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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1980-06-16PLANNING BOARD MEETING June 16, 1980 The meeting of the Lexington Planning Board was called to order at 7:35 p.m. by the Chairman Mr. Friedman with members Sandy, Nichols, Wheaton, Sorensen, Planning Director Bowyer and Administrative Clerk Mrs. Snow present. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Minutes of the Planning Board meeting of June 9, 1980, were amended, and on a motion by Mrs. Wheaton, seconded by Mr. Sandy, were unanimously approved as amended. PLANNING BOARD ANNUAL ORGANIZATIONAL MEETING Election of Officers: Upon a motion by Mr. Sandy, seconded by Mr. Friedman, Iris G. Wheaton was elected as Chairman of the Planning Board. Upon a motion by Mrs. Wheaton, seconded by Mr. Sorensen, Frank Sandy was elected as Vice Chairman. Upon a motion by Mrs. Wheaton, seconded by Mr. Sandy, Laura F. Nichols was elected as Clerk. RECOMMENDATIONS TO BOARD OF APPEALS. JUNE 26 HEARINGS Honeywell, Inc., 2 - 3 Forbes Road: The Board reviewed an application for tem- porary special permit for use of up to 18 office trailers during remodeling of the Honeywell facilities. The Planning Board has no objection to the petition, pending approval of the safety factor by the Fire Chief regarding the location and spacing of the trailers. Jewel S. Douglass, 1844 Massachusetts Avenue: The petition for a standing directory sign was reviewed and it was noted that the architect's drawing did not show all existing signs on the building. Since the Planning Board is generally opposed to standing signs in the Lexington Center, especially for a non -retail use, and the building has an existing projecting sign, Planning Board recommendation will be made against the granting of the special permit. Books on the Green Inc. and Gallery on the Green, 1837 Massachusetts Avenue: An application for a permit for a projecting sign (which has received approval by the Historic Districts Commission) was reviewed. The Board will recommend granting of a two - three year permit, as a trial period, if the permit is granted. It was noted that the plans illustrating the proposed sign did not show all existing signs on the facade of the building. A letter will be written to the Board of Appeals bringing to its attention the fact that the aforementioned sign applications are incomplete according to Sections 10.1.2 and 10.1.4 of the Zoning By -Law, and recommending postpone- ment of the hearings until the submissions are in compliance. ' Snack Time, 1734 Massachusetts Avenue: No Planning Board comment will be made on the petition to allow Sunday take out food service. The Planning Director was authorized to prepare letters based on the decisions of the Planning Board, for transmission to the Board of Appeals. 6.16.80 Page 2 APPLICATION FOR DETERMINATION OF SUBDIVISION APPROVAL 123 Marrett Road, Robert Cataldo, Form A80-12: The Board reviewed a plan entitled "Plan of Land in Lexington, Mass.", dated ,June 9, 1980, by Roger M. Corbin, Joseph W. Moore Co., showing Lot C-5 (16,960 s.f.) with an existing structure at #123 Marrett Road, and Lot C-4 (6.334+ acres) fronting on Marrett Road. It was noted that the plan did not show the dimensions of the side, rear, and front setbacks as required by Section 2.1 of the "Rules and Regu- lations Governing the Subdivision of Land in Lexington, Mass." Upon a motion by Mr. Friedman, seconded by Mr. Sandy, it was unanimously voted to reject the plan because of the lack of all required information. JULY MEETING SCHEDULE Planning Board meetings were scheduled for July 7 and 21, 1980. It was agreed that the June schedule will remain as posted. PLANNING DIRECTOR'S REPORT Mr. Bowyer recommended that procedures be tightened up to insure that developers do their homework before meeting with the Planning Board. He said there was too much of a tendency of developers to dash in, unprepared, at the last minute, with the principal result being a lot of time wasted. He recommended that appointments be requested by noon on Thursday preceding the meeting, as provided ' in the Planning Board's Procedural Rules. He will ask developers to bring plans in a day or so earlier so that the staff will have an opportunity to review them and prepare reports or recommendations for the Board. In particular he cautioned against developers seeking a "back door" appointment by taking advantage of the public participation period scheduled on the agenda. That time should be used for the general public rather than developers or others who regularly do business with the Board and should schedule appointments. The Board requested that ground rules for the use of the public participation period be drafted for inclusion in the Planning Board's Procedural Rules. Mr. Bowyer outlined two types of Planning Board meetings, a business meeting and a discussion meeting, to illustrate the type of staff preparation required for each. Items for the agenda for a business meeting should generally be ones that result in a vote by the Board. Generally some "piece of paper" i.e. a draft report or recommendation, a plan, a document etc. would be prepared or submitted prior to the vote. The staff would either prepare a draft report or recommendation or review, and prepare a recommendation on plans or documents submitted for the Board's action The second type, a discussion meeting, generally would not result in a vote or require the preparation of draft reports or the submittal of plans in advance. Desirably, the discussion will conclude with a consensus which could then be committed to paper for a subsequent vote of the Board. ' As for staff preparation, it was agreed that the staff has an initial responsi- bility to either prepare, or insure the submission of, draft reports, recommendations, plans, or other documents that are clear and permit action by the Board at business type meetings. Staff preparation for discussion type meetings will Page 3 6.16.80 depend on the time available. The Board agreed that the two types of meetings should not be combined; two business type meetings per month should be ade- quate; actions requiring a vote of the Board should not be scheduled for discussion type meetings except in emergencies and discussion sessions should not be scheduled in business type meetings. Mr. Bowyer noted that the Board of Selectmen's Goals had been received and the Town Manager has asked the several boards and committees to comment on them. He noted that several of the items will require the involvement of the Planning staff and other items are those of Planning Board concern. An appointment with the Town Manager will be arranged for discussion of the Planning staff work load with respect to assignments from the Manager's office and from the Planning Board. Lists compiled by each member of parcels proposed to beconsidered in the Sensitive Areas Analysis will be submitted to the Planning office by the close of business on June 18. The lists will be correlated and will be dis- cussed at the June 23rd meeting. The meeting adjourned at 10:19 p.m. 1 F] 6�_, T'!% t ISS I 1� Laura F. Nichols, Clerk