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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1971-07-19PLANNING BOARD MEETING July 19, 1971 The meeting of the Lexington Planning Board was called to order at 7:30 p.m. by the chairman, Mrs. Brown with members Clarke, Costello, Lund, planning director Zaleski, planning intern Fennessey and secretary Mrs. Snow present. Also in attendance were Mr. Frank Sandy, Mr. Thomas Curran and Mr. Leonard Notkin. Mr. Harvey Newgent met with the board by appointment at 7:30 to discuss a H. NEWGENT proposal involving the purchasing of 4 lots, including tax -title land on GARFIELD & Garfield and Earle streets which are a portion of the proposed school site EARLE STS. in the Meagherville area. The possibility of developing low-cost housing in the form of approximately 40 apartment units was mentioned. The chair- man requested that Mr. Newgent write a letter to the Planning Board outlin- ing any plans he may develop and that the Selectmen be asked for their views regarding the future of the entire Meagherville tract. Mr. Joseph Prestejohn, Atty. Sumner Darman and Mr. Robert Blech of the Mobil PRESTEJOHN Oil Corp. presented plans for a service station on Bedford St. near Hartwell MOBIL SERV. Ave. Mr. Darman, who spoke for Mr. Prestejohn, the owner of the 11 acre STATION tract which is in CH and CM district, said the plans included construction of a road behind the station as access to the undeveloped land and described provisions for drainage. The need for rezoning of the service station site, need for the 200' setback from Bedford St. now required, construction of a holding pond and possible other requirements for enlarged drainage facilities to accomodate the future development of the rear land were discussed at some ' length. As this was considered a preliminary discussion no decision was re- quired of the Planning Board at this time. It was suggested that a definite policy be developed by the Town regarding the back land of this parcel. The minutes of the meeting of the Planning Board on July 12, 1971, were MINUTES 7/12 approved as read. A plan submitted with Application Form A71-13 showing land on Follen Rd. FORM A71-13 was reviewed and upon a motion duly made and seconded it was VOTED: That the plan entitled "A Subdivision of Land Court Case No.16684-11", dated May 17, 1971, showing lots on Follen Rd. conveying a small parcel in back in accordance with Board of Appeals variance does not require approval under the Subdivsion Control Law. The plan was so endorsed by members of the Board. A preliminary plan for construction on the Central Block was examined and CENTRAL reviewed by the members. Mr. LUnd and Mr. Notkin reported that they had BLOCK attended an informal preliminary meeting of the Historic District Comm. regarding these plans and both expressed disapproval of several aspects as shown in the drawings. It was agreed that the entrance and egress were in- adequate for traffic safety and that as defined in the Zoning By -Law for CB district, an additional 10 ft. yard would be required to the rear of the building. The members expressed concern about the appearance of the pro- posed building.because of its proximity to the Battle Green and felt that the proposed building would not harmonize with the character of this area. The matter of the underground and street level parking was also discussed. It was agreed that a letter to the Board of Appeals be drafted with recommend- ations that new drawings be submitted by the owners showing a revised plan with the rear yard conforming to the requirements of the Zoning By -Law and ' stating the aforementioned views of the Planning Board regarding access, traf- fic safety and convenience of circulation. The letter should mention that, in the opinion of the Planning Board, the issuance (or grant) of a special permit without the rear yard required according to Section 27 of the Zoning By -Law would not be legal. It was unanimously voted to invite Mr. Giroux and/or Mr. Matheson and their architect to the meeting of the Planning Board on July 26 for further discussion of the matter and ask them to bring any alter- nate schemes or plans they may -have prepared. The subject of Subdivision Regulations regarding streets was considered and SUBDIVISION Mr. Zaleski's memo of July 15 referred to. Dr. Clarke questioned the neces- STREET sity of providing for parking on streets and presented the view that narrow REGULATIONS streets have the effect of slowing and decreasing traffic, and that in some cases narrow streets are in keeping with the appearance and character of the neighborhood. The matter of widths of streets and lanes in conjunction with the number of cars per hour, the reasonableness of whether 30' wide streets are needed in residential areas, and traffic safety factors now being allowed for streets were debated. It was suggested that the by-law prohibiting bi- cycling on sidewalks should be changed and that sidewalks should be wide enough to allow bike riding. As regards subdivision streets, the guideline on the widths of streets should be governed by the traffic the street is ex- pected to carry. The Town Engineer will be consulted before determining a policy on cul-de-sac sidths. It was agreed that Dr. Clarke will formulate and present the conclusions to the Planning Board by mid-September. A discussion of installing sidewalks in easements in back of houses or on SIDEWALKS IN Town owned land and of buried utility wires in cul-de-sacs followed. It EASEMENTS will be continued on September 13 or 20. Mr. Eisenberg is to be kept in- BURIED UTIL- formed of the Planning Board's consideration of the matter. ITY WIRES Mr. Fennessey reported on his visits to various playgrounds and his informal RECREATION talks to residents. It was voted to distribute "Recreation Needs Question- naire to members of the Planning Board, Recreation Committee, Land Use Committee of the TMMA and the Conservation Commission. Other groups such as the Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and the Cooperative Youth Program at the high school will also be given questionnaires. Mr. Zaleski reported that copies of easements granted to the Town in the PEACOCK Peacock Farms VI subdivision had been obtained from the official records of FARMS the Registry of Deeds and that he had prepared the draft of a letter to the EASEMENTS Selectmen, asking for a review of the easements and appropriate action on them by the Board of Selectmen. The letter will be mailed to Board members for discussion at the next meeting. It was agreed by the members that Mr. Legro, Town Counsel, be written another "PAPER letter with a follow-up phone call requesting his comments on Mr. Zaleski's STREETS" memo of May 24, 1971, regarding "Paper" Streets. Mr. Costello asked about the progress in resolving the Star Market Parking STAR MARKET ' lot violation and Mr. Zaleski reported that no word has been received from ZONING the Building Inspector on this as yet. A letter will be sent to Mr. Irwin VIOLATION asking for information regarding the status of this situation. A letter from the Revolutionary War Bicentennial Commission, Boston, Mass., received by Mr. Costello, was described by him to the members. Mr. Zaleski will get more information about the commission's proposed meeting in mid- September and will advise the Historical Soc. and Mr. Kingston Howard, General Chairman of Lexington's Bicentennial Committee, of the contents of this letter. A letter is to be written to the Massachusetts and the federal groups, asking that the Planning Board and Mr. Howard be put on their mail- ing lists to receive information on plans for the 1975-76 celebration. A letter from Otis Brown, reporting on the progress in the Battle Green Office Park subdivision and giving reasons for delay in completion was read. It was suggested that if there is to be a substantial delay, 3 remaining lots at the end of the subdivision might be released from bond and revert to covenant, which would relieve the developers of a time limit on the con- struction of road and utilities for these 3 end lots. The developers should provide a temporary turn -around at the end of the paved section of the road. The meeting adjourned at 11:15. 1 1 6A94_1�4�� Clerk REV. WAR BICEN. COMMISSION BATTLE GREED OFFICE PARK SUBDIVISION