alternatives show a circular layout for the turnaround and the end of the right-of-
Minutes for the Meeting of May 16, 1994 2
way. The applicant proposes to donate a significant portion of the site to the Town
in all four alternative layouts
Each of the four alternatives shows a 40' right-of-way and 20' pavement width that
would both require waivers from the dimensional standards for a subdivision street
There was a discussion about the requirement for a 25 foot corner rounding at the
intersection of the subdivision street with Woburn Street
The Board had questions about the nature of the land to be donated to the Town, when
the lot was created, and about the Planning Board's earlier decisions on the former
Monroe Village subdivision proposals.
101 Asparagus Lane, Decision on Preliminary Plan The Board reviewed a draft
decision, dated May 16, 1994, prepared by the staff On the motion of Mr. Canale,
seconded by Mr Grant, the Board voted 4-1, with Mrs. Davison opposed, to approve
the preliminary subdivision plan, entitled "Asparagus Lane", dated April 4, 1994
102 Dana Court, Set Surety On the motion of Mr Grant, seconded by Mr Canale
the Board voted unanimously
1) That the amount of surety for the Dana Court Subdivision be set at $125,000
That this amount includes the total "Cost to Construct," a contingency, an
allowance for escalation of construction costs and an allowance to the Town's
administrative costs, and is the amount necessary to hold until the completion
of the community facilities and the subdivision That this level of surety is
determined to be sufficient through May 16, 1995 only
2) If the subdivision is not completed by May 16, 1995, or if little or none of
the work that remained at the time this surety was posted is completed by that
time, and the current costs of the amount of work to be completed have
increased, the amount of surety will be increased to reflect the costs of
completing the work and the developer will be required to furnish additional
surety to the Planning Board
RECOMMENDATIONS ON APPLICATIONS TO THE BOARD OF APPEALS
103, Applications To Be Heard on Mav 26, 1994 Mr Grant gave an oral review of
the following applications
286 Lincoln Street, Shell Oil Company, variance to install a canopy over
existing pump island The Board agreed to urge the Board of Appeals to
exercise caution on this type of proposal as on similar projects in the past
They believe a canopy over the pumps should have a minimal functional design
without advertising on the facade, and that the landscaping should be appro-
priate for a neighborhood Curb cuts should define entry and egress
286 Lincoln Street, Shell Oil Company, special permit for internally illumi-
nated sign and logos. The Board agreed to recommend that since this is in a
neighborhood commercial zone, hot a regional commercial zone, the sign should
be designed for minimum visual impact
330 Woburn Street, Countryside, Shell Oil Company, variance to install pump
island canopy The Planning Board's comments on this and the following `f!
application were the same as for Shell Oil Company's applications for a canopy
and sign at 286 Lincoln Street
3 Minutes for the meeting of May 16, 1994
330 Woburn Street Countryside, Shell Oil Company, special permit for inter-
nally illuminated sign and logos
1777 Massachusetts Avenue, Bertucci's, Inc , special permits to operate a 104-
seat restaurant and for internally illuminated wall sign The Planning Board
noted that parking calculations do not include the takeout operations They
agreed to recommend that the parking calculations should be recomputed to take
this activity into account They observed that when those requirements are
incorporated into the calculation it is conceivable that fewer than 104 seats
will be allowable in the restaurant portion of the business. They will
recommend that the Board of Appeals consider adding a condition to the special
permit requiring the placement of a bike rack at the rear of the building
The Board agreed to make no comment on the application below also scheduled to be
heard by the Board of Appeals on May 26, 1994.
8 Warren Street, Sheila Levis, variances to replace garage with a one-story
addition and a connected garage
******************* COORDINATION WITH OTHER BOARDS, COMMITTEES ****************
104. Redesign of Route 2A, Discussion of May 14 Site Walk The Board discussed
various issues involved in the State Highway Department's proposed redesign of Route
2A at Mass Avenue and Forbes Road The difficulties of working with State and
Federal agencies was acknowledged Final plans will be presented on June 27 so Town
feedback is due by June 1. Mrs. Davison will draft a statement for the Board to
submit.
105. SPAIG Questionnaire, Discussion of Draft Survey The Board agreed to write
individual statements on the draft survey
********************************** REPORTS **********************************
106 Planning Board. Subcommittees
a. Council on Aging Mr. Domnitz read an announcement of the Council on Aging's
upcoming Colloquium on Assisted Living Options Mr Grant will attend
The meeting was adjourned at 11 12 p m r
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Richard L. Canale, Clerk
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