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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1955-11-07 IIPLANNING BOARD MEETING November 7, 1955 A regular meeting of the Planning Board was held in the Town Engineer' s Room, Town Office Building, on Monday, November 7, 1955 at 7:30 P.M. Chairman Adams, Messrs. Abbott, Grindle, Hathaway, Irwin and Jaquith were present. Mr. Snow, Planning Director, and the secretary were also present. Mr. Stevens was present from 9:15 to 10:20 P.M. The minutes of the meetings of September 26 and MINUTES October 3, 1955 were taken under consideration. After several minor corrections and revisions, it was moved by Mr. Grindle, seconded by Mr. Hathaway and unani- mously voted that the records be approved as corrected. At 7:50 P.M. the Chairman read a bill presented for payment: Samuel P. Snow, reimbursement for ex- BILL penses at Annual Conference of the Massachusetts Federation of Planning Boards, $6.46. It was moved by Mr. Hathaway, seconded by Mr. Grindle and unani- mously voted that the bill be paid as read. The Board next considered the draft of a letter in regard to the acquisition for recreation purposes BASKIN LAND of Lot 23 and 36 of Mr. Baskin's Wyman Road subdivi- FOR sion. The Recreation Committee was to meet later in RECREATION the evening to discuss the matter with the Board. If the Committee looked favorably upon the Board' s recom- mendat ion, it was decided to send the following letter to the Board of Selectmen. Board of Selectmen Town of Lexington Lexington ?3, Mass. Gentlemen: Reference is made to Land Court Plan 24306k, "Plan of Land in Lexington" by Miller and Nylander, dated April 26 and 28, 1953, filed in the Land Registration Office and dated May 7 and November 27, 1953. Mr. W. John Baskin has very generously offered to give Lot 36, as shown on the above plan, to the Town for use as a recreation area even though it is understood that a number of people wish to purchase the land for other uses. He has also offered to the Town Lot 23 as an access to and suggested parking area for Lot 36 al- though he has not committed himself as to whether or not Lot 23 would also be a gift. It is presumed that Mr. Baskin would like some small compensation for Lot 23, enough to cover the taxes he has been paying on it and perhaps also to pay for some of the street improve- ments logically charged against the lot. As part of its park and recreation study which is under preparation, this Board has investigated the value of this land for recreational development. Lot 36 con- tains approximately 7.6 acres and Trot 23 about 22,320 square feet. Test holes indicate the area to be covered with 6 to 18 inches of top soil over a a spbsoil of sand and gravel. Most of the tract slopes toward Route 128. While somewhat wet, an examination indicates that the land could be readily drained so that the upper two thirds could bd used as a playground and the lower por- tion used for ice skating. In the area bounded by Bedford, North Hancock, Bur- lington and Grove Streets and Route 128, there were- , as of January 1, 1955 - 327 families comprising 382 children and 770 adults 18 years of age or older. Of the children, 159 were of pre-school age, 148 of ele- mentary school age, and 43 and 32 in the junior and senior high school groups, respectively. These figures, particularly in lower age brackets, will no doubt show a substantial increase. There was only one family liv- ing on Wyman Road when the census was taken. 33 new homes have been or are in the process of being built on this street in addition to others in the vicinity. The only recreational facilities are those behind the Parker School on the other side of Bedford Street and Kineen Park on Burlington Street. These areas, al- ready inadequate to fill present needs, have to be shared with others in those respective neighborhoods. It seems evident that additional recreational facili- ties are badly needed in the general area. It is strongly recommended, therefore, that the Selectmen take such steps as are necessary to accept Mr. Baskints offer and to acquire the suggested sites. Respectfully yours, LEXINWTON PLANNING BOARD cc: Recreation Comm. by Alan G. Adams, Chairman The classification of expenditures, the amounts 1956 expended by the Board for the first ten months of 1955 BUDGET and the department estimates for 1956 were studied. It was decided to ask for the following appropriation. Clerk (Secretary) $ 500 Postage and Supplies 200 Equipment 150 Advertising 200 Maps, Blueprints, etc. 200 Printing 250 Association Dues 50 Professional Services 300 Preparation of Master Plan 1000 $3025 It was decided that the $250 for printing would be used for publishing the Board' s preliminary park and recreation plan now under preparation. At 8:30 the Board took under consideration the FORMS A following Form A applications for determination of planning board jurisdiction: #55-80, submitted on October 27, 1955 by Ethel C. Daley; tracing entitled "A Compiled Plan of Land in Lexington, Mass., " Scale 1" = 100' , dated Sept. 17, 1955, Miller and Nylander, C. E. ' s & Surveyors, Lex- ington, Mass. After some discussion it was decided to hold this plan until it could be discussed with Mr. Stevens when he joined the meeting. #55-86, submitted on November 7, 1955 by Moore Realty Trust; tracing entitled "Plan of Land in Lex- ington, Mass., " Scale 1 in. = 4,0 ft. , dated Oct. 8, 1955, Fred A. Joyce, Surveyor, Belmont, Mass. It was moved by Mr. Hathaway, seconded by Mr. Irwin and unanimously VO'iW: that thelan accompanying Form A applica- tion #55-86 be signed with the endorsement "Lexington Planning Board approval not re- quired under Subdivision Control Law". At 8:45 P.M. Mr. Snow reported on the annual meeting he attended of the Massachusetts Federation of Planning FEDERATION Boards. He brought each member of the Board a program MEETING and a memorandum proposing a reorginatition of the Fed- eration under the direction of an executive secretary. It was noted that the Federation plans to call a special meeting in January for action upon the proposal. Mr. Snow suggested that the Board study the r oposal before discussing it in detail at a later date. Mr. Snow showed the Board sample Sanborn insurance SANBORN maps and recommended the purchase of a set, an atlas, ATLAS of similar maps for such area as has been covered in Lexington. It was thought that the quoted cost of $s4.80 that the information would be of considerable value in adding to Lexington block plans. Mr. Jaquith moved, Mr. Hathaway seconded the motion and it was un- animously voted that the Board authorize Mr. Snow to order one of the Sanborn insurance atlases for Lexington. The Board next entered into a discussion concern- REPRINTING ing the reprinting of the Lexington Zoning By-Law. ZONING Upon approval of the arrangement of the sample copy BY-LAW which had been prepared, the Board authorized Mr. Snow to write a letter to a number of firms inviting them to bid on printing 500 and 1000 copies of the by-law with bids on additional hundreds. Mr. Stevens arrived at the meeting at 9:15 and entered into a discussion concerning matters relating SUN VALLEY to Sun Valley definitive subdivision plans before the SECS. 11 & Board. Mr. DeVries met with the Board at 9:30 to 12 discuss these same plans. The Board called Mr. DeVries attention to several discrepancies between Section 11-plans and Section 10 which had been previously approved and also to a num- ber of details which needed to be added to both the Section 11 and Section 12 plans. Mr. DeVries was told that if these plans remained in the Planning Board office, he could have the plans corrected there by his engineer, Mr. Oates, during the period between ap- pioval and endorsement of said plans. Mr. DeVries left the meeting at 10:00 P.M. where- upon it was moved by Mr. Grindle, seconded by Mr. Irwin and unanimously VOTED: That the definitive subdivision plan en- SUN VALLEY titled "Section Eleven of Sun Valley, SECTION 11 Lexington, Mass., Owned by DeVries Con- struction 'Co. , Inc." dated August 19, 1955, which was submitted to the Board by DeVries Construction Co., Inc. on September 26, 1955, accompanied by an application for approval of definitive plan, Form C, dated Septem- ber 26, 1955, be and hereby is approved subject to the condition that no lot in the subdivision shall be sold and no building shall be erected or placed on any lot until the ways and other improvements required under the rules and regulations of the Board necessary to adequately serve such lot have been completed to the satisfac- tion of the Board. and also VOTED: That the definitive subdivision plan en- SUN VALLEY titled "Section Twelve of Sun Valley, Lax- SECTION 12 ington, Mass. , August 26, 1955, which was submitted to the Board by DeVries Construc- tion Co., Inc. On September 26, 1955, ac- companied by an application for approval of definitive plan, Form C, dated September 26, 1955, be and hereby is approved subject to the condition that no lot in the subdivision shall be sold and no building shall be erec- ted or placed on any lot until the ways and other improvements required under the rules and regulations of the Board necessary to adequately serve such lot have been completed to the satisfaction of the Board. After some discussion with Mr. Stevens in regard to FORM A Form A application #55-80, Mr. Irwin moved, Mr. Hathaway seconded the motion and it was unanimously VOTED: That the plan accompanying Form A application #55-80 be signed with the endorsement "Lex- ington Planning Board approval not required under Subdivision Control Law". Mr. Stevens left the meeting at 10:20 P.M. Mr. Jaquith gave a report on his study of the Acts establishing an historic districts commission for the HISTORIC Town of Nantucket and creating an historic Beacon Hill DISTRICTS district in Boston (Chaps. 601 and 616, respectively, of LEGISLATION the Acts of 1955) . The Board then studied in detail an outline for similar legislation for Lexington. At 10:50 P.M. the Recreation Committee consisting of Chairman Crerie, Mrs. Morey and Messrs. Allen, RECREATION Potter and Stokes met with the Board to discuss Mr. COMMITTEE Baskin' s offer to the Town for recreation purposes Lots 23 and 36 of his Ayman Road subdivision. The Com- mittee wished to know if a good baseball field could be laid out on the tract and were assured it could. The Board' s letter recommending acquisition of this property was looked upon favorably by the Committee. ' The meeting adjourned at 11:00 P.M. • :rles T. Abbott Clerk