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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1984-03-15-CRC-min RECEIVED SELECTMEN CENTER REVITALIZATION COMMITTEE MEETING I' 'tf t 1984 March 15, 1984 The Center Revitalization Committee (CRC) met on Thursday, March 15, at 12 Noon in the Selectmen' s Meeting Room in the Town Office Building Present from the CRC were Margery Battin (chair) , Joseph Trani , Laura Nichols , John Powell, Karsten Sorensen, David Wells , Robert Sacco , and Jacqui Bateson Present from the Town were Wal- ter Tonaszuck, Robert Bowyer, Captain James Lima, and Robert Hutchinson Also attending were Tim Wege (Chamber of Commerce) , Angela Frick (MAPC) , and John Oberteuffer (Conservation Commission) Item 1 Mr Hutchinson went over his report (dated 3/15) with the committee on the proposed attendent parking program He said that since we cannot use anticipated revenues to fund the project that we would, theoretically, be talking about a $10 ,000 deficit for the first year, depending on how costs for DPW & Police services are allocated He suggested that we go forward and receive pro- posals . Although it was suggested that capital costs could be reduced by using 1/2 of the lot (closest to Station Way) , it was the con- sensus of the committee that we want to use the entire lot but, alternative plans will be considered Dave Wells asked about possible risks Will the lot be used? (This relates back to the question of what is the actual deficit?) Wells also asked about the procedure for raising the parking fees and was told that this could happen at anytime since the decision would be up to the Selectmen Mr . Tonaszuck advised the committee that sewer construction in August , in the Meriam Street Lot , could put a damper on our plans for attended parking John Oberteuffer pointed out that the attended parking could actually help to minimize the impact of the sewer construction on the parking situation Captain Lima asked if the Town could have the right to review the applicants for the attendent positions Mr Hutchinson advised that this can be written into the proposal At Mrs Battin's request , John Oberteuffer will make a pre- sentation to the Selectmen at Monday night 's meeting Mr Hutchinson suggested that while we 'll look at contract vs lease he still thought that contract would be the best way to go Sacco raised the issue of our obligation to plow the lot at a certain time Mr Tonaszuck pointed out that as a matter of course that lot is plowed first thing in the morning (if it is a nightime storm) or after the lot clears out (if it is a daytime storm) A) rt�ti Item 2 Jack Powell made a proposal that the Chamber and the Town jointly do a parking accumulation study to find out exactly what the deficit is and where the problems areas are Tim Wege explained that such a study would involve segmenting the Center which would enable us to target solutions to specific problem areas He ad- vised that a professional consulting firm should be hired, their job would include doing an extensive field study Wege estimated that the cost would be between S8 ,500 to S15,000 The Chamber would ask the Town to contribute the lesser of $5,000 or 50% of the total cost Mrs Battin wondered if asking Town Meeting to support such a study would jeopardize our attended parking proposal(since normally a study would be done first , not in conjunction with implementing a new parking plan) Mrs Battin suggested that the study should be postponed until next year when, at that time , it could be used to judge the effectiveness of the attended parking Wege suggested that the study needs to be done during a time that is representative of the actual parking demand (Spring or Fall) It ws suggested that if our aim was to identify specific problem areas , this could be done by taking aerial photographs . This would have to be done in the Spring or Fall when the leaves are off the trees Laura Nichols pointed out that right now, through deduction, one could figure out where the shortages are She still felt that a study would be useful Wege questioned if the study should be done first Jack Powell said that it is not the intent of the Chamber 's proposal to delay the attended parking program He agreed that it would be useful to do such a study in the Fall to measure the effectiveness of the attended parking program Mr. Bowyer said that such a study would be an excellent tool for fine-tuning Bowyer said that a similar study done in 1974 by the LWV was not of much value today because the ground rules changed with the implementation of the parking program Karsten Sorensen still thought that aerial photos would be the best way to achieve desired information Mr Tonaszuck and Captain Lima agreed Captain Lima thought that we should give this idea serious thought since it was more economical Mr Bowyer advised the committee that there are different levels of infor- mation, available at different costs , that one could explore Mrs Frick told the committee that MAPC started to do parking studies on various towns She thought that they might be able to give us some help Mrs Battin suggested that Tim Wege sit down with Town staff and go over exactly what the Chamber is proposing and bring it back to the CRC at a future date (The warrant article is broad enough to cover such a study should we decide to proceed Item 3 The minutes of the last meeting were approved as submitted Item 4 Mrs Battin stated that , presumedly, the CRC should be taking a stand on the proposed zoning articles submitted by the Planning Board. Mr Sacco asked how the Town intends to police changes in usage that would require additional parking Mr Bowyer said that a change in use could conceivably require some sort of permit (electrical , building, etc ) and prior to issuing such a permit the Town would make sure that the business complied with the park- ing regulations If they could not meet the requirement then it would be treated as a zoning violation and they would not be issued the necessary permit(s) Mr Sacco asked if the Town would then have the capability to tell a landlord who he could or could not rent to Karsten Sorensen said that would be the case , as it is now in terms of restaurants Jacqui Bateson asked if these articles were , indeed, capping the Center. Mr Sorensen suggested that there is flexibility for a small amount of growth Bateson asked exactly how much(5%, 10%) and by what means this growth could be achieved (where is there available space to put parking on in order to meet the parking requirements?) Mr Bowyer said that there are some locations in Town that have excess parking which could be leased out , long- term, to potential developers Mr Sorensen said there are houses on Wallis Court that if torn down could be turned into parking lots It was pointed out that this was tried by the developer of Lexington Square who failed to obtain Historic District Commission approval Mrs Battin asked what would happen if unbridled growth was allowed Tim Wege suggested that the Chamber is not in favor of unbridled growth He indicated that the Chamber is advocating maintaining the present ratios that now exist in terms of building to lot density and shared responsibility for parking. Mrs Nichols stated that the intent of the zoning articles was to address Town Meeting's request that the Planning Board create zoning regulations to assure that there be no future net loss of parking Bateson asked what an effective cap would mean to Lexington Center Would we be forcing small retailers out by driving up rents because of limiting supply? Would-that-pave the way for more Per- sonal Service firms and high-priced specialty stores which would be contrary to the desires of Lexington residents? Bateson pointed out that caps are rare and questioned why the Town was resorting to such a measure , haveall the implications been explored? Dave Wells asked about the replacement of older buildings Joe Trani asked about second floor retail space Mr Bowyer point- ed out that retail space could be located on second floors with a lesser requirement than office space . Mr Bowyer said that older buildings could be torn down and replaced to their exact size provided that there was no change in use There was some confusion as to the article really meant that a building could be intentionally destroyed and still be replaced to exact size Some committee mem- bers said they had interpeted this differently It was suggested that the word destroy be clarified Mr Bowyer told the committee that the key to expanding parking is creativity and whatever we do in the future is going to be more expensive because there aren't going to be anymore streets built He said that we haven't thought in terms of other solutions(decks , garages , etc ) but somewhere down the line we will have to think about these things . Bateson said she would not feel comfortable about making a recommendation to the Selectmen on these articles because she felt there were too many unanswered questions about their implications Jack Powell said he would feel better if the creative options outlined by Mr Bowyer had been explored Tim Wege said he still felt the CRC should issue a recommendation Karsten Sorensen said that although he had uncertainties about the articles implications if passed, he was more worried about the implications if they didn't pass J Bateson asked about the possibility of indefinate postponement with a one year moratorium K Sorensen explained that this would not prevent developers , who had already brought their plans to the Town for approval,- from building Dave Wells made a motion that the CRC recommend approval of Article 17 Four in favor(Battin, Nichols , Sorensen, Wells) , three opposed(Powell , Trani , Sacco) , Bateson abstained Karsten Sorensen made a motion that the CRC recommend approval of article 16 Three in favor(Battin, Nichols , Sorensen) , five opposed (Bateson, Powell , Trani , Sacco , Wells) Mrs . Battin will offer explanation to the Selectmen on the majority vote on Article 17 and the minority vote on article 16 Mr Sacco will outline the reverse to the Selectmen The meeting adjourned at 2 06p .m. Respectfully uiB "//l1Pra. �aJ Next Meeting Thursday, March 29, 1984 at 1 OOp m (Note time change)