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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1956-12-26PLANNING BOARD M`FETING December 26, 1956 A regular meeting of the Lexington Planning Board was held on dednesday, December 26, 1956 at `:00 p.m. in the Town Engineer's Room, Town Office Building^. Present were Chairman Hathaway, members Abbott, Adams, Burnell and Jaquith, Planning Director Snow and the secretary*, Mrs. ^lilli_ken. The followinrr bills were presented and approved and presented for pa--ment: Foto -Beam, Inc., white prints and office sunplies--96.79; GBC Sales &- Service, Inc., binders -4,31.82; H..B.McArdle, diary-- 6.20; Anne H. Milliken, secretarial service for December 17--05.00; Mary G. Campbell, secretarial services for period end- ing December 21, 1956--51'25.00. Considered next and approved by the Board were the minutes of its meetinF*s held on December 17 and 19, 1956. Approved by the Board and signed by the Chairman was a letter addressed to Arthur D. Little, Inc. of ' Cambridge thanking the corporation for its valuable contribution of nrocessing and tabulating the data of the Town Center traffic survey held on October 25, 1956. In the letter it was stated that the work of the corporation had aided Lexin-ton's traffic study in a most decisive way by speeding the results of the analysis of the data and by saving the Town both man - Dower and expenditure. At 8:20 r.m. Town Counsel Stevens met with the Board in response to T4r.Snow's letter of December 19 to advise ontheproper procedures to be followed in having the definitive plans of Sections Two and Three of the 'Robinson Hill development modified. He ex- plained that the first step should be the nreraration of a plan as he outlined modifying a portion of the Robinson Hill Section Two plan by eliminating a nor - tion of Childs 7load and Diana Lane at the same time retaining on said nlan lot 17 as presently recorded. He said that the Board should request Leeland Con- struction Co., Inc. to rave such a plan Drepared for approval by the Board and for recording in the Regis- try of Deeds. Mr. Stevens said that when the plan was in proper orcer he would draft for the Board's consid- eration a vote modi£l,*inv the Section Two eefinitive plan as shown on the new plan. The Town Counsel indicated that the second step BILLS MINUTES TRAFFIC SURVEY ROBINSON HILL SECS. 2 and 3 in correcting the present situation should be prepara- tion of a plan for a new lot, Derhaps to be numbered 17A, which extended the northeasterly sideline of lot 17 along the newly defined sideline of Childs Road so that the new lot would have the required, 125 feet of frontage on said road. Mrl Stevens said that the new plan could be submitted with a Form A anDlication for recording after the modified Robinson Hill Section Two plan was recorded. He said it then would be in order to consider what action the Board wished to take In regard to the Section Three plan. T'sing prints of said plan which had been disapproved by the 7oard, he pointed out all the changes needed to take into consideration the modified Section Two Dlan. Mr. Snow was asked to transmit all this information to Mr. TicConchie of the Leeland Construction Company together with mfrked prints showing just whrlt would be required in new and revised plans. Mr. Stevens called the Board's attention to a SUBDIVTSTON problem which he and Mr. Snow had been discussing to - PLAN TITLE - gether, namely, the different titles found on the various POLICY sheets which comprise a subdivision elan. He requested that the Board adopt a Doliev in regard to these titles in order to eliminate the confusion which existed. He suggested that each subdivision have an official title, ' such as "Robinson Hill Section Two in Lexingtonj. Mass.", that this title appear on each sheet of the plan and that in addition each sheet have a subtitle such as "Lot Layout Plan," or "Plan and Profile of Childs T'oad,pe to indicate the type of plan within the narticular sub- division. Mr. Stevens said that he noted Mr. Snow had further suggestions which would facilitate administra- tion of the Subdivision Control Law and requested these be considered also. The Board accepted the Town Colin- sel.'s proposal and requested Mr. Snow to draft a memo- randum to be sent to engineers and subdividers advising them of this Dolicy. The Town Counsel left the meeting at 9:00 n.m. Considered next was Mr, John T. Cahill's appli- cation for tentative annroval of the Highland Glenn nreliminary subdivision plan. After due consideration it was moved, seconded and unanimously VOTED: that the rrellminary subdivision plan entitled "Highland Glenn Lexington, Mass.", dated Oct, 9, 18561 submitted to the Board on December 10, 1956, be and hereby is disapproved for the rea- sons that (a) the design of a number of street intersections are unsatisfactory, (b) the pro- posed names of the streets are not acceptable __ -26-56 ' and (c) the Teen Brook a distance land Glenn 1 1 nlan shows a rroposed section of ?play in a southerly direction by of more than 500 feet from High - Drive. The revised plans for the so-called Seabury Mlotel were taken under consideration, Mr. Snow riving a verbal report anO making recommendations about said rlan and sunrlementary documents. After the Board had studied the same and compared the differ- ences with the original set of motel plans which had been submitted nrevioush*, it was decided unani- mously that another rublic hearing; was in order un- der Section 5 00 of the Zoning B -7 -law for the fol- lowi_n" reasons: (1) the building has been relocated on the site, (2) there is no restaurant shown on the recently submitted blan, (3) substantial changes have been made in the interior of the building and (4) both the materials used and the facades nr000sed alter the exterior design of the hotel. Mr. Snow was asked to draft for the Board's consideration at its next meet- inI* a letter addressed to Mr. Groden, attorney for Mrs. - ida Semler Seabur.,, setting forth the Boards decision and reasons therefor and aski.n7 that certain ad_ditio^al material be submitted before or at said rublic heari_ng,. Mr. Snow gave a report of a conference he had held earlier in the day with Mr. John E. O'Donnell of the firm of ,drl.gbt and Pierce, Civil 7ngineers, Topsham, Maine worki.n7 on a new town man for Lexington Mr. Snow was asked to prepare for the Board's consid- eration at its next meeting; a written report regarding prol*ress on the work, said report to be in the form of a letter addressed to the Hoard of Selectmen from the Plann4n7 Board. There being no further business to transact at the time, the Board adjourned its meeting at 10:00 0.m. Levi G. Burnell, Jr./ Clerk -2- SEA BURY MOTEL TO10 MAP I ANNUAL REPORT OF THE PLANNING BOARD December 31, 1956 To the Honorable Board of Selectmen Lexington, Massachusetts Gentlemen: Your Planning Board has experienced a very active year on several different fronts. Contrary to the expectations of some of our citizens, the volume of new subdivisions has not lessened as a result of the 1953 change to larger minimum lot sizes. The load of paper work has shown a material increase, due mainly to the additional duties imposed on the Board under the revised Subdivision Control Law. The proposal for the Historic Districts legislation required considerable time and study. Other studies during the year have concerned such matters as changes in zoning districts; State Department of Public Works highway plans; petitions re- lating to construction within the A-1 District; additional recreation sites. In an effort to keep abreast of the current work load the Board found it necessary to schedule extra meetings during the last months of the year. In spite of the relatively heavy administrative load, the Board is able to report material progress in its planning function. An effort has been made to define more clearly the general policy of the present Board in several major fields of its activity. Among other things, requirements for approval of subdivision plans have been strengthened in certain aspects where deemed to be in the best interests of the Town. Appended to, and made a part of, this report is that of our Planning Director, Samuel P. Snow. His accounting offers greater detail on many aspects of Board activity. We feel that Mr. Snow is doing a real service for the Town, and is making satisfactory progress on the Master Plan de- spite continual administrative interruptions. If the Board is successful in securing an appropriation for an office secretary, it appears certain that a much greater proportion of his time may be devoted to the planning function. During the past year, an increasing percentage of his total effort has had to be expended on administrative and routine duties. Our Board has made every effort to cooperate with other Town depart- ments, officials and agencies, and has received willing assistance from them where our problems and projects have overlapped. The increasing complexity of Planning Board problems has made it desirable to call upon Town Counsel for frequent guidance and advice. 4e express our appreciation to all who have assisted us during the year. It appears that the Board may anticipate an equally active year in 1957, and looks forward to the continued assist- ance of citizens of the Town as they may be able to render service for the good of all concerned. Respectfully submitted, LEXINGTON PLANNING BOARD Levi G. •ne , Jr. omas 3, Grindle �I. Jaquith` REPORT OF THE PLANNING DIRECTOR Lexington Planning Board Gentlemen: I subnit herewith a report of my activities for 1956 as Planning Director for Lexington. In brief, it can be said that of these -activities, administrative work continues to be "the tail that wags the dog." Meetings Sixty-four regular and special meetings were held this year, including one hearing in regard to the Board's proposed zoning changes. The number of meetings represents a 28.7% increase over the number held last year and a 31.6% increase in the total elapsed time of the meetings themselves. I attended all these meetings at which time, among other things, under the subdivision control law action was taken on 103 Form A applications --a 6.2% increase over last year, 7 preliminary and 15 definitive plan applications and 2 modifications of definitive plans. In addition I attended over 30 evening meetings of various organizations and agencies. 1 1 1 -2- Conferences 2- Conferences During regular office hours I have had over 300 conferences with land developers, realtors, engineers, citizens, town officials, citizen boards, and others regarding subdividing land, filing Form A applications, zoning, recreation areas, school sites, regular planning board activities, town affairs, etc. Over 40 conferences with town officials and citizen boards and many other conferences with individuals have required in excess of 15 minutes per meeting. In addition to these I have not attempted to keep an account of the numerous telephone conferences which have been of equal duration. It is -estimated that almost half of the conferences noted above have been in connection with various aspects of the subdivision control law. Many individuals discussed procedural problems or sought informal opinions in re- gard to subdivision design. The checking of applications and plans, prepa- ration of advertising, sending of notices to abutters, and the other routine work for each individual subdivision involved considerable work also. Subdivision Flans The process of approving, disapproving, or modifying a subdivision plan might be classified as administrative work. However, the duties in- volved in checking proposals and relating them to neighborhood and major street plan concepts is really a planning function. While oftentimes a con- siderable amount of my time has to be devoted to these studies, I consider that it is some of the most valuable spent. Adoption of the studies as Board recommendations and compliance by the land developers means that another part of the long range development plan for Lexington is effectuated. Town Maps In addition there are certain services which we offer other town agencies and the public. One of these involves town maps, concerning which as far as new streets and developments are concerned the Board has the greatest knowledge. I spent about a week last spring revising a street and precinct map and street guide for the town, combining these into one pub- lication and eliminating the necessity of preparing three publications of different sizes. The expenses involved were shared equally by the Selectmen and the Planning Board, the Selectmen's office having charge of the sale and distribution of these maps. Committees A third phase of may administrative duties has concerned itself with serving on or with committees. Included in the statistics are numbers of meetings or conferences I have held with these committees. The conferences include assisting the school sites committee with suggestions and data. I was disappointed that my time was so limited that I could not aid the com- mittee to the degree I thought I should. I have also served with Mr. Gayor and Chief Rycroft as Lexington's Traffic Committee. Board of Appeals Petitions A fourth administrative function has involved gathering information ' and preparing recommendations regarding petitions to be heard by the Board of Appeals. During the year the Planning Board took action on 23 of these petitions. Secretarial Duties Another phase of my administrative activities has centered around what might be classified as secretarial work. The combination of administrative and planning work is such that I usually arrive at the office 45 minutes to an hour before 9 a.m. and stay the same length of time after 5 p.m. Addi- tional work in the evenings and on week -ends has enabled me to keep up with the more important demands on my time. To give you some idea of how con- suming this has been, I took several random three-week samples from my diary to discover that I have averaged approximately 56'hours a week on regular planning board work. The Board's December decision to have".its office open only during mornings and Friday afternoons during the week has helped in con- centrating administrative work during these hours and in allowing additional time for planning work. Planning Assistant In spite of the dominance of administrative duties, there has been substantial progress in planning work. This has been brought about to a large degree by the employment of a planner during the latter half of the year. The Board has been fortunate, indeed, in obtaining the services of , Bruce Howlett, a graduate student in planning at Harvard, Mr. Howlett has had some previous planning experience in Canada and in addition is very capable, cooperative, of pleasing personality and is willing to assume responsibilities. With the minimum of guidance he has been able to translate into effective schemes my ideas and notes on plans for Lexington, at the same time contribut- ing many suggestions of his own. I feel greatly encouraged by the situation and trust that during 1957 we will be able to continue to work together until the late summer months at which time it is hoped that an over all preliminary will have evolved. The degree to which this is completed will depend largely upon how much relief I can obtain from the present administrative work load. Land Use In the same order as listed in the master plan outline adopted by the Board, following is a statement of the accomplishments of our broad scale planning program. The preparation of a land use map in presentation form was the first task accomplished. This undertaking meant assembline land use survey notes, obtaining additional data in the field and mapping all informa- tion according to a standard classification. The completed map gave in- rreasing emphasis to the fact that residential and commercial development has mostly taken place along Lexington's old road system and that one of the town's greatest immediate planning needs is a major street plan. Base Map ' An engineering firm was engaged to prepare a completely revised base map of the town to be drawn at 400 scale and to be based upon the State Coordinate System. The preliminary map is completed; it is expected that the map in final form will be ready this coming spring. Using the base map we will be able to reproduce photographically at small or large scales such maps or portions of the same as are needed for all planning purposes. We will also have an accurate base upon which to wuperimpose overlays of basic data, studies and proposed elements of Lexington's master plan. Migration Pattern To obtain a better idea of one of the components of Lexington's popu- lation -growth, a study was undertaken to ascertain the migration pattern of persons coming to live in the town. A period of three years was studied in which the age, sex and occupation distribution of in -migrants was deter- mined. At a later date this study will be extended and integrated with other population data and trends. The implications in terms of needed public facilities and services is already very evident from the limited data ob- tained. Traffic Surveys Major emphasis has been placed upon a comprehensive study of Lexing- ton's traffic problems, beginning with the preparation and conduction of a town center and supplementary survey this past summer and autumn. The suc- cess of this undertaking can be largely credited to the Town Planning Study Group of the League of Women Voters who rallied other League members and citizens in the town to assist in obtaining the needed traffic counts. Dr. ' Richard H. Battin of Arthur D. Little, Inc. volunteered and prepared with his colleagues an extraordinary amount of work in preparing punch cards and tabu- lating data by means of IM -1 equipment. Major Street Plans Analysis of traffic volumes and movements from the collected data is almost completed. Completed also is a study and analysis of the town's accident pattern. A study of existing roadway widths in Lexington is par- tially completed. Additional information relating to traffic has been gathered from State agencies and the impact of the State highway program on Lexington is now being considered in relation to the town's existing traffic pattern. A preliminary study of conflicting street names was completed this past yaar also and a program adopted whereby recommendations were and will be made at each town meeting to eliminate the more urgent problems in con- flicting names. All this work has as its ultimate objective of course, the preparation of a Kajor Street plan for Lexington. Part of this network study is completed. Street Options In order that this plan may not be blocked by residential development, special attention is being given to obtaining street options where needed. One known example is the options for easements for the extension of Eldred Street from Justin to Grove Streets. Several others are under considera- tion. public Recreation There has been prepared in rough form a preliminary plan for the organ- ' ization of a comprehensive system of public open spaces for recreation in proper relation to all other elements that comprise the town. In order to carry out this plan, land between Wyman Road and Route 128 was obtained as a gift for playground purposes from the late John Baskin. For the same pur- pose land between the Maria Hastings School and Route 128 was obtained from Mrs. Seabury in exchange for a sewer easement. Adjacent land from the same party is under option for purchase for playground purposes so that all land between the school and Route 128 may now be assembled into one parcel. In addition to these areas there is being prepared a plan of land now owned by the DeVries Construction Co., Inc. and situated easterly of the Sun Valley development between Lowell Street and the Winchester town line. Mr. George DeVries has agreed to give as a gift to the town this land for a recreation area. The site includes the highest land in Lexington and affords a panoramic view of the countryside. School Sites In an effort to integrate school and playground facilities I have recom- mended the acquisition of portions of the Andrews and Smith properties be- tween Robinson Road and Grove Street as a site for a combined neighborhood playground and elementary school. I have also recommended the acquisition of portions of the Lidberg and adjacent properties for a combined town play- ground and junior high school site. Prior to and after the appointment of ' the present School Sites Committee, I have attended several meetings and held many conferences with various individuals and committees in regard to recommendations I have made, making special studies where necessary and ob- taining additional data to aid in evaluating the sites. This work is con- tinuing both in regard to the acquisition of recreation areas in themselves and in combination with school sites and, in my opinion, is aiding consider- ably in effectuating this phase of the Master Plan. Historic Districts With the introduction by Boston and Nantucket and approval by the Massachusetts Supreme Court of proposed historic districts legislation, the Board was encouraged to develop its own bill to carry out the intent and purposes of its section of the master plan outline entitled "Arthitectural Plan." Studies were made of three proposed districts for Lexington and the bill drafted by Mr. Jaquith's diligent efforts. Speaking for myself, I feel the preparation of the bill, its enactment into law and its adoption by the Town is a real credit to the Planning Board and all those who assisted in this work. I have aided the newly created Historic Districts Commission to organize its work with data on final map preparation and general commission procedure and will continue to give those concerned any assistance they may need. Zoning In regard to zoning, a study was undertaken to determine the best , existing practices for industry throughout the cokntry. This was done with the thought in mind that it is insufficient to allocate for industrial use those areas best suited for such without a guiding plan. Observed were the regulations and ordinances for many cities and towns in addition to those located along Route 128. These were related to what were thought to be Lexington's needs particularly in regard to obtaining adequate controls for potential development. In addition, existing practices and restrictive covenants and controls on unified industrial areas were studied to deter- mine their effect on industrial location. As a result of these studies, proposed revision of that portion of Lexington's zoning by-law having to do with N 1 districts was presented to the Board. The proposed revision repre- sents what was thought to be the latest thinking in industrial zoning techniques and was designed to protect the townspeople from undesirable in- dustry as well as to encourage developments of a suitable nature. Public Relations There are a number of other projects under way but I believe that what has been written gives sufficient indication of the comprehensiveness of my work during 1956. I would like to add, however, that on my own time I have made a special effort to foster understanding and support of the Board's work, informing many individuals of our mutual program of studies. I have found a very real desire on the part of many to understand the nature of planning board work and town planning in general. Because of this situation, I have made a special effort to inform the Town Planning Study Group of the League of Women Voters of the problems in connection with the development and administration of a master plan. I believe that work of this nature should be expanded further by each member of the Board. In my estimation there is a tremendous lack of knowledge of the Board's work. I close with a personal note by stating thatI have very much enjoyed our association together in planning for Lexington. I look forward to the continuation of our mutual planning work during 1957. Respectfully submitted, tom.. 'ng Director 1