HomeMy WebLinkAbout1973-08-07 RE: Planning Office for Urban Affairs (continued)
BOARD OF APPEALS HEARINGS
August 7, 1973
The five regular members of the Board of Appeals met in the Selectmen's
meeting room at 7:30 p m to continue the executive session (so-called),
which is open to the public, except that spectators cannot interrupt or dis-
rupt the procedures as the Board members discuss and deliberate in an attempt
to come to a decision on the petition of the request of the Planning Office
for Urban Affairs, Inc for a comprehensive permit under the provisions of
Chapter 40B, Sections 20-23, for the construction of sixteen town-house type
dwelling units upon approximately 97,801 sq ft of land located at 56 to 60
Worthen Road, said land being the northwesterly portion of Lot 9A on Map 57
of the Property Map of the Town of Lexington, made by James W Sewell Company,
Old Town, Maine Construction of this housing is proposed to be financed by
the Massachusetts Housing Finance Agency and it is intended that the dwelling
units will be made available to persons of low and moderate income, without
regard to age, eligible for federal or state subsidy programs
Notice of this date was posted on the bulletin board of the Town Clerk
and the Lexington Minuteman newspaper printed advice of the meeting in the
headlines on page 1
The Board had invited Mr Donald K Irwin, building inspector, to attend
to give the Board further information about BOCA versus the Lexington Build-
ing and Sign By-Law During a half hour questioning and according to a letter
he wrote to the Board and other materials in which he explained that BOCA is
an organization which has been working for several years to prepare a code
which will hopefully be accepted by towns, cities and states, a roam full of
people including a reporter from the Lexington Minute Man Publications listened
If BOCA is accepted it would succeed the Lexington Building Code Mr Irwin
said that in some cases BOCA is less strict than our Lexington Code He repeated
that he could give no recommendations to the Board in the case of these 16 units
until working drawings and specifications were prepared for his study Mr Irwin
could offer no guarantee that commission members would not come out with some-
thing entirely different then the BOCA code which the Planning Office (petitioner)
said they would follow (see file folder for letter and other materials)
The Chairman read a letter from Palmer and Dodge, legal counsel for the town
A review of all the testimony and supporting documents presented at the July 31
hearing was carefully done All material including a transcript are in the
petitioner's folder in the Board of Appeals' office
Finally it was moved and seconded, by Mr Sheldon and Mr Brodhead that the
petition be granted with the reservation that if the vote were favorable that
conditions could be imposed if deemed necessary After a short discussion the
motion was lost by a vote of 2 to 3, those in favor being Mr Sheldon and Mr
Brodhead, those opposed being Mrs Morey and Messrs Wadsworth and Nickerson
(see the final Denial issued for details of findings and reasons for denial)
Respectfully submitted,
Evelyn F Cole, Clerk