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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1961-06-19PL V7T"G BOARD MEETING June 19, 1961 Tre Lexington Planning Board held a meeting in its office, Town Office Building, on Monday, June 19, 10.61 from 7:30 until 7:45 p.m. Present were Chairman Soule, dice Chairman Grindle, Members Mabee, and Meyer, and Planning Director Snow. The rurpose of the meeting was to review and sign reports which had been prepared with .reference to the -public hearing which the Planning Board held on June 15, 1961 in regard to a proposal to amend the Lexington Zoning By-law as set forth in Article 4 of the Warrant for the Special Town Meeting to be held later in the evening. The reports as approved and signed by the various members of the Board are attached herewith. iober"tE. Meyer Clerk; ADDENDA 14AJORITV REPORT ON TFE AMENDM12TYT TO THE ZONING BY-LAW PROPOSE.? BY ARTICLE 4 ON THE WARRANT FOR SPECIAL T014N MEFTING O`,T JUNTE 19, 1961. On June 15, 1961 at 7:35 p.m, the Planning Board held a public hearing on the proposal to amend the Lexing- ton Zoning By -Law set forth in Article 4 of the Warrant for a special town meeting on June 19, 1961. A peti- tion requesting the Selectmen to insert said article in the Warrant was certified as having been endorsed by 203 registered voters of the Town. Approximately 230 persons attended the hearing, due notice of which was given according to law. At the close of the meeting an expression of opinion by those present showed 17 persons in favor and 110 opposed to the amendment as presented. The proposed amendment would rezone from an R 1 --Siegle family residential district to a C 3 --Special commer- cial district all the land, about 59 acres, bounded by the Waltham city line, the Northern Circumferential 6-16-61 -2- Highway (Route 128), the Cambridge -Concord Highway (Route 2) and Spring Street. With the exception of the C 3 district on the northeasterly side of Route 2, the land in this section of Lexington is now zoned entirely as a single family residential district. Fronting on Spring Street and within the proposed C 3 district are six residences, one vacant lot and one vacant parcel of land. On the side of Spring Street opposite the proposed district are three residences, four vacant lots and one vacant parcel of land. Be- tween Smith Street (a continuation of Spring Street) and Route 128 there is a tract of land in Waltham, abutting the proposed C 3 district, on which the Clevite Corporation has a transistor manufacturing plant. A major portion of the land area proposed to be re- zoned is under control of the Lexington Investment Trust, Martin Cerel and Bernard Roberts, trustees, through direct ownership or by sale contracts. It is understood that this trust proposes to develop and/or sell for development the land as described below. Under the proposed development the only means of en- trance and exit to this land Is from Spring Street for the reason that with the 1960 land takings for the widening of Route 128 and the Route 128 -Route 2 ' interchange, there is no access onto either highway from the Waltham city line to Spring Street. The boundary of the proposed C 3 district encompasses what is known as Fulierts Hill, one of Lexington's dominant topographical features. On the northwesterly slope of this hill Country -wide Offices Corporation of New York City proposes to erect an office building about 216 feet wide by 492 feet long surrounded by a parking area for about 600 cars, the facility to occupy most all of a fourteen acre tract. As shown on the preliminary site plan filed with the Board the trust proposes to subdivide the westerly side of the hill. into three 5 -acre lots for either office build- ing or laboratory use. To provide access to this tract and the three lots it is proposed to construct a loop road about 2850 feet long, both ends of the road connecting to Spring Street. At a later date it is understood that the trust proposes to remove the resi- dences numbered 153 to 165, inclusive, Spring Street and resubdivide the land involved into two 5 -acre lots fronting on said street. It is not known what plans the owners of the other land fronting on Spring Street and within the proposed C 3 district have for the de- velopment of their properties except for the 3.4 -acre ' residential lot numbered 187 Spring Street. The owner of said lot is on record as being opposed to the re- zoning proposal. 6-16-61 It appears to the Planning Board that in analyzing ' the preliminary site plan referred to above there are a number of difficult situations created and/or problems to be solved in developing the proposed C 3 district. The plan shows that the residence numbered 151 Spring Street is to be removed from the lot on which it is located and one end of the proposed loop road to be constructed by the devel- opers located over and through said lot. A plot- ting of the profile and cross sections along said road indicates that at one point through this lot a out at least 30 feet deeps 50 feet wide at the bottom and 150 feet wide at the top has to be made to obtain a second means of access to the tract of land on which it is proposed to erect the Country- wide Offices building. It is noted that there is 80 feet difference in the elevation of existing grades across the 500 ''eet of width it is proposed to lo- cate this building and its adjacent parking lot. Another point, one of the 5 -acre lots shown on the site plan is about 180 feet in depth and has a dif- ference of 120 feet in elevation. The Board be- lieves these matters illustrate the many changes in land contours necessary to adapt Fuller's Hill for the nronosed C 3 district. -3- ' In addition to the above problems it should be noted that when Route 2 is widened.as a limited access highway, Spring Street will be relocated under pro- posed plans to the east of its present location and the existing section of Spring Street from Route 2 to Smith Street will become a dead-end street with access, it is understood, to the relocated Spring Street via a road located parallel to the Lexington - Waltham line. When this takes place the proposed C 3 district will have only one means of access to It. It is the majori.t-,r opinion of the Planning Board that In general no consideration should be given to the re- zoning of land on the easterly side of Route 128 for non-residential uses. The majority also believes that the nronosal as nresented encroaches upon the adjacent residential area and is not in keeping with the pres- ent character of the section of Lexington In which it Is proposed to locate the C 3 district. It is believed that the only basis on which the pro- nosal under Article 4 could_be acceptable to the Town is that of possible tax revenue. With more than 300 acres of land rezoned and available for M 1 and/or ' C 3 use, it is believed that this acreage should be developed first. 6-16-61 The undersigneds being a majority of the Lexington Planning Boards present at the time of the public hearing in regard to the proposal are unanimously opposed to the amendment to the Zoning By-law pro- posed under Article 4. It is recommended that it not be adopted. LEXINGTORT PLANNING BOARD, By a majority Thomas S. Grindle Irving H. Mabee Richard H. Soule, Chairman -4- MINORITY REPORT - ARTICLE 4 OF THE' WARRANT OF SPECIAL T014N MrETING ON JUNE 19s 1961. The amendment to the Zoning By-law proposed under Article 4 of the Warrant of the Special Town Meeting of June 19s 1961 would rezone that parcel of land bounded by the Waltham boundary.. Route 128, Route 2 and Spring Streets a parcel containing approximately 59 acress from an F 1 --Single Family Residential dis- trict to a C 1 --Special Commercial district. The parcel in question is a prominant wooded hill known as Fullers Hill which at the moment is undevel- oped except for six residences with frontage on Spring Street and one residence facing Route 2. The parcel is bounded on the Waltham side by an industrial dis- trict in that city with the property immediately ad- jacent the parcel in question occupied -by a manufac- turing plant of the Clevite Transistor hivision of The Clevite. Corporation. The property across Route 128 is owned by the City of Cambridge and is used as a water supply reservoir. The property across Rte 2 is already zoned a C 3 --Special Commercial district and is the site of the new executive office building of The Raytheon Company. This existing C 3 district extends approximately 1800' along Route 2 on the oppo- site side of Spring Street from the parcel occupied by Raytheon. The opposite side of Spring Street from the parcel in question is undeveloped except for three dwellings fronting on Spring Street. Except for these three dwellingss tr e land in Lexington beyond Spring Street and between Route 2 and the 'Valtham 'ine is un- developed for some distances the closest dwelling be- ing about 2100' away along Route 2 and about 1400' away along the Waltham boundary. , It would appear from an overall study of the town that r 6-16-61 this parcel is one of the two parcels still zoned for residential use that can reasonably be con- sidered for industrial use without seriously effecting a lame number of nearby residential properties. The other parcel is that located on the westerly side of Route 128 and lying between ',larrett Road and Lincoln Street. Thus if the Town desires additional land zoned for industrial use besides the small area available by readjust - Ing the boundaries of the present M 1 zone, serious consideration must be given to the rezoning of the parcel in question. I am however opposed to the rezoning of this parcel at this time for the reason that under the existing Zoning By-law and the existing sub -division control re_aulations, the town has insufficient control of site development in C 3r -Special commercial dis- tricts. There is nothing, to prevent a developer from going into this area with dynamite and earth moving equipment and changing the whole contour and appearance o£ Fullers Hill. In fact there is every indication that the developer proposing this zoning change intends to do just that. According to a preliminary site plan furnished to ' the Planning Board, the second access road to the site of the proposed initial development will not follow the natural contours of the land but rather will be blasted through the hill as a cut with the surface.of the proposed road being as much as thirty feet below the present grade. This preliminary site plan also shows an office building obviously designed to be placed on a flat parcel of land so located on this hill that a substantial earth moving operation will have to be completed before the building can be constructed. In summary, I believe that the parcel in question can be placed into a very desirable industrial use and that the possibility of such use should con- tinue to be considered. However, I do not believe that this parcel should be rezoned except under con- ditions whereby the Town has sufficient control over the site development to insure that the interests of the Town and of nearby home owners can be protected. Since the present rezoning proposal includes no such control,* I urge that it be defeated. pespectfully submitted, Robert E. Meyer Member of the Flanning Board