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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1959-09-24 PLANNING BOARD MEETING September 21, 1959 A regular meeting of the Lexington Planning Board was held in the Planning Board's office, Town Office Building, on Monday, September 21, 1959 at 7 :4.5 p.m. Present were Chairman Abbott, Messrs. Burnell, Grindle and Soule, and Planning Director Snow. Town Counsel Stevens was also present from 8:30 to 10:4.5 p.m. The Board approved the following bills which had been presented for payment: John C. Lichtenberg BILLS drafting services-44.5.00; Spaulding-Moss Co. , draft- ing supplies--48.05; Wallace B. Mitchell, drafting supplies--18.10; Collins Typewriter Co. , typewriter check-up-- 5.50; Clark & Mills Electric Co. , lamp repair--$5.15. Considered next were the following Form A applications for determination of Planning Board jurisdiction: FORMS A #59-61, submitted Sept. 17, 1959 by Joseph E. Chisholm for Custom Colonials, Inc . ; plan entitled "Plan of Land in Lexington, Mass.", dated Sept. 11, 1959, Scale: 1" = 30' , Miller and Nylander, C.E. 's & Surveyors #59-62, submitted Sept. 18, 195° by Richard G. Mintz for Waymint Realty Trust; plan en- titled "Plan of Land in Lexington, Mass.", dated Aug. 24., 1959; Scale: 1" = 40' , Joseph W. Moore, Inc . , Reg. Land Surveyor. It was decided to defer action on the latter plan until after the Board had discussed the acqui- sition of certain trust land with representatives of said trust Thereupon, upon motion duly made and seconded, it was unanimously VOTED: that the Lexington Planning Board determines that the plan accompany Form A application #59-61 does not require approval under the subdivision Control Law, and that said plan be so endorsed. At 8:00 p.m. the Board held a public hearing relative to the application of Arlex Realty Trust Inc . , for approval of a definitive subdivision plan 4-21-59 -2- entitled "Grant Estates Lexington, Mass ", dated July GRANT 3, 1 959. Four persons attended the hearing The Chair- ESTATES man opened the hearing by reading the notice of the same as it had been sent to all abutting property I ARLEX REALTY owners and as it had been published in the September 3, TRUST 1959 issue of the Lexington Minute-man. BESSETTE Mr. Robert E. Bessette, treasurer of said Trust, pointed out that the subdivision consisted of six lots fronting on an un-named dead-end street beginning at Burnham Road and proceeding in an easterly direction for a distance of approximately 816 feet. He said that access to the subdivided land had originally been located opposite Grant Street but had been changed in order to eliminate a dangerous intersection. He also said that the subdivision plan had been developed in cooperation with the Planning Board. Mr. Bessette con- cluded by stating that Parcel A located along Vine Brook was to be given to the Town as part of the town recrea- tion area being created there. Members of the Board questioned the shape of lot 3 and suggested that it could be improved by relocating the side lines so as to eliminate triangular corners and to add to the usable area of said lot where it ad- joined lot 2. Mr. William G. Johnston of 94 East Street asked about lot 4 which had access onto East Street. He ques- tioned the use of heavy trucks using this access during the development of the subdivision. It was pointed out that Mr. Bessette had every right to use this access for just this purpose. Mr. Bessette said he intended to do so. He added that if he built a house on lot 4 on a speculative basis the driveway to the garage would be located off the subd{vision street. He said, however, that if he built a house for himself on lot 4 he would use the access to East Street for his driveway. There being no further questions or discussions the Chairman asked for an expression of opinion in re- gard to the plan' s approval. Mr. Bessette indicated he was in favor of the plan' s approval; no one indicated opposition to said approval. The Board then took the plan under advisement, the Chairman declaring the hear- ing closed at 8:15 p.m. Shortly after persons attending the hearing left the meeting, six other persons came to the meeting for the purpose of attending the hearing. They informed the Board that earlier they had gone to the wrong room before realizing their mistake. Several persons in the group asked questions about the proposed subdivision street 9-21-59 -3- extending across East Street. It was understood that to the satisfaction of said persons members of the Board explained how the subdivision was to be devel- oped. Whereupon the group left the meeting. Mr. Stevens came to the meeting at 8:30 p.m. He was given a print of the Grant Estates subdivision plan and asked to prepare an instrument wherein Arlex Realty Trust deeded to the Town Parcel A as shown on said plan. Messrs. A. Morris Kobrick and H.S.B.White then came to the meeting to report that the Waymint Realty WAYMINT Trust thought its land the Board was recommending the REALTY Town acquire had an area of approximately 19 acres TRUST LAND and had a fair market value of $1000 per acre. Mr. FOR RECREA- Snow pointed out that his examination with Mr. White TIONAL that afternoon of the Trust ' s proposed additions to PURPOSES existing lots 7A and 8A on Turning Mill Road revealed that said additions did in fact include the hemlock grove in the so-called "Paint Mine" area which it was de- sired that the Town acquire. On this basis the Board asked Mr. Kobrick to have said Trust study the value of the land further giving a revised price which would include the hemlock grove outside said existing lots. Mr. Kobrick said he would have the Trust do this. He pointed out, however, that lots fronting on Turning Mill Road had been selling for $5500 each, that the Trust was meeting sales resistance in sell- ing lots 7A and 7B because of a possibility of a town recreation area being located adjacent to said lots, and that these considerations might have to be taken into account in establishing land values. Instead of the Town acquiring the proposed additions to lots 7A and 8A, he suggested that a covenent might be arranged with prospective owners of proposed lots 7B and 8B to preserve the hemlocks which would be included in the latter lots. Members of the Board stated that this would not be a satisfactory arrangement from the Town' s standpoint for the reason that the hemlock grove would then be in private ownership and not available for the public to appreciate and enjoy. Messrs. Kobrick and White left the meeting at 9:30 p.m. at which tine Messrs. Richard F.K.Herzog and Fred G.Benkley of 34 and 35 Whipple Road, re- spectively, met with the Board. The purpose of the meeting with Messrs. Herzog and Benkley was to discuss the possibility of their 9-21-59 -µ- willingness to sell to the Town for public recreational WHIPPLE purposes parcels of land they own in the rear of their HILL LAND lots on Whipple Hill in the Sun Valley residential de- FOR velopment . For the purposes of discussion the plan RECREATION entitled "Plan of Land in Lexington Mass.", dated Sept. PURPOSES 1957, Robert G. Venne, Eng. , was used Mr. Herzog said he would exchange a small portion of his holdings on top of Whipple Hill for a parcel between the north- westerly side line of his lot (lot 188) and the rear property lines of lots 177 and 178 fronting on Russell Road provided that the parcel the Town wished to ac- quire did not include the very top of Whipple Hill at the location of U.S.G.S. marker. Mr. Benkley was un- willing to sell or exchange any land except that agreed upon at an earlier meeting of the Board (see Planning Board minutes of June 30, 1958. ) Messrs. Herzog and Benkley left the meeting at 9:55 p.m. after which the Board discussed the matter of Whipple Hill land acquisition further. In order that the Board might observe on the ground where common boundaries existed between town-owned land and that owned by Messrs . Herzog and Benkley, it was requested that Mr. Snow ask the Town Engineer to locate and mark temporarily certain corners of the parcels involved. This request was made particularly because it appeared to the Board that Mr. Benkley did not own some of the land first discussed with Mr. Benkley. Discussed next was the Board of Appeals September BOARD OF 17, 1959 letter to the Planning Board in regard to the APPEALS latter' s September 9, 1959 letter to the Board of Appeals with reference to the McCormack petition to McCOPMACK erect a professional office building at property num- bered 937 Massachusetts Avenue. Mr. Stevens left the meeting at 10:15 p.m. The Board's attention was called to the 1960 Selectmen 's September 15 , 1959 letter regarding the BUDGET early submission of the Planning Board's budget for 1960. Mr. Snow was requested to prepare said budget for consideration. The Chairman reported on the proposed Town Meet- RECREATION ing Members Association meeting scheduled for October COMMITTEE 6, 1959 to discuss the work of the Recreation Committee. He said that the Committee requested the presence of the Planning Board at said meeting. It was arranged that the Committee would attend the next meeting of the Plan- ning Board to discuss the program for the T.M.M.A. meeting. 9-21-59 -5- The Board endorsed the Vine Brook Meadows, Section One definitive subdivision plan which had been approved on August 27, 1959. Mr. Snow was asked to give the plan to Mr. Stevens for record- ing after there had been obtained from Vine Brook Realty Trust the required easements in said sub- division. The meeting adjourned at 11:15 p.m. and H. Soule Clerk