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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1961-02-06PLANTTNG BOARD MEETING February 6, 1961 A regular meeting of the Lexington Planning Board was held on Mondav, Febri.zary 63 1961 at 7:110 p.m, in the Board's office, Town Office Building. Present were Chairman Burnell, members Grindle, Mabee, Meyer and Eoule, and planning Director Snow. The Board annroved the minutes of its Jan- uary 16, 161 meeting. Annroved for nayment were the following bills which had beennresented: U.S. Government Printing Office, land subdivision regulations -- P 1.00: Atwell Service Co., service on Audograph-- ¢8.116; Donald C. Richardson, professional services, January 23 through February 3, 1961.--P223.96. !'ith reference to the nroposal to extend. '�uckmar Drive (see minutes of January 23, 1961 2lann.in7 Board meeting), Mr. Snow presented a statement of aepraised values of lots 10, 11, 12, and 13 front,*ng on Moreland Avenue, the existing street betterments assessed agairst said lots and the nronosed betterments which would be assessed against the remai_ni rg n ortions of lots 11 and 12 i_f the extension of Suck man Drive were laid out as a town Taa,;T under the Betterment Act, as shown on tre plan entitles t°Plan of Proposed 'basement for ?rater Main from Bus =man Drive to Moreland Ave. Lexington Mass.", dated Oct. 6, 1.9117, recorded in the Middlesex South. District pegistry of Deeds as Plan 16911 of 1047. The Board discussed this statement to determine the alternate costs of ac- qui_ri ng lots 10 and 11 or parts t^ereof. The matter was discussed later with the mown Counsel when he came to the meet1n7,. He ad- v9_sed against insert;np, an article in the !,,Tarrant for the Annual Town Meeting to take the land neces- sar17 for the extension of Buckman Drive. He re- viewed the recommendation :ahich he made nt the "lannin7 Board meeting on January 23, pointing out that; it woulc to?,�e a two-thirds vote of the Town Meetinv to acquire the land necessary for the exten- sion as the town way* as laid out b -,r the Selectmen. It was decided therefore to recommend to the Board of Selectmen that it have prepared for the next town meeting to act upon a layout for the Buckman Drive extension and also for the extension of Summit Road to Fern Street. MTNTTTES BILLS BUCKMAN DT? TVE STTMMTT ROAD 1 -2- The attention of the Board was called to ' WALTHAM ST. a letter, Gated February 2, 1061, from the Boar C., of GARDFN Anneals submitting together with an apnli_cation from APARTMENT Vine Brook 7ealt7T Trust a set of site and building DTSTRICT plans of the nronosed Waltham Street Garden Apartment development for consideration and final report of VT1TE BROOK recommendations thereon. Mr. Snow was asked to review RrALTY TrTTST said elan and make a recommendation for action by the Planning Board at its next meeting. VOTED: to accent the proposal offered by 79r. Richard F. FTerzog in his letter of 7eb . 6, 1961 to the Board of Selectmen, said proposal reading as follows: "I donate free of char 7e, with no strings attached, the whole land around Whinnle Hill to the Town of-Lexinvton with the only exception of a narrow stria, 70' wide parallel to the borderline of my house lot, if T am permitted to keep thi.s strip permanently. T will not make any claims against the Tov.n for protective fencing and planting and wi_11 bear these ex- penses myself." (See addendum.) Read to the Board was Mr. May's letter of EMERSON POAD January 31, 1961 to the Planning Director in reference ELDrl"'P, STRFFT to the recommended future location of person Road across Eldred Street and land of Ri_charc Soule. (See SOULS addendum. See also minutes of January 301 1961 Plan- ning Board meeting.) Mr. Snow reported that Mr. Harry G. Berglund had read Mr. May's letter and made an appraisal of land damages which would be i.r.volved in the proposer'. lotting and the ob to ning of easements for the _future road. Mr. Snow also reported thr.t Mr. 3erglund had_ informed him that the proposal as outlined in Mr. Mn -a T's letter was "eminentlTi fair." Thereunon, the Board decided to ask the Town Counsel to nrepare an enti_on to acq,ai_re said easements for the consi.derations outlined in said letter. 'he attention of the Board was called to a 'JNTPPLF HILL letter, dated Janunry 31, 1961, from the Board of LAATD FOr Selectmen informing the Planning poard that In renly to R7CT'IT:ATTONAL -its letter of Januar7,i 23 the Selectmen had voted on ?'T?TPOSES January _'�0 to instruct the Town Counsel to prenare a - taking ,order for the acquisition of the Herzog and HT!RZOG Benklev land as outlinedin the P1anr.inf* Tloard's letter. Read to the Board was a communic=)tion, dated February 6, 10,61, from rchard F. Herzog to the Board of Selectmen with reference to said order. (See addendum.) Later duri.n7 the meeting the Planning Board discussed the Herzog letter. Pfter consideration thereof and upon motion duly made and seconded, it was unanimously VOTED: to accent the proposal offered by 79r. Richard F. FTerzog in his letter of 7eb . 6, 1961 to the Board of Selectmen, said proposal reading as follows: "I donate free of char 7e, with no strings attached, the whole land around Whinnle Hill to the Town of-Lexinvton with the only exception of a narrow stria, 70' wide parallel to the borderline of my house lot, if T am permitted to keep thi.s strip permanently. T will not make any claims against the Tov.n for protective fencing and planting and wi_11 bear these ex- penses myself." (See addendum.) L -6 -0, - Town Counsel Stevens came to the meeting at n:1i_ n.m, and discussed with the ;bard until 9:30 n.m. several matters currently before the Board. After <r. Stevens left the meeting, the Board considered the notices of petitions to be heard bTr the board of Appeals on February 28, 1961. Tt was decided to take no action on the netitions with the exception of those of Louis Bianchi, Vernon A. Lane, and John TT. Millican. Mr. Snow was asl�:ed. to obtain additional informa- tion concerning the three named petitions in order that the nlenninT? Board might consider said petitions further. The attention of tie Board was called to the submission by James A. Carrie; on Februar-., 11 1961 of an apnlic^tion for tentative approval of a rreliminary subdi_visi_on elan, said plan having been discussed at the Board ' s meeting* held on Januar;? 9, 1061. Mr. Snow was asked to make a study of said plan ^.nd to recommend to the Board action in re -,a --d to said annlicoti_on. The '_?oard's attention was also called to the submission by Fred Corrazini. on Februar, y 1 1961 of an annlicati.on for tentative approval of a nrelim4.nar17 subddvi.sion Man entitled "Drelim- .nary P]_an Showin7 T'ronosed Sul>divi si on of Land in Lexin7tor-Mass.°P, ^nc. dated January 13, 1961. Mr. Snow was also asked to make a stud7T of the rlan and to recommend to the Board action in re7prd to said apnlicati.on. 'he remainder of the Board's meeting was devoted to the discussion of a draft of a pro- posal to amend I -J e Lexin�ton Zoning, R ---law with reference to providing more adequate automobile narki.n7 facilities in local business districts. Mr. Snow was asked to siibmi.t a draft of the nro- nosal to the Town Crninsel for inclusion in an article in tike warrant for the Annual Town Meet- in,t. The meeti_n,T; was adjourned at 10:)!� ->.m. Trvin7 TT, Mabee, Clerk 1 -3- BOARD OF APPFA LS PRFLIMTNARY SITBDTVTSION PLAN CARRIG PRFLT_MITTARY SUBDIVTSTON PLAN CORRAZINT A LCT OMOB T LE PARKING TV C 1 DI_STRTCTS 2-6-ol ADP77DT?T-1 Mr. Samuel 1. Snow planning Bord Town Office Building Lexinaton, Massachusetts Dear Samuel: January 311 1Q61 T talked with Dick Soule toda7 in relation to his land on Eldred Street. TTe.feels he woul6 be willing to grant to the town the easements shown on the latest elan revision, subject to a. r7ua.rantee that no betterments would_ be assessed on him or subsequent abutting owners for the construction of Emerson Foad as shown on the olan, and reserving the right to himself or his successors in title to construct the road in accordance with Plannin7 Board snecificati.ons into his remaining back land, if the road has not been constructed by the town. T will not try to sketch the details of the agreement because T think erre are in complete accord. in essence, he wishes to be able to ru,rantee to a purchaser of any of the four lots abutting on proposed Emerson Road that the land will not be subject to another assessment for betterments and he wishes to fuarantee his own right to construct the road into his back land if the town does not construct the road. We have considered the diminution in value of the four lots because of their reduced size. One lot Is ver'T substan- ti_a117r affected. Ne has comnuted the amount of engineering and legal costs which have been incurred or will be incurred and feels that a fair price for lost value and cash disburse- ments is `{'1500. Very truly vours, /s/ 'dorman T. Mn<r cc: Harold `?. Stevens, Esq. February 6, 10/61 34 Wh i-pple Road Le,:ington 73 Mass., T'. S.A. To: The F onorable Board of Selectmen T have learned from the LoxinrTtor NewsnaPer that Mr. Stevens Is preparing a takl nc, order for the land i.n back of my home. T doubt that the Board of •selectmen b^s obt^fined all informa- tion from th- Planning ;3oard, Txrh ich are necessar'T to come to an obi•ective and unb, -,sed decision. it is the nurnose of this etter to provide these informations and to make a last 1 1 1 L -6-j1 proposal which goes bevond the concessions I have made so .far-. I still hone, that the Board of Selectmen will con- sider favor.ar hr this Generous proposal and not siren the takinE, order. Review of the ne7otiations: At the Town Meetinm last springy, i rrorosed in public to donate free of ch.�rrie two acres of mtr land to the Town of Lexin7ton, if T could keen one acre permanently. I did this,'because T realized that these two acres, which con- tain the whole area around the hilltop, will be the main attraction of the future recreation around. T left the determi_n�tion of the accurate borderline oven for later ne7otiations, i.n order to nermit a rood solution which com- bines the recu cements for the nark w th the torogranhic features of the area. The land., which i requested to keep, is of no value for the users of the nark, but of extreme im- oortance for the protection of my remai_ninm nropert, Pian-�r unbiased Town F''eetin�r Members, 4ilc}, cisi_ted the area last snr!ng,, agreed_ with me that the land to be donated, is com- rletel.�- sufficient to fulfill the nurnose of the nark. After it became evident at the Town Meeting, that the majority of the Town Meetir7 Tiembers are in favor of m7l fair and generous proposal, the docision was taken out of the hands of the Town ' Meetinq- Members and turned into a vote of confidence for the selectmen. Men-:- 7innths later, Mr. Mabee raid me a visit to finalize the location of the borderline of the -.ark. He pushed this borderline further down, to include really all the land he considered to be necessary for the nark, leaving for me on17 a narrow strip, 70 feet wide, na_rallel to the backli_ne of my h -use lot. S`nce, based on this location of the borderline, the land falli_n * to the Town would be much more than T promised to donate, an n7reement was made to compensate me with a sum of about. $900. Mr. Mabee agreed further, that the Town will nrovide full protection of my remaining; prop- ert,r bT a fence and protective planting. Last fall.. r^Ir. ?Mabee notified me that the Town is not will- to ill- to nrovli e any protection for me, since other neighbors of the park misrht ask for the same protection. I do not think this is a justified reason, because the other owners of property around the future parlc do not cortribute an';thin7 to the nark, whereas _T am ready to sacrifice most of the land, which T bor.ght ovirr_,nally maIrl7. as a protective area at the backside of my house. T considered this protective area to be so important that T m^de Its purchase the prime condition for ■ bu-vTi m7 77 holzso. Yevertheless, T finally agreed to Mr. Mabee that T would bear m, -self the cost of fence and plantings. About a month ae^o, T had a last visit from Mr. Burnell and P4abee during which they notified me, that all previous ' ner;oti_ations are not acceptable for. the "'o?rn and the Town plans to tape the whole land by eminent domain. They offered me the use of a nart of the land for a limited time. This offer is even worse than the one which they made me one gear ago, before the Town Meeting, since at this time protec- tive plantings and a wide buffer area., not accessible for the nubli_c, was promised. T exnlai_ned again, why T have to reject anIT temnorary solution. The erection of a fence and of a screen nlanting became a real necessit* since the land around Whipple Fill has obtained so much publicity. Hikers are already passim; through my front- and ba.ckvard and this situation will become worse after the development of the park. The cost for the fence and planting is abnormally high, nrobnbl�r several thousand dollars, because the 701 line crosses bare ledge. T cannot make this high investment on a land which does not belong to me because later my in- vestment will be a complete loss. The house will then loose its protection and will largely depreciate. Now T would like to submit the following new proposal. "T donate free of charge, with no strings attached, the whole land around 'Whipple Hill to the Town of Lexin7ton with the only exception of a narrow stria, 70' wide, parallel to the borderline of my house lot, if T am permitted to keep this strip permanently. T wi-11 not make any claims against the Town for pro- tective fencing* and planting and will bear these ex- penses myself. Discussion: The acceptance of my proposal, as outlined above, would provide for the Town all the land necessary for the park, without any expense whatsoever for the taxnnyers of Lexing- ton. The money- allocated for this purpose could therefore be used to come to an agreement with Mr. F.enklev, thus avoid- ing the application of the eminent domain procedure. The 70' stri_n of land, which T nronose to keen, is of no r eal value for the park. Tt is the lowest Hart of the land and crossed by a steep ledge. The only inconvenience for the Town *�Yo»ld be that Mr. Snow has to adapt his sketches to the new situation. This stria of land is of value only for me, because it nrovid.es some protection for my home. The land is very steer, and no screen -planting in front of this strip can be h7F,enough to prevent insight in my housF+ and back- vard from public land. This can only be accomplished if this planting is at the 701 borderline. Tf my nronosal should be rejected, then the Town would have to pay the actual value of the whole land as it will be de- M-61 -7- termined by the court. The unique location of the land at a h_illton, which offers scenic view over hundreds of miles, will probably justify a price far above the P,1000 allocate( for this rurpose. This whole price has to be Y for the 70' str;r alone, since I have offered to donate all the other land free of charge. As a citizen and taxpeyer of this `Down, I would object against such a waste of public funds for a worthless strip of land and I -m sure to find many other citizens who will agree with me in this matter. T realize that takinn,s by eminent domain are sometimes not avoi_d.able, but in ani.T democratic system they should be re- stricted for projects of real vital i..mnortance for the public. This is certainly not the case in regard to the 70' strip. T'ne tak_nF of this strip would be only an act of cower, similar. to those which Americans condemn in other countries, rot even fulfilling; an-�r public need. Respectfully submitted Isl n ichnrd F. Herzog RFH:]b February 71 1961 Foard of Selectmen Tonin Office Bui_ldi nm Lexinr*tor. 7"', 7nssacht1,setts Dear Madam nna entlemen- At the reoLi lar meeti= of the Rlanningr; Board held at the Town Office pudding* on Monda- , February 6, 1961, a motion was unanimousl- passed to accent the oronosal offered by Mr. Richard F. Fcrzor- and contained in pis letter of February 61 1861, to the 3oard of Selectmen reading; as follows: But T am still confident, that the Board of Selectmen will use wisel-r the power Friven to him by the Town Meeting, Mem- bers and will finally come to a decision which really serves the public. The Town Meeting Members have given the vote of confidence under the nssumnton that the Select- men w ll make a sincere effort to come to an agreement with me. But so far, T was the only one who made concessions, whereas the Planning( Roard increased its demands at each meeti_nf-. Now is the last opportunity for the Board of Selectmen to demonstrate an anoronch toward my standpoint and to justify the confidence of the Town Meeting Members. The acceptance of my proposal wi.]_1 provide all the land which i.s important for the recreation ?rounds without any cost for the taxne--ers. Respectfully submitted Isl n ichnrd F. Herzog RFH:]b February 71 1961 Foard of Selectmen Tonin Office Bui_ldi nm Lexinr*tor. 7"', 7nssacht1,setts Dear Madam nna entlemen- At the reoLi lar meeti= of the Rlanningr; Board held at the Town Office pudding* on Monda- , February 6, 1961, a motion was unanimousl- passed to accent the oronosal offered by Mr. Richard F. Fcrzor- and contained in pis letter of February 61 1861, to the 3oard of Selectmen reading; as follows: "I donate free of char.,e, with no strings attached, ' the whole land around '�hipple Hill to the Town of Lexington wits- the only except nn of a narrow stria, 701 wide, parallel to the borderline of my house lot, if I am permitted to keep this strin -permanently. I will not make any claims against the Town for pro- tective fencinr- and nlanting and will bear these ex- nenses m1rseIf. tti Very truly tours, LFXTTI3TO7 PLAN7TN.CT BOAF?D /sl Levi i. Burnell, Chairman L 1