The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink About1969-11-11-LCSR-min.pdf LEXINGTON COMMISSION ON SUBURBAN RESPONSIBILITY 11 November 69 NEXT MEETING 2 December 1969, 7 30 P M. , Muzzey JHS No meeting 16 December A meeting of the Commission was held on 11 November 69 at the Visitors Center at 7 30 P M. present were Armstrong, Bernier, Christensen, Clarke , Conroy , Earsy , Graham, Greele , Lundberg, Riffin, Rooney and Skov Also present were Morris Linaman, Bonnie Jones and Eric Clarke Mr Graham placed on the table two housing proposals recently HOUSING received by the Planning Board ; he asked fAr LCSR comment North St at Adams St. Stevens 24 to 30 units, all 2-bedroom, in S buildings, 55,000 square feet Mr Stevens is ''willing to consider" 20% subsidized housing Maple St next to Emerson Gardens Stoico Condominium 209 3-4-bedroom units, tS to 10 per acre , $25,000430,000 (moderate income ) Asked to consider subsidized housing, developer pro- vided a rendering showing one possibility for 62 subsidized :units of 1 and 2 bedrooms, in small clusters among the 147 typical units LCSR members were "interested" in the Stoico proposal They felt that no re-zoning should be considered for apartments without provision for some subsidized housing Mr Graham then led a discussion of the draft report of the Planning Board on plans for sibsidizied housing in Lexington MA * After extensive dialogue, the following areas of consensus emerged The LCSR applauds cooperation of the Planninc 3oard with the Housing Authority and the Interfaith Housing Corporation The LCSR encourages private developers of sLbs _dized housing The Planning Board should re-study the Metcalf and Eddy Report and prepare a new policy statement on mulittu e housing Planning Board proposals for the 1970 Town atarrant should provide Guidelines for a program by the Housing luthority Guidelines fora program by the Interfaiti; Housing Corporation Guidelines for the Board of Appeals to use as a yardstick in judging Chapter 774 proposals These should include Text changes only , with reference t . RM zones, addressed to small, scattered projects No zoning map changes A summary of the discussion is appenden Drafts of two Articles for the 1970 Town Warrant, on JOBS contract compliance , were received from Mr Michelman They will be discussed at the next meeting The chairman announced the deadline of 15 December for the ANNUAL Annual Town Report material Mesdames Clarke and Christen- REPORT sen agreed to prepare copy The meeting adjourned at 11 00 2 M. Summary of Discussion Low-income housing would be provided through a lease arrangement with the Housing Authority using rent subsidies The ,HA is presently looking for land on which to build 40 units for the elderly If that works well, they will consider additional 40-unit Projects for other low-income people It was brought out that the HA now has 4100,000 at its disposal for rent supplements , but has no ,1,.1as for dispersing the money because no guidelines have come from the State Tax Title Lands It is understood that the Board CI' Selectmen will not offer these lands for sale without consulting the lanning Board A viable proposal for a policy with respect to conve7ance of tax title lands to the HA or the Interfaith Corporation werli be useful LOSR believes that in principle these lands sho , _( be reserved for subsidized housing Scattered Sites are felt to be more desirable th/.n concentrations They are , however, uneconomical for private ieve_Lopers under Chapter 774; construction costs are higher A develocer i caaght between minimum standards and a ceiling on subsidies The, m ;Y. t be good for rent subsidy housing under the Housing Authorit High rise buildings give the developer more exibility for economic us, to offset the high cost of land , or maze F,ssibie use of poor sites (e g , Meagherville , which is too wet in ptecee ) Zoning Amendments Zoning map changes cea be made by Town Meeting for each proposed project Or, as suggestec in the draft report, new zones could be established specifics:11 for subsidized housing devel- opments, with text changls in the b -law se ting forth deviations from limits set upon typical apartment developme.tts Town Meeting wo l .t .jrobeol. approve %k text changes, but not changes in the zoning map On points listed under VII , Page 12 1 20-foot front yard for semi-dc -achei hruses Not blanket relaxation of requirements; precede dimensions b ' as small as " Ivo signifi- cant increase in density invcived 2 Cluster development for apar ,ments 4 Twice the density of #1 5 There is enough land in Lexington for subsidized housing without going to six-story buildings (Ref Page 9, V, 1 )