Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout1960-05-23 PLANNING BOARD MEETING May 23, 1960 A regular meeting of the Lexington Planning Board was held on Monday, May 23, 1960 at 7:30 p.m. in the Board's office, Town Office Building. Pre- sent were Chairman Burnell, Members Grindle, Mabee, Meyer and Soule, and Planning Director Snow The Board approved the minutes of its May 2, MINUTES 1960 meeting. Approved also by the Board were the follow- ing bills which had been presented for payment: Nor- BILLS man T. May, copies of deeds-43.44; Amer. Soc . of Planning Officials, Planning Advisory Service Re- ports-- 20.00; Spaulding-Moss Co. , drafting sup- plies--$5.00 The attention of the Board was called to the fact that there had been obtained from the Outhet LORING HILL Realty Trust a grant to the Town of easements within ESTATES the Loring Hill Estates, Sec . 3 subdivision. All SEC . 3 matters appearing to be in order the Board endorsed the definitive plan of said subdivision. Mr. Snow OUTHET was requested to give duplicate copies of the instru- REALTY ment grant and the lot layout plan of said plan to TRUST the Town Counsel for registering and/or recording. Considered next were the following Form A applications for determination of Planning Board FORMS A jurisdiction: #60-32) #60-33) See minutes of May 16, 1960 #60-34) Planning Board meeting #6o-35) #60-36, submitted by Edith F. Hammond; plan entitled "Plan of Land in Bedford, Mass. ", dated Anril 3, 1960, Scale : 1" = 40' , Joseph W. Moore, Inc ., Reg. Land Surveyor. #60-37, submitted May 23, 1960 by Antonio Busa; plan entitled "Plan of Land in Lexing- ton-Mass.", Scale: 1" = 40 ' , dated May 19, 1960, John J. Sullivan, C.F. #60-38, submitted May 23, 1960 by Busa Realty Trust, Alfred S. Busa, Trustee; plan entitled "Plan of Land in Lexington, Mass.", L ,-23-60 -2- "Plan of Land in Lexington, Mass." , Scale 1 inch = 40 feet, dated May 9, 1960, Miller & Nylander, C.E. ' s & Surveyors. It was decided to withhold until the follow- ing week action on applications #60-36 and #60-37 for the reasons that the plans accompanying said applications required additions or corrections. Upon motions duly made and seconded, it was unanimously VOTED: that the Lexington Planning Board determines that the plan accompanying Form A application #60-32 does require approval under the Subdivi- sion Control Law for the reason that it is a subdivision into two lots which do not have the frontage required by the Lexington Zoning By-law. That the Lexington Planning Board determines that the plans accompanying Form A applica- tions #60-33, #60-34, #60-35 and #60-38 do not require approval under the Subdivision Control Law, and that said plans be so en- dorsed. From 7:50 to 8:15 p.m. Mr. Mark Moore, Jr. REZONING met with the Board. He first presented a proposal to PROPOSAL rezone from single family to local business use a parcel of land which he owned, said parcel being MARK located at the corner of Bedford Street and Larchmont MOORE Lane. He exhibited a set of prints for an office building which he wished to erect on said parcel, the set of prints being entitled "Proposed Office Building Mark Moore Realty Trust Lexington Mass. '', prepared by Roger A. Petrie, Lexington, Mass . , and dated 3-20-60. The Board took Mr. Moore 's proposal under advisement. Mr. Moore also exhibited a set of drawings of BURNHAM the uncompleted definitive plan of the Burnham Farms, FARMS Sec. 5 subdivision. He explained what additions were SEC. 5 to be made to the plan and requested that a hearing date be set for a public hearing on the application TODD which he planned to file for approval of said plan. REALTY June 20 at 8:00 p.m. was tentatively scheduled for a hearing provided Mr. Moore 's application was in proper order and filed in time to prepare the neces- sary advertisement for publication in the local news- paper There was read to the Board a letter, dated May 19, 1960, from Mr. Carroll, Supt. of Public Works, 5-23-60 -3- in regard to the work to be completed in the Middle Ridge, Sec . 2 subdivision. It was noted that a copy MIDDLE RIDGE of said letter had been sent to Mr Stevens. Mr. Snow SEC . 2 said that upon discussing the situation in said sub- division with Mr. Stevens, he had asked Mr. Carroll TECHBUILT to write to the Planning Board setting forth a list of work to be done and enclosing the Dept. of Public Works correspondence with Techbuilt in regard to the matter. It was decided that the completion of the work might be expedited if the Town Counsel wrote to Techbuilt and the bonding company calling upon them to expedite the work. Mr. Snow was asked to write to Mr. Stevens requesting that he write such a letter for the Board. The attention of the Board was called to Town Counsel Stevens ' letter of May 20, 1960 to Mrs. Ruth LAND FOR Morey, Chairman of the Board of Selectmen, a copy of PUBLIC said letter having been sent to the Planning Board. RECREATION In his letter Mr. Stevens stated that pursuant to the ontion obtained by the Planning Board and exercised 11 HOLTON by the Board of Selectmen he had completed on May 20 ROAD the acquisition by the Town of Lot 11 Holton Road, Lexington, from the Lexington Construction Co. , Inc. He further stated that the deed is dated May 19, 1960 I and was recorded on Moy 20 in Middlesex South District Registry of Deeds as instrument No. 135. (See minutes of Apr;_1 25, 1960 Planning Board meeting. ) From 8:45 p.m to 11:20 p.m. the following per- sons met with the Board for a conference in regard to VINE BROOK the site plans for the Waltham Street garden apartment REALTY district: Town Counsel Stevens, Mr. Nickerson, Chair- TRUST man of the Board of Appeals, and Mr. Carroll, Supt. of - Public Works and, representing the Vine Brook Realty WALTHAM ST. Trust, Messrs. Manaselian, Nylander, Reenstierna and A-1 DISTRICT son, and Tropeano. Mr. Stevens began the conference by stating that the Planning Board believed it was possible to resolve the differences which had arisen in connec- tion with the Trust 's application for a Board of Appeals determination under the Zoning By-law. He then recited what action had taken place in regard to plans which had been submitted In conclusion he explained in detail the procedure which should be followed in preparing plans in form for final appro- val. In giving this approval, Mr. Stevens said that the one final plan when approved must be in such condition and sufficiently accurate that a building inspector can tell immediately if the plan is being 5-23-60 -4- followed in detail. He said that lip to the present 111 eveyyone involved had been dealing with plans which were not in final form to support final approval. He pointed out, for example, that the relationship between roads, between buildings and roads, and between build- ings themselves were not shown on the site plans by dimensions in order to locate the various elements properly. Mr. Stevens then suggested a procedure by which agreement might be reached from general plans such as had been submitted to detailed plans because, he said, nothing less than approval of the final detailed plan was in order. There was then held a general discussion of the various site plans and studies which had been prepared. The Chairman stated as a result of its studies the Plan- ning Board believed there were three basic principles which should be followed in preparing such a plan. 1. Capt. Parker Lane should be located directly opposite John Poulter Road and in such a manner that said land had almost a straight alignment. 2. A road connection to the area southeast of the proposed apartment site should be provided. 3. It was not thought possible to provide for more than 94 apartment units in the number of buildings which could be located on the site and still provide sufficient distance between buildings and an adequate number of automobile barking spaces either with parking areas inside or outside the building groups . At the conclusion of the conference it was agreed that the Board would furnish the Trust with two schemes showing how it was believed these principles could best be included on a site plan, one scheme to show what the Board considered to be the best arrange- ment of buildings with parking areas located princi- pally within the building groups, a second scheme with said areas located outside the groups. After the conference Mr. Nickerson remained at the meeting until 11:00 p.m. to discuss with the Board several matters of mutual interest to the Planning Board and the Board of Appeals The Board next considered the employment dur- STUDENT ing the summer months of a graduate student in land- EMPLOYMENT scape architecture to assist in preparing plans for various projects of the Board, the projects to be in addition to the central school park project for which Mr. Richardson had been employed. Mr. Snow reported that after an interview he recommended the employment of Mr. Harry W. Porter, Jr. to undertake this work. He said that in order to take advantage of the talents of both students that he believed he could alternate them on various aspects of the Board' s projects as long as 5-23-60 the central school park project was- advanced con- tinuously Thereupon, the Board authorized Mr. Snow to employ Mr. Porter full time during the summer months and part time as he and funds were available during the 1960-61 school year at the rate of 42.50 per hour. Read to the Board and discussed by it was Mr. Roland B. Greeley ' s letter of May 21, 1960 to SCHOOL Mr. Burnell (see addendum) with reference to points SITES the former understood the School Sites Committee COMMITTEE and the Planning Board had agreed unon at their in- formal meeting on May 19. Particularly discussed was Mr. Greelev' s fifth point, there being a ques- tion if any of the recently acquired parcel of land on the west side of Follen Hill could be used for a school site. Mr . Snow was asked, therefore, to draft for the Board's consideration a reply to Mr. Greeley' s letter. Considered next by the Board was a letter which had been received during the week from the MARRETT RD Board of Appeals, said letter being dated May 16, A 1 DISTRICT 1960 and transmitting a petition, dated 5/12/60, and signed by Mr. Arthur G. Manaselian, architect, LEXINGTON and a set of two prints- the first, drawing 1,' INN revised April 12, 1960, being a site plan for a SWIMMING POOL swimming pool pavilion and automobile narking area, PAVILION and the second, drawing 1 A, dated 4-12-60, being a building plan for the pavilion itself . Mr. Snow suggested that before being acted upon the petition be discussed with the Town Counsel. Thereupon, the petition and accompanying prints were taken under advisement . Likewise considered by the Board were the notices of petitions to be heard by the Board of BOARD OF Appeals on May 31, 1960, It was decided to take no APPEALS action on regard to said petitions with the excep- tion of that of Pichard D. Hamilton . Mr. Snow was asked to draft for the Board 's consideration at its meeting a letter to the Board of Appeals expressing the Planning Board' s opposition to the granting of the Hamilton petition and the Board' s reason for tl.a same. There being no further business to transact at the meeting, it was adjourned at 11:15 p.m. Irving H. Mabee, Clerk 5-23-60 -J- ADDENDUM School Sites Committee Lexington, Mass. May 21, 1960 Levi G. Burnell, Jr., Chairman Planning Board Lexington, Mass. Dear Levi: Just to confirm a few points agreed upon at our meeting Thursday evening. 1. It was agreed that the Planning Board would look into alternative means of assembling land for a School Site in Meagreville, and would confer thereon with the Town Counsel. The Sites Committee will take no action towards getting a site in that area until it hears from the Planning Board. 2. It was the consensus that the location of Emerson Road, between Fast and Woburn Streets, can not be pinned down accurately in the near future; that the Planning Board is of the opinion that the Sites Committee should, therefore, get options on a comfortably large area for a school site, without any particular reference to the Planning Board's plans, or lack thereof. We shall proceed tentatively on this basis, but will certainly be in touch with you further111 before going to the Town with recommendations for purchase. 3. There seemed to be agreement that additional play area near Muzzey Junior High would be desirable. Apparently neither the Planning Board or the Sites Committee have any specific recommendations in this regard. I agreed to refer the matter to the Supt . of Schools for further considera- tion, inasmuch as he had previously expressed some interest in the matter. It was agreed that the Sites Committee had completed leted its g p part of the Middleby Road-Lincoln St-Center Playground site acquisition and planning project. 5. It was agreed that in the unlikely eventuality that an additional school site (elementary or Junion High) is needed in East Lexington, part of the area just acquired at the foot of Follen Hill (West side) could be used. Thank you for the courtesy of letting us meet with you. Sincerely, /s/ Roland B. Greeley, cc : Mrs. Morey Chairman