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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2016-12-21-EDAC-min Town of Lexington Economic Development Advisory Committee (EDAC) Minutes of Meeting December 21, 2016 A meeting of the EDAC was held on Wednesday, December 21, 2016 at 8:00 a.m. in the Parker Room of the Town Office Building at 1625 Mass Ave. Members Present: Narain Bhatia, George Burnell, Rick DeAngelis, Tom Dusel, Kevin McGuire, John McWeeney, David Pronchick, Larry Smith, Sig Tullmann Staff Present: Dave Cannon, Melisa Tintocalis, Megan Zammuto Liasons Present: Charles Hornig, Peter Kelley, Joe Pato Members Absent: Lelani Foster, Bob Richards Approval of Minutes: The committee members voted to approve minutes from the November 2016 meeting. Hanscom Air Force Base Update: Tom Schluckebier presented several upcoming projects at the Hanscom Air Force Base. The aging schools on the base led to a project to build a new middle school and primary school. The schools have about 600 students and they are operated by Lincoln Public Schools. The projects are expected to be completed in 2018. The base is working to build their own pipe line, and two old dormitories are being reconstructed. The Vandenberg gate is being redesigned as a safe entrance to inspect trucks and check in visitors. Surrounding land gifted to Hanscom by Governor Deval Patrick will allow the base to design a useful entrance to the base. General Economic Development: Assistant Town Engineer, David Cannon updated the EDAC on current projects in the Hartwell area. The traffic signal at the jug handle is to be installed this spring, including a pedestrian phase with connecting sidewalks. The committee discussed the benefit to adding sidewalks to Drummerboy. A motion was made to recommend a sidewalk along, adjacent, or in the vicinity of the jug handle for pedestrian access from Drummer Boy Way to Bedford St. The motion was seconded and approved unanimously. A motion was made to support the signalization project. The motion was seconded and approved unanimously. David Cannon continued his update with the drawings showing two potential solutions to the Maguire and Hartwell intersection. One would include signalization, and the other would feature a roundabout. th David will present both designs to the Selectmen on January 9. The committee discussed both options, and expressed interest in learning more about each design. Commercial Zoning Expansion Discussion Updates : Charles Hornig outlined the additional buildout potential for sites in the CRO district. He explained that the Planning Board wanted to keep the fast food use by special permit only in the CRO. The committee discussed the additional buildout potential and included more information about various sites. Committee members expressed the limited potential with the increase to .35 FAR. Increasing the FAR anywhere between .35 and .9 would not bring any value to the area, according to a study done that analyzed the area. A motion was made to strongly endorse the CRO expansion proposal and recommend the inclusion of the fast food component by right, which does not include drive-through windows. This motion was seconded and approved unanimously. Other Business: Melisa Tintocalis updated the committee on a recent meeting with Town staff, planning board representatives and owners of the BSC site. Property owners were interested in learning what type of development the Town would like to see in that area. There was not a strong consensus, and there will be more meetings in the future to consider zoning changes for this area. Currently the developer is considering a mixed use development including residential studio units, as well as office and retail. Adjournment: The meeting adjourned at 9:50 a.m. Next Meeting: January 18, 2017 Approved on: January 18, 2017