HomeMy WebLinkAbout1934-12-12PLANNING BOARD MEETING
December 12, 1934
A regular meting of the Planning Board was held in the
Conference Room of the Town Office Building on Wednesday, Deb -
ember 12th, at 7:45 P. M. Messrs. Duffy, Ellis, Greeley,
Kimball and Robinson were present.
The minutes of the November 23rd meeting were read and
accepted.
After discussion of Mr. Cosgrove's proposals for new naps,
the Clerk was instructed to ask Mr. Cosgrove to procure two blue -
line or black -line prints of the Clematis Brook area (expected
cost $12#00),, and ten 800 -scale maps of the Town (expected cost
$11.00). The Board also wished to suggest to Mr. Cosgrove that
more aeroplane photographs of the Town might be acquired at this
time.
A bill from the Clerk amounting to $1.70 for miscellaneous
expenses was -read and approved.
The Clerk reported that, pursuant to the suggestion of the
last meeting, 500 stamped envelopes had been bought at a cost of
$11.08.
Mr. Duffy made the following report from the Regional Board:
The Board had met with the Highway Commission, and partly with
their cooperation a bill had been drafted involving special right-
of-way and set -back control along the new highway. It was pointed
out that in the future a highway bill should include in its pre-
amble a dedication to purposes of scenic beauty and fast travel.
With such a dedication, extra control of abutting property might
easily and logically be assumed.
The proposed bill contained the following general pro-
visions: -
Section 1: limiting structures and property within 1001 of the Concord
highway to farm or residential uses, --not including
garages for more than one commercial vehicle, fruit, Highway
vegetable, or souvenir stands, restaurants,hotels,
filling stations, etc.
Section 2: forbidding the existance of billboards within 10000 of
the highway, if visible from it, and within 300+, if
larger than 251x121.
Section 3a: stating that Section 1 may not affect existing uses,
Section 3b: stating that Section 2 applies to all existing uses.
Section 4: putting variance and abatement powers under Department
of Public Works,
Section 5: assigning decisions in equity to Supreme Court,
Section 6: making the Bill similar in application to M ml6ipal
Zoning.
Section 7: providing that this bill shall not contradict existing
Municipal Zoning Laws.
Section S: granting to the Department of Public Works the control
' over all means of ingress and egress.
The Board voted to approve this Bill in substance, but
recommended strongly that the emphasis in Billboard restrictions
be lessened so as not to evoke too much antagonism to the bill from
the Billboard interests.
Meeting adjourned at 10:00 P.M. Respeettrully submitted,
Roland B. Greeley (Signed)
Clerk
REPORT OF THE LEXINGTON PLANNING BOARD
FOR THE YEAR 1934
The Planning Board wishes to acknowledge the distinctive ser-
vice rendered it, and the Town,.by Mr. C. Edward Glynn, who was
obliged to withdraw from the Planning Board in October, due to the
pressure of other business and public interests. A man who is thoro-
ughly familiar with the Town and its needs, who understands Town
Planning and the work of Town Planning Boards, and with whom it has
always been a great pleasure to work, Mr. Glynn has contributed
Immensely to the Board and to the Town in his 9-J years of service,
At a joint meeting of the Board of Selectmen and the Planning
Board, Mr. Lester F. Ellis, a long-time resident of the Town and
an engineer by profession, was unanimously appointed to fill the
vacancy caused by Kr. Glynn's resignation.
In the past year the Planning Board has held 25 regular meet-
ings, 3 joint meetings with other organizations, and 3 public hear-
ings. It has considered 9 specific amendments to the Zoning By -Law,
as well as many applications for zoning changes, especially changes
from R-1 to C-1Districts; it has given its opinion to the Board of
Survey on the location of 3 proposed streets, and has considered
several other questions of plotting and street location; it has
studied in considerable detail certain aspects of the drainage of
the Town; and it has put much time into considering what methods
could be used to protect the new Cambridge -Concord State Highway,
and other state highways that may in the future pass through the
Town.
At the Annual Town Meeting, in March, the Planning Board re-
ported on eight proposed amendments to the Zoning By -Law. Your of
these were indefinitely postponed, two were defeated and two were
passed. Those passed were:- a redraft of the section pertaining
to the Board of Appeals which was made advisable because of the
change in the State Statute; and the changing of Section 3 so that
the center business district on the north side of Mass. Avenue
extended east only as far as Vine Brook rather than to Fletcher
Avenue.
.'he zoning of Mass. Avenue in the vicinity of the Town
Buildings was brought up again at the special Town heeting in June,
but with no chan7es over what was done in March. The Planning
Board feels that the zoning of this area, as it now stands, is
better than it was a year ago, but still feels that the southern
side of mass. Avenue between'Sallis Court and Winthrop Road should
be changed from C-1 to R-1.
The Planning Board has met with the Town Engineer and with
the Arlington Planning Board on the subject of the future treat-
ment of the East Lexington F.eadows, The Board still feels that,
4n order to prevent costly and unsatisfactory building develop-