HomeMy WebLinkAbout2003-05-06-DAC-min.pdf LEXINGTON DESIGN ADVISORY COMMITTEE
The Minutes
May 6, 2003 Meeting
Present:
Steve Hurley(Chairman), Betsy Whitman, Karen Bechtel, John Frey, Alenka Slezak, Olga Voronina (Scribe)
The meeting was convened at 8:05PM.
• April meeting minutes were approved.
Presentations/Reviews
Alexandria Research Technology Center-35 Hartwell Avenue(former FedEx building)
Randy Lewis, architect
Tom Andrews, Alexandria vice-president
Building plans and elevations were presented for the proposed alterations. The FAR for the existing
building is already over the limit. Mixed use is envisioned—30%office space, 70% bio labs.
The building will be divided into three tenant areas. Details:
o Add a second entrance in the rear
o Add doors with terraces to the front yard
o New anodized aluminum door canopies installed at the second floor height
o New windows—silver-colored aluminum frames, bronze-tinted blue glass(matching the other
buildings that Alexandria owns, e.g. 29 Hartwell Ave.)
o New screen on the roof for hiding bio-lab equipment, materials to match windows
o Parking lot improvements: green islands in the parking lot, better landscaping next to the building
o Lighting to match 29 Hartwell Avenue
( o Signage—use the standard aluminum Alexandria signage, already approved for 29 Hartwell
o Note: No landscaping, lighting and signage drawings were actually presented
DAC respectfully requested that Alexandria submits missing landscaping and lighting plans to DAC
before ZBA hearing.
Partners for Life—8B Camelia Place
Dennis Tremblay, building owner
Thomas Rest, busness owner
Proposed wall-mounted projecting sign at the side of the building close to bike path. Sign is double-
faced, non-illuminated, cream background color blue-green lettering.
DAC agreed with the proposed location and size of the sign (if Zoning by Law allows).
DAC recommended:
o Center the sign between the edge of the existing window and the corner of the building near bike
path
o Place the name of the business using vinyl lettering on the inside of the glass door to help the
customers with identifying the entrance to the business(the Sherwin-Williams side).
o Lettering on the projecting sign should be green (match the color of the existing exterior door trim)
Walgreen's—60 Bedford Street
Richard Hunt, architect
Second review by DAC
Parking and Site
Existing Walgreen's parking lot has 162 standard perking spaces+ 5 handicap-accessible spaces
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Required by Zoning by-law: 75 regular spaces+ 5 handicap-accessible spaces(the calculation includes
Starbacks and the liquor store)
Proposed: 103 regular spaces+ 5 handicap-accessible spaces—well within the limits
Site Drainage-the grade will be changed to drain water towards an existing catch basin
Snow Removal snow will be piled-up on the extra parking spaces, not in the landscaped areas
Demolay-Walgreen's is said to be willing to continue its relations with Demolay Christmas tree selling
business
DAC recommended:
o Site Drainage a catch basin at the driveway to Bedford Street needs to be checked and
unclogged
o Elevations-change the color of a metal patch on the west elevation for better tie with the color of
the elevation (brick)
o Good Will Trailer-relocate the trailer to the old (current)location, at north-west corner of the
property
o Driveways-do not paint lines or arrows on the ground at entrance/exit driveways
Lighting
DAC recommended:
o Use a flat lens instead of a globe lens with the proposed exterior lighting fixtures in accordance
with the Zoning by Law for cut-off fixtures
o Remove the existing sodium vapor light fixtures off the west side of the building to avoid light
spilling. Replace with new Y-1 fixtures(as shown in the legend for the lighting plans).
DAC respectfully requested to submit the catalogue cuts and lamp sizes for the recessed lights in the
canopies
Landscaping
Previous DAC recommendation to reduce the variety of planting materials was addressed. The proposed
wrote iron fence was removed.
DAC recommended:
o Use red maples for the four trees shown in islands in the middle of the parking lot
o Move the evergreens off the edge of the curb at the parking lot, placing the plants on the lawn
strip. Use plant species that are of a more resilient type.Yews are good. Possible alternative
would be blue hallow.
o Bushes around the ATM machine should be kept low, use dwarf varieties
Signage
Walgreen's proposed a freestanding sign located at the corner of Bedford Street and Worthen Road,
turned diagonally towards the intersection. After reconsideration, the DAC felt that this freestanding sign
is redundant and is not needed at all. This was a change of opinion from the previous meeting. Stop&
Shop across the street does not have such freestanding sign either
Sign for ATM will be raised up(working with the bank)—DAC agreed. DAC commented on 'no paper
signs in the windows' policy
Walgreen's proposed to add a new internally lighted red 'Walgreen's' sign to the Worthen Road side of
the building.
DAC recommended:
o Reduce the sign"Walgreen's' sign to the Worthen Road from 20' to 16-9" Make it exterior lit
instead of interior Even better alternative: follow the example of Stop&Shop across the street
that has all white, non-illuminated sign on the Worthen Road side.
o The existing Walgreen's backlit sign in front(along Bedford Street) is OK as a pre-existing
condition. Stop &Shop also has one similar sign.
o The newly proposed internally lit red circle in the gable should not be illuminated, neither
internally or externally
o All individual subordinate signs(e.g. 'Pharmacy" 'One Hour Photo' etc.)should not have
individual lights. Use dark brown lettering for all subordinate signs.
The next DAC meeting is on Tuesday, June 3rd 2093, at 8:00 PM in Room 111
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