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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1979-01-31-BOS-min '9 31s SPECIAL SELECTMEN'S MEETING January 31, 1979 A special meeting of the Board of Selectmen was held in Estabrook Hall at 7 30 p m. and adjourned to Cary Memorial Hall at 8 15 p m. on Wednesday, January 31, 1979 Chairman Battin, Mr. Busa, Mrs Miley, Mr Kent and Mr Crain; Mr Hutchinson, Town Manager; Mrs Banks, Assistant to the Town Manager; Mrs McCurdy, Executive Clerk, were present Also present were members of the Lexington Housing Authority, Mrs Shunney, Chairman, Mr Sullivan, Mr Rooney, Mr Spencer, Mr Beamon Chairman Battin opened the hearing on scattered sites and said Scattered that the purpose is to help the Board of Selectmen determine which Sites tax title lots to transfer to the Housing Authority for scattered Hearing sites purposes She read the following request, dated January 1, 1979, from the Housing Authority "The Lexington Housing Authority duly created pursuant to the authority of the Constitution and Statutes of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, including, particularly, Chapter 121B, duly organized on the 10th day of February 1964 and, since the date of its organiza- tion, has continued to exist without interruption in the performance of its public corporate purposes, hereby petitions the Board of Selectmen of the Town of Lexington to convey to said Authority the following properties Lot 145 Tarbell; Lot 24 Valleyfield; Lot 50 Grapevine; Lot 204 Balfour; Lot 31 Earl at Ash; Lots 36, 37 Garfield; Lots 422, 423, 424 Avon; Lot 80 Rangeway; Lot 82 Skyview; Lot 63 Moreland at Buckman; Lot 45 Avon; Lot 60 Marrett Road; Lot 33 Earl at Ward; Lot 21 Grassland; Lot 14 Rockville at Davis; Lots 48A, 49A Wood at Alpine; Lots 27, 28, 32 Alpine; Lots 184, 185 Reed; Lot 161 Spring Street, and the three lots LHA Site Numbers 4, 24 and 26 known as a parcel of land located on the northerly side of North Street Sites 8 and 9, Assessors' map 59, Lots 56B and 56C are now owned by the Authority and therefore require no action under this petition by the Board of Selectmen The Authority will construct or cause to be constructed on these sites 25 single family dwellings for families of low income pursuant to the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development Contract Reservation Mass 067-001 dated Sept 16, 1977; Regulations 7417 1, dated March, 1977; pursuant to Sections 4 and 5 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 and the Cooperation Agreement entered into the 23rd day of May, 1977 by and between the Lexington Housing Authority and the Town of Lexington " Chairman Battin said that notices of the hearing were sent to the abutters by the Town Manager She outlined the procedure to be followed by the .Selectmen and Housing Authority, and announced that a final decision would be made by the Board of Selectmen on 111 February 5, 1979 TT" Special Selectmen's Meeting - 2 - January 31, 1979 Mr Spencer of the Housing Authority gave the background information. Article 87 of 1970 created RH subsidized housing zone; Article g$ of 1970 authorized the Planning Board to engage a consultant to do a study on housing needs; in 1971, unsuccessful attempts were made at two Town Meetings to zone land in Meagherville for subsidized housing and then the Lexington Commission on Suburban Responsibilities undertook a study on housing needs; Article 99 of 1972 gave the Housing Authority $500 to develop a scattered sites' plan; Article 83 of 1972 was an authorization to the Selectmen to sell and convey to any public agency non-profit corporation or cooperative certain lots within the town Article 78 of 1974 appropriated $21,000 seed money to implement the scattered sites program Since that time, the Housing Authority has applied for funding from state and federal agencies and finally in September, 1977 did receive a grant from HUD to construct 25 homes for low and moderate income families To develop a plan, the Authority engaged Hammer, Keefer and Todd and Mr William Hammer, a Lexington resident, is our principal contact within that firm. For civil engin- eering, we relied upon Roger Corbin of Joseph Moore Co of Bedford, and legal support comes from Attorney William Dailey and Attorney Frederic DeAngelis These people helped develop a packet and our concerns were for the design of the units and compatibility with the neighborhoods and the town Mr Hammer said that the proposal is well done and is particularly favorable to the natural contour of the lands Of the 25 sites, there are only two which will require a variance and we have two that will have to go to the Conservation Commission for wetlands hearings Slides were shown of all the lots and Mr Hammer described the location of the house on the site At 8.15 p.m , the Selectmen and the Housing Authority agreed to adjourn to Cary Hall in order to accommodate the overflow of abutters and residents present at the hearing Chairman Battin continued the hearing and announced that each lot would be discussed Mr Ephraim Weiss, Lowell Street, requested that Assessors' maps be made available, showing the complete site, the location of streets and neighborhoods Mrs Shunney explained that the purpose of the hearing was to ask the Selectmen to turn these lots over to the Housing Authority and it was their feeling that the people present this evening would be abutters and therefore familiar with the houses and the streets People who were interested had come to the Housing Authority office and they did work with them from the Assessors' maps Those maps were not available tonight but anyone interested has the opportunity to go to the Housing Authority office or the Board of Assessors for additional information I 'fy7 Special Selectmen's Meeting - 3 - January 31, 1979 Chairman Battin read each lot listed on the Housing Authority's request Site #1, Map 13, Lot 145 Tarbell Avenue No comments or statements; no one in favor or opposition Site #3, Map 24, Lot 24 Valleyfield Street Site #19, Map 24, Lot 21 Grassland Street Mrs Mary Masciulli, 59 Valleyfield Street; Mr George Kahaly, 54 Grassland Street; Mrs Dolan, 68 Grassland Street were concerned about the existing problem of flooding and the effect iof news construction in the area, plus a brook which has never been dug out Mr Hammer said that, to his knowledge, the Valleyfield site is not in a wetlands area; if it is, we will have to go to Conservation There is a headwall at the lower left with a culvert to drain the water through Now, there is a catch basin in the street for the water and perhaps Public Works could take a look at it Mrs Susan Solomon, Conservation Commission, said that Lot 21 Grassland Street will come to Conservation for a wetlands hearing and we will respond on Lot 24 Valleyfield Street to see if any restrictions should be put on Site #4 North Street No comments or statements; no one in favor or opposition Site #5, Map 32, Lot 50 Grapevine Avenue Site #17, Map 32, Lot 60 Marrett Road Mr Peter Agnes; Mr and Mrs George Nichols, 303 Marrett Road, expressed their concern, (1) Not tax title lots-acquired by the town for installation of drain and sewer; (2) would homes be compatible with neighborhood, (3) effect of surface water on abutters; (4) would banking be cut down? Mr Hammer replied that the design and color of house would be compatible with neighborhood; the construction wouldn't worsen the existing situation, and he couldn't answer on whether the banking would be cut down The Board of Selectmen agreed to check the purpose for which the above lots were acquired by the town Site #7, Map 58, Lot 204 Balfour Street Mr Hammer said that this will require a variance Mr Benjamin Golini, 35 Balfour Street, said that he has tried for years to buy this lot He read a letter from the Planning Board dated January 4, 1968, "After due consideration, the Planning Board recommends against the sale of this tax title lot for the purpose of re-subdivision and the creation of an additional substandard building lot The Planning Board would be in favor of conveying this tax title lot to one or both of 11/ the adjacent owners for a nominal sum, with a restriction against theuse of this land for additional houses Subsequent to this letter, the Planning Board indicated that this is a substandard lot and could not be built upon, now, we find that this lot will be built upon He was opposed to this lot and all other lots which are substandard, and he asked anyone else in opposition to stand A majority of the audience stood up There was no one in favor y�98 Special Selectmen's Meeting - 4 - January 31, 1979 Site #10, Map 72, Lot 31 Earl at Ash Streets Site #11, Map 72, Lots 36 and 37 Garfield Street Mrs Eleanor Yasaitis, 20 Ward Street; Mr Bruce Neale, Ward St spoke of high concentration of low and moderate income housing in the area Mr Neale spoke on the change in the water table and the effect on his abutting property by new construction RitaHe1commented that his2s2 mootherddwas unable to purchase the lots Site iLt -BM and 716C;'orMap479,4Lota4D AvonA treetreet Mr David Lavender, 20 Avon Street, said that these homes will double the population on the street He did not speak in favor or in opposition but was concerned about Garfield, Ward and Ash Streets, which are unaccepted streets The traffic, no matter how light, will become an impossible situation; will the town upgrade the streets? Mr Hammer said that the agreement with the town is to improve all unaccepted ways in conformance with town engineering standards; it will be a gravel road Site #13, Map 90, Lot 80 Rangeway Mr Hammer said that this lot will require a variance Mr Riley Hayford, 32 James Street, was in opposition because of the proximity of the houses and the grade No one else commented or was in in favor or in opposition Site #14, Map 90, Lot 84 Skyview Road Mrs Elaine Marcus, 32 Skyview Road, asked about the location of the house Her neighbor had tried to buy the lot and had been told by the town that it was not a buildable lot Chairman Battin said that the Selectmen will note her comment, and Mr Hammer explained the site and location of the house Site #15, Map 15, Lot 63 Moreland Avenue at Buckman Drive No comments; no one present in favor or in opposition Site #20, Map 15, Lot 14 Rockville Ave at Davis Road No comments; no one present in favor or in opposition Site #21, Map 59, Lots 48A and 49A Wood Street at Alpine Street Site #22, Map 59, Lots 27, 28, 32 Alpine Street Mr Donald Lindsay, 47 Wood Street, questioned whether considera- tion had ever been given to traffic access for these lots by going through Haywood Street (paper street) to Fairview Street instead of Alpine Street and thence to Wood Street? Mr Hammer replied that the cost would be prohibitive; it was considered and rejected I Selectmen's Meeting - 5 - January 31, 1979 Site #23, Map 72, lots 184 and 185 Reed Street Mr Harry Mackay, 122 Reed Street, stated that one is a 24 ft lot and the other is 25 ft Mr Hammer explained that there was an error on the plan and the combined lots would be 50 feet He suggested that Mr Mackay talk with Mr Scanlon for clarification of the plan Mr Scanlon said that title to Lot 184 is held by the town and Lot 185 was owned by the Curtin Realty The question was raised on how the town acquired the lot from Curtin, and Mr Hutchinson explained that the Board of Select- men had received a request from the Housing Authority for a transfer of land to Mr Curtin in order to come up with a buildable lot on Reed Street to be considered for scattered site housing That proposal was considered by the Board of Selectmen and the transfer was authorized Mr Curtin is proposing to build another house on Spring Street We had independent appraisal of values and it was a financially solvent thing for the town He added that he would pursue the reference to the 49 ft for both lots Site #25, Map 25, Lot 161 Spring Street Mrs A Flynn, 35 Spring Street, said that there was a severe water problem with that lot In 1972, you passed an order not to have more than 30,000 sq ft lot for this purpose; this particular lot has more Mr Hammer said that the rear of the lot is in wetlands zone and will have to go to Conservation Mr Hutchinson added that Town Counsel has prepared a provision for Town Meeting approval of more than 30,000 sq ft ; an en- gineering report will be requested for that,lot In response to the question of the responsibility, Mrs Shunney responded that the Housing Authority will do the reviewing and will administer the program; the Authority will decide who will go into the sites, and we do have the right to have Lexington people first Chairman Battin declared the hearing closed Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adjourn at 10: 25 p.m A true record, Attest Executive Clerk, Selectmen 1