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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1957-02-18 PLAIcNII\G BOARD I•IEETING February 1$, 1957 A regular meetin- of the Planning Board was held in the Town Engineer' s Room, Town Office Build- ing, on February 1$, 1957 at 7 30 p.m. Present were Chairman Hatlaway, Messrs. Abbott, Burnell, Grindle, Jaquith, nd Ir Snow, Planning Director. Mr Adams was present from 9 20 p.m. until 11 00 p.m. Mr. Stevens, Town Counsel, was present from $ 30 to $ 50 p.m. The Board took under consideration Mrs .Arnold Williams' Feb. 7, 1957 letter in regard to the League LEAGUE OF of :;omen Voters annual local candidates meeting for WOMEN Feb. 27 in Cary Hall. Copies of this letter were VOTERS sent to Lr Snow and all members of the Planning Board The letter stated that after speeches by the candidates, members of the Planning Board, Mr. Snow, Mr. Roland Greeley, Mr Daniel Ahern of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce would be asked to partici- pate in a panel discussion in regard to all phases of planning The Board decided that they would like to participate in a panel discussion on planning matters 11 at some future date lit did not feel that it was wise to combine a political candidates meeting and a dis- cussion on over-all planning Mr Hathaway was asked to convey the Board' s decision to i•irs. Williams . 051 The Minutes of reb. 11/were approved MINUTES Approved also were the follow-Jig bills Louise i•i Baker secretarial services, period ending BILLS Feb 15 , 1957- 7A 25.00 U.S. Post Office, printed stamped envelopes--"78.00, Samuel P Snow, reimburse- ment for stamped envelopes--$16.$4 Taken under consideration were the following Form A applications for determination of Planning FORMS A Board jurisdiction -57-19, submitted on February 15, 1957 by Alfred P . Tropeano, attorney for Vine Brook Park Realty Trust , Torsten H. Reenstierna, Trustee, plan entitled "Plan of Land in Lex- ington-Mass ", scale 1" = 60' , dated Jan. 4 1957, „filler and Eylander, r' .E. ' s & Survey- ors, Lexin Pion, Lass. x157-20, submitted February 1$, by Ralph J. Frissore, Trustee, Battle View Park Realty Trust Plan entitled "A Compiled Plan of Land in Lexington, Mass . ", scale 1" = 4.0' , dated Feb. 11, 1957, Miller & Nylander, Civil Engr' s & Surveyors-Lexington, Mass. #57-21, submitted February 1$, by Ralph J. Frissore, Trustee, Battle View Park Realty Trust , Plan entitled "Plan of Land in Lexington Mass ", scale 1" = 40' , dated Feb. 11, 1957, Miller and Nylander, Civil Engr' s & Surveyors-Lexington, Mass It was moved, seconded and unanimously VOTED That the plans accompanying applica- tions #57-19, #57-20 and #57-21 be signed with the endorsement "Lexing- ton Planning Board approval not re- quired under the Subdivision Control Law. " The Board approved a letter dated Feb. 19, 1957 and addressed to the Board of Appeals in which BOARD OF the Planning Board wished to be recorded as being APPEALS strongly opposed to the granting of the Associates '/ealty Trust' s petition to erect a sign on its land ASSOCIATES zoned for A-1 use. The letter stated that the REALTY Planning Board believed that an advertising sign of TRUST such large size as the petitioner proposed to erect is entirely out of keeping with any use in Lexington and with the standards this town has always tried to maintain. Read to the Board was correspondence between Mr. Jaquith, Chairman of the Additional Fire Station SPRIG STREET- Committee , and the State Department of Public Works ROUTE 2 in regard to the proposal to relocate the Spring INTERSECTION Street-Route 2 intersection the Department con- firmed the town' s understanding that the state pro- poses to relocate the Spring Street-Route 2 inter- section slightly southeast of the present location and construct an overpass whereby the new Spring Street would pass over Route 2 and rejoin present Spring Street at a point on the southwest side of Route 2. Confirmed also was the understanding that the Commonwealth plans to eliminate the present Concord Avenue-Route 2 intersection which is slight- ly east of the present Spring Street intersection and construct a by-pass road on the south side of Route 2 extending Concord Avenue to Spring Street Mr. Stevens came to the meeting at 8.30 p.m. at which time he reported to the Board the decisions of Assistant Attorney general Heaphy in regard to the amendments to Lexington ' s zoning by-law which were ZONING passed by the special town meeting held on Nov. 19, AI7ENDMEI,TS 1956. The decisions were set forth in Mr. Heaphy' s February 15, 1957 letter, a copy of which was given to the Board The letter is herewith quoted in part "Clause C 2 under article 24, relating to business offices having facilities for em- ploying 100 people, has been disapproved as ti does not seem to come within the scope of the zoning enabling act, and falls short of being a regulation of the "size" of a building, which is a proper type of restric- tion. Also it is felt that the provisions under articles 24 and 25 respecting the re- ouirement of connecting to a sewer are, on the facts presented, unreasonable and should be disapproved IT Considered next was the following Form A application which had been substituted for Applica- FORM A tion #57-16, withdrawn Feb. 18, 1957 - STANKARD #57-23, submitted February 18, 1957 by Mary E. Stankard, Plan entitled same as ,-;57-16 It was -roved, seconded and unanimously VOTE That approval under the Subdivision Control Law is not required on con- dition, as represented to the Board, that Lot 1 is to be conveyed to the owner of adjoining existing Lot A and that upon such conveyance said lots shall be deemed combined into one lot for all purposes under the Subdivision Control Law The Bo-rd next took under consideration the modifying and amending of its prior approval of the ROBINSON Robinson Hill-Section 2 subdivision plan. HILL - SEC. TWO It was moved h hr. Jaquith, seconded by Mr. Grindle, and unanimously VOTED That the approval h ' the Planning Board of the subdivision plans en- titled "Plan of Lots in Section Two Robinson Hill Lexington-Mass , owned by Leeland Construction Co. , Inc. ", "Plan and Profile of Childs Road Robinson Hill - Section Two" and "Plan and Profile of Diana Lane Rob- inson Hill - Section Two Lexington- Mass. ", all dated March 2, 1955, by Albert A. Miller, Wilbur C. i'ylander, Civil Engineers and Surveyors, and all recorded in Middlesex South Dis- trict Registry of Deeds as Plan ivo. 911 of 1955, Book 847l, End , be and hereby are modified and amended by eliminating as ways those portions of Childs Road and Diana Lane , as shown on the aforesaid plans, that lie southeasterly of a curved line having a radius of 484.40 feet as shown on a plan entitled "Modifica- tion of a Portion of Robinson Hill - Section Two Land in Lexington-Mass." dated January 15, 1957, Albert A. Miller, Wilbur C. 1'ylander, Civil Engineers and Surveyors, to be record- ed in said Deeds. " After taking this action, the Board then considered the following F ,rm A application for FORM A determination of Planning Board jurisdiction; ROBINSON HICL II#57-221 submitted on Feb. 1$, 1957 by SEC TWO Leeland Construction Co. , Leeland G. McConchie, Plan entitled "Plan of Land in Lexinr.ton-Mass Scale 1" = 40' , dated Nov 29, 1956, Miller and Aylander, Civil Engr' s & Surveyors-Lexington, Mass. It was moved, seconded and unanimously VOTED That tie plan accompanying appli- cation 57-22 be signed with the endorsement "Lexington Planning Board approval not required under the Subdivision Control Law. " The Town Counsel left the meeting at $ 50 p.m. at which time Mr. Priestly, architect, Mr. Gruen, Attorney, and Messrs . Hopkins and Pearson, ASSOCIATES representatives of Associates Realty Trust, met REALTY with the Board, at its request, to discuss the TRUST Trust' s plans for a hotel to be located at the northwestern intersection of Routes 2-A and 12$. Letters in regard to said plans were reviewed in detail, by those present, these including Ole Deputy Fire Chief' s letters of January 2$ and f ebruary 14, 1957 and the Building Inspector's letter of r'ebruary 6, 1957 . The exterior of the building was then discussed, the chairman stating that the Board was primarily concerned with this aspect of the design The windows and possible need for balconies were considered. The members of the Board thought that the dining wing of the hotel looked different from the rest of the build- ing and that something ought to be done to make elements harmonize with each other. Representatives of the Trust were requested to submit further studies of the extdrior design which would give the building a Colonial character and Which would tend to soften the severe lines of Lhe building Messrs . Priestly, Gruen, Hopkins, and Pearson left the meeting 7t 10 25 plm. after it was decided that the Board would meet on February 25, with representatives of the Trust to discuss addi- tional exterior design studies which said Trust was to have prepared. The Board decided to meet in special session on February 22, 1957 at 10 00 a m. to discuss, if it was convenient Ii th him, Deputy Chief Belcastro' s recommendations in regard to the hotel plans The Board next considered the Selectmen's iebruary 12, 1957 letter in which it was stated HOLMES that Mr. Alfred P. Tropeano had been authorized to LAND make an offer for the purchase of the so-called "Holmes land, " now owned by the Town. The Board decided to write a latter in which it wished to be placed on record as being opposed to the sale of this property and further stating that with the formulation this fall of the Board's over-all pre- liminary development plan for Lexington, the Board hopes to have ready specific recommendations for the use of town-owned lands. The Board likewise took under consideration the application of Eleanor L. Ross for tentative BATTLE approval of a oreliminary plan for the development GREEN of a portion of Battle Green Village. It was moved, VILLAGE seconded and unanimously VOTED- That the preliminary subdivision plan entitled "Preliminary Plan showing Proposed Subdivision of land in Battle Green Village, dated Nov. 19, 1956, submitted on January 1$, 1957 be and hereby is disapproved for the following reasons (a) Lot layout plans are not drawn at 40 scale as I II required b'+ the Subdivision Rules and Regulations , (b) There is no indica- tion of the subdivision boundaries adjacent to existing ways , (c) the plans show no subdivision sewer system, (d) the subdivision drain system does not meet the approval of the Town Engineer, e) no easement is provided for the 36" culvert, (1 ) no leveling area is provided on Ross Road at the Paul Revere Road inter- section and on Oxbow Road at the Revolutionary Road intersection, (g) northern end of Freemont Street as shown on plan should have at least a 120-ft . centerline radius as indicated on sketch plan entitled "Suggested Residential Development of a Portion of Lands of Battle Green Village, dated March 13, 1956 and accompanying the Planning Board' s r.arch 21, 1956 letter addressed to Mr. Edward R Thomas The meeting adjourned at 10 55 D.M. 4,, Levi G. Burnell, Jr. Clerk I