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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1960-02-08PLANNING BOARD MEETING February 8, 1960 A regular meeting of the Lexington Planning Board was held in the Board's office, Town Office Building; on Mondas*s February 8,1960 at 7:30 p.m. Present were Chairman Abbott, Members Burnell, Grindle, Mabee and Soule, and Planning Director Snow. The Board annroved the minutes of its January MINUTES 25, 1960 meeting. Also approved for payment were the following bills: Minute -man Publications, Inc., advertising-- BILLS "4.90; Gran_hic Reproductions, I.nc., white prints -- 5.78; The Atwell Co., indexes --11.36; Wallace B. Mitchell Co., drafting supplies --X9.25. Considered next were the following Form A annlicat_ons for determination of Planning Board jurisdiction: #.60-11, submitted Feb. 8, 1960 by Oalrmount pealty Trust, William F. Caterino, Trustee; plan entitled "A Subdivision of Land Court Case No. 26325 in Lexington, Mass.", Scale: 1" = 30', dated Feb. 5, 1960, Miller 8- 7Tylander, C.E.'s & Surveyors. #60-12, submitted Feb. 8, 1960 by Oakmount pealty Trust, William F. Caterino, Trustee; plan entitled "A Subdivision of Land Court Case No. 27356 in Lexington, Mass.", Scale: 1" = 20', dated Feb. 5, 1960, Miller & Nylander, C.F.'s & Surveyors. Unon motion 6uly mace anc seconded, it was unan- imously VOTTD: that the Lexin-7torn Planni.n7 Board determines that the plans accompanyi.n7 Form A applica- tions #60-11 and #60-12 do not require approval under the Subdivision Control Law, and t1a.t said plans be so endorsed. FORMS A The Board's attention was called to a :memorandum, dated Januari- 29, 1960, from the Board 1960 of Selectmen approving- the Planning Board's request BUDGET ' for `"3,550.00 for general departmental expenses for 1960. 2-8-60 -2- Considered next were the petitions to be ' BOARD OF heard by the Board of Appeals on Feb. 9, 1060. It APPEALS was decided to take no action in regard to said nettions. Considered next was the draft of a letter ROITTE 3 w-ich Mr. Snow had prepared for consideration by PROPOSALS the Board of Selectmen and the Planning Board of the nronosals for the location of Route 3 as studied by Hayden, Harding & Buchanan, Inc., Con- sulting Engineers, said draft being- addressed to the Chief Engineer of the State Department of Pub - lie Works. After an addition was made to said draft, Messrs. Mabee and Snow were requested to discuss the revised draft wItr the Board of Selectmen. CSP; Considered next was Mr. Stevens' letter LOT of February 4, 1960 to Mr. Abbott in regard to STUDY tre Planning Boards proposed amendments to the Zoning B�*-law for the purpose of governing the shape of lots. (See minutes of February 1, 10,60 Planning Board Meeting.) Members of the Board felt that the solution of the problem of governing the shape of lots was an urgent matter. For this ' reason it w,,s decided to ask that a committee comprised of members of theTown Meeting Members Association be organized to assist the Board in studying the completion of the problem. Mr. Mabee was asked to discuss the matter wi.tti Mr. Robert H. Farwell, President of said Association, with a view of orpanizi ng sucr a 9tudt7 committee so that it might be prepared to begin its work at the conclilsion of the annual tnwn meeting;. Mr. Stevens came to the meeting at 9:00 OPTION n.m. at which time he discussed with the Board his letter to Mr. Abbott and the problems in- KENRICK volved in drafting proposals within the frame- work of the State ZonIng Enabling Act. Mr. Stevens also discussed with the Board the option Instrument which he was preparing wherein Mr. Mark Moore Jr. would grant to the Town an option to acquire that portion of the Kenrick estate which the Board was recommending to be acquired for public recreational purposes and for the ex- teneion of Emerson Road to East Street. The Planning Board adjourned its meeting at 9:15 p..m. at which time Messrs. Burnell, Mabee ' and Snow met with the Selectmen to discuss, as 2-8-60 -3- I noted above, the draft of a letter in regard to proposed locations for Route 3. (See addendum for draft as approved..) Richard H. Soule, Clerk ADDMMUM February 9, 1960 Mr. E. J. McCarthy, Chief Engineer Denartment of Public Works 100 Nashua Street Boston lh, Massachusetts Dear Mr. McCarthy: The Board of Selectmen and the Planning Board of Lex- ington greatly appreciate the opportunity you gave their representatives to view the proposals which the firm of Hayden, Harding and Buchanan, Inc. have pre- pared in regard to the extension of Route 3 from Route 128 to the proposed location of the Inner Belt Highway. Representatives of the firm were very helpful in ex- plaining the details of the four study lines which were located within the town of Lexington. While viewing the study lines, representatives of the firm requested that ,you and they be sent a report on the viewpoint of the Town's officials in regard to said proposals. Accord- ingly there is set forth below an analvsis and comments upon the firm's proposals as related to Lexington and as studied further in considerable detail by the Selectmen and the Planning Board. Said Boards firmly believe that the proposed location of Route 3, the so-called red route, should be the ap- proved route extending from Route 128 along the Woburn - Lexington -Winchester boundary line through comparatively undeveloped land, a distance of about 18,000 feet. It is pointed out that in 1956 the Arlington Selectmen by a vote of 1� to 1 endorsed the red route. The Lexington Boards wholeheartedly subscribe to the statement made by the Arlington Selectmen on page 2 of their letter of January 18, 1960 to Hayden, Harding and Buchanan, Inc.: 'tAlthous�i this was not considered an ideal location, it has always been our belief, as well as those of other Town Officials and our predecessors in office, that no one municipality should bear the brunt of a proposal of 2-9-60 this nature and that if such routes are located in close proximity to municipal boundaries then all communities concerned have a proportionate share of any resulting detriments." If the red route were selected and laid out promptly, the Lexin7ton Planning Board would be in a position, under the Subdivision Control Law, to assist the State Department of Public Works in limiting the land costs and damages to a minimum for the reason that most of the proposed route as shown by the red study line would be in Lexington. As can be seen by the marked prints enclosed and which are related to the marked street man_, also enclosed, the remaining vacant land along the red route is about to be subdivided. The print entitled "Plan of Land in Lexigton and Woburn, Mass.01 dated Feb. 1, 1960 shows the remaining land of Wynwood Asso- ciates, Parcel C, which is subdivided by extending Fulton Road to the so-called Stonewood Estates develop- ment in Woburn, and by extending Douglas Road to Fulton Road. The print entitled "Glen Estates Lexington, Mass.", dated Nov. 4, 1959, is a cop -r of a portion of ' -a definitive plan submitted on February 1, 1960 for approval by the said rlanning Board. In these two examples thirty more houses ranging in price from 625,000 to $40,000 will no doubt be under construction in another two months in ' addition to those for which building permits already have been issued. Hence our statement above indicating the Planning Board's nosition to be of assistance if said Department of Public 'forks acts promptl-r. The extension of Route 3 as designated by a brown study line would in every respect be a disaster to Lexington. Routes 2 and 128 already cut off large sections of resi- dential development from the main part of town. The so- called brown route would cut off another of our most heavily concentrated residential developments covering at least one-sixth of the area of the town. Only about one-half of the entire area of the town would be left in the middle of a "super -interchange" bounded by Routes 2, 3, and 128. Cutting Lexinnton into so many sections would affect it reographicall�>, politically and eco nom- icall-r and bring about a calamity of the first order. There is listed below a number of items to rive some idea of the local problems which would be involved in laying out the approximately four -mile section of Route 3 through Lexington over the so-called brown route: 1. Elimination of a proposed town playground and ' recreation area in the vicinity of North Street, -2c.1 - 60 -5- said area having been recently acquired by the town. 2. Elimination of Vine Brook flood control basin in which the Town has flowage rights in the vicinity of North Street. 3. Elimination of about 60 residences ranging in price from � 20, 000 to x`501000- 000.4. 4. Elimination of about 40 residential lots for which building permits are currently being issued. 5. Elimination of a proposed elementary school site. 6. Elimination of a garden apartment district, site and building plans for -vhich are now being prepared. 7. Elimination of two properties which Lexington has purchased for the location of a major street. 8. Disruption of Lexington's major street plan by the cutting of Emerson goad where it is beim; laid out in a number of places. 4. Division of Lexin'7ton's precincts and school dis- tricts. 10. Division of the Great Meadows as a wild life refuge and natural science park. 11. Flimination of a proposed section of '?merson Road where it would serve as a boundary line to preserve the reat Meadows as an open space and where it would serve as a low gravity -type dam to prevent flooding in Arlington. In addition to what has been set forth above, the Boards are of the opinion that the combining of present traffic on-'outes 2 and 3 is not practical. While the Boards do not have any state-wide traffic projections, they do have sufficient local traffic data and projections to believe that the yearly increases in traffic will require unusu- ally aide hl-hway cross-sections and exceedingly large structures at intersections for the last six miles toward the inner belt highway necessitating much larger costs and land damages than if Route 2 were relocated over its pre- sent route and. Route 3 over the red route. Also it would appear from traffic projections that a combination of Routes 2 and 3 would on17- be a temporary solution and that a highway over the red route would be needed inevitably. Tor an easier flow of traffic and for _J - less costs, it would seem more practical to diversity the radial routes of 2 and 3 onto two points of access , on the inner belt or some similar highway rather than combining them at one point. In regard to the nronosed location of route 3 across LexinETton and thence along; the Boston and Maine rail- road right-of-way to the inner belt highwatr, it appears to the Lexin^-ton Boards that this scheme would cause the greatest damage to all the municipalities concerned. Not only would it have the same disadvantages of cross- ing Lexinmton as previously expressed, it would be the most costl« in terms of acquiring the sufficient right-of-way. For example, the land takings alone would be exceedingly high in Arlington Centre and would literally destroy it. For these reasons the Lexington "?oards consider this to be the least feasible o£ the proposals suggested and the one it could not recommend under any circumstances. Should you or your representative or any of those studying the Route 3 proposals wish to discuss these matters further and in mored etail, the Boards or their representatives will be pleased to do so at your con- venience. Very truly yours, Isl William E. Maloney, Chairman Board of Selectmen /s/ Charles I. Abbott,Chairman Planning Board cc: Hader., Harding &; Buchanan, Inc Tncs. �} L]