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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1942-02-131 C I I PLANNTNa BOARD TMARTAT!= February 13, 1942 A public hearing was held by the Planning Board in the Selectmen's Room of the Town Office Building on Friday, February 13, 1942 at 7:45 P. M. Messrs. Greeley, Kimball, Ellis and Newhall were present. The Chairman, Mr. Greeley, declared the hearing open and stated that it was being held in connection with the appoint- ment of alternate members to the Board of Appeals as set forth in the notice which appeared in the January 29th issue of the Lexington Minute Man as follows: "That the Lexington Zoning By -Law be amended by changing "Section 16" to read as follows: Section 16. There shall be a Board of Appeals of five members who shall be appointed by the Selectmen for terms of five years each, the term of one appointee to expire each year. The Selectmen shall also appoint in like manner four associate members of the Board of Appeals, one or more of whom may be designated by the Selectmen from time to time to take the place of a regular member or members of the Board of Appeals as to cases arising under this by-law in ce.sP of vacancy, inability to act or interest." He asked if anyone wished to be heard in favor of the change. Mr. Kimball, representing the Board of Appeals, said that in the past they had found the majority of appeals both of Building and Zoning By -Law changes came at the time of year when vacations, business activities, etc., were at the highest point and it has been found difficult to obtain, in all cases, a full Board even with two alternate members. He said that they feel that it is advisable to have a full Board at their meeting and, as the Enabling Act permitted more than two alternates, they believed that the proposed amendment to in- crease the number of alternates to four was sound and hoped that it would be supported by the Town. Mr. Greeley asked if anyone else wished to be heard in favor or in opposition, and as no one appeared the hearing was declared closed at 7:50 P. M. Respectfully submitted, Clerk PLANNING BOARD HEARING ' February 13, 1942 A public hearing was held in the Selectmen's Room of the Town Office Building at 0:00 P. M. on Friday, February 13, 1942 upon the initiation of the Planning Board to amend the Lexington Zoning By -Law and Map as follows: "By changing under Section 3 (b) C.1 Districts, paragraphs 7 and 8, which now read: "7. Upon the northerly side of Massachusetts Avenue beginning at Vine Brook and extending westerly to the easterly line of Merriam Street, throughout its length extending northerly to the Railroad property" and "8. Upon the westerly side of Massachusetts Avenue beginning at the northerly line of Winthrop Road and extending northerly to a point opposite the southerly line of Merriam Street and of a depth of 100 feet from the westerly line of Massachusetts Avenue throughout" to read as follows: - 7. Upon the easterly side of Massachusetts ' Avenue beginning at a point southerly and distant 164 feet from the center line of Grant Street and extending northerly to the southerly line of Merriam Street, throughout its length extending easterly to the Railroad property. 8. Upon the westerly side of Massachusetts Avenue beginning at a point northerly and distant 568 feet from the center line of Winthrop Road and extending northerly to a point opposite the southerly line of Merriam Street and of a depth throughout of 100 feet from 'the westerly line of Massachusetts Avenue." Messrs. Greeley, Kimball, Ellis and Newhall were present. Mr. Greeley, the Chairman, declared the hearing open and the clerk, Mr. Newhall, read the above notice of the hearing which appeared in the January 29th, 1942 issue of the Lexington Minute Man., Mr. Greeley explained that the amendment to change the area mentioned in the notice was part of a plan made by the Planning Board which applied to both sides of the street, and that part of ' the plan had been voted on by the citizens previously and that the remainder of the plan was to be considered at this hearing. Mr. Greeley then asked if anyone wished to speak in favor of the change. Mr. Eugene Morgan stated that he was a member of the Standing Committee of the Baptish Church and that they anti- cipated building a new church and felt that it would be much , better to have the residential zone created at that location, rather than have the possibility of stores being erected which would be a detriment to the proposed church. He said that the new church would be of Georgian design, similar to the Town Office and Cary Memorial Buildings, and presented a rendering and blueprint of the plan. Mr. Clyde B. Crozier said that he was a new resident in Lexington and asked for an explanation of the Zoning Law. This explanation was given him by Mr. Greeley. Mr. Kimball explained that there were two different para- graphs referred to in the change of the By -Law, - One covering this side of the Avenue (Town Office and the land which was formerly business) and the other covering the side (which is proposed for change into a residential area), and that the descriptions in the two paragraphs differed. The general alignment is "north" and "South" so that the wording is to be changed to make both para- graphs.read alike. He also stated that a fixed point had been substituted for "Vine Brook" on the westerly side of the street and the line has been fixed.as a given number of feet from the center line of Winthrop Road to the southerly side of the Thivierge Property. Mr. Greeley said that there was no change of use - just a change of text. Mr. Crozier then said that he was in favor of the change. Mr. Crozier, Sr., Mr. Wilbur H. Abbott, and Mr. Howard A. Patterson stated that they were in favor of the change: Mr. Theodore A. Custance stated that he also was in favor of the change as he is very much interested in the development of the westerly side of Massachusetts Avenue. He expressed regret that it had ever been made into a business zone and felt that the entire district should be residential as far as Wallis Court. He said that he thought the type of property on that side of Massachusetts Avenue was suited for multiple family dwellings and looked with favor on a change to an R 3 district. He again stated that he was in favor of the area being changed from a business zone to residential with the reservation that he hoped when the proper time came the Town would look with favor on changing it to an R 3 district as far as Wallis Court. The Clerk read a letter from Reverend Crawford 0. Smith of the Baptist Church declaring that he was in favor of the change. Mr. Greeley then asked if there was anyone else in favor of the change, and as no one appeared he asked to hear from the opposition. Mrs. Edgar Thivierge said that she thought the district should be left as a business zone, particularly as far as her property was concerned. Mr. Kimball explained to her that the change would not ' affect her property and that it would still remain in the business zone, as the change affected only the area from the cneter line of Winthrop Road for a distance of 5681, and would stop at the southerly line of her property. Mr. Greeley asked if she wanted to be recorded as appearing in opposition to the change and she replied in the negative. Mrs. Virginia Leavitt said that she was not appearing in opposition to the proposed change, but was interested in learning whether or not there would be a change in the amount of takes she would have to pay if her property was put in a resi- dential zone. Mr. Greeley informed her that the Board of Assessors set the tax valuation and that he could not state whether or not there would be a change, but that the Board of Assessors now assess the property on that side of the street at resi- dential valuations. He said that she could contact the Assessors to obtain information about the tax rate. Mrs. Leavitt asked if there would be a definite decision made on the change this evening. ' Mr. Greeley e xplained that this was only a hearing at which interested parties could give their opinion on a change of this nature, and by so doing help the Planning Board in making a report to the Town Meeting, but that the citizens are the ones who actually decide whether or not a change will be made. Mr. Greeley asked if there were any other speakers in opposition and as there were none, the hearing was declared closed at 8:30 P. M. Respectfully submitted, i Uri Clerk