HomeMy WebLinkAbout1981-04-06MINUTES OF PLANNING BOARD MEETING
April 6, 1981
The meeting of the Lexington Planning Board, held in Room G-15, Town Offices, was
called to order at 7:38 p.m. by the Chairman, Mrs. Wheaton, with members Nichols,
Sandy, Smith, Sorensen, Planning Director Bowyer and Secretary Mrs. Salto present.
58. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
On the motion of Mr. Sandy, seconded by Mrs. Nichols, the minutes of the meeting
of February 2, 1981, were approved unanimously as written.
The minutes of the meeting of February 9, 1981, were corrected, and on a motion
by Mrs. Nichols, seconded by Mr. Sandy, were approved unanimously as corrected.
The minutes of February 17, 1981, were corrected, and on a motion by Mrs. Nichols,
seconded by Mr. Sandy, were approved unanimously as corrected.
On a motion by Mr. Sandy, seconded by Mrs. Nichols, the minutes of the meeting
of March 18, 1981, were approved unanimously as written.
On a motion by Mrs. Nichols, seconded by Mr. Sandy, the minutes of the meeting
of March 23, 1981, were approved unanimously as written.
On a motion by Mrs. Nichols, seconded by Mr. Sandy, the minutes of the meeting
of March 25, 1981, were approved unanimously as written.
' The minutes of the meeting of March 30, 1981, were corrected and on a motion
by Mrs. Nichols, seconded by Mr. Sandy, were approved unanimously as corrected.
59. DETERMINATION OF PLANNING BOARD APPROVAL
Land off Williams Road, Form A 81/6: The Board reviewed a plan of land off
Williams Road between Harding Road and Gleason Road. Upon a motion by Mr.
Sorensen, seconded by Mr. Sandy, it was voted unanimously:
The plan entitled "Plan of Land in Lexington, Mass.;' dated February 3, 1981,
prepared by Frederick R. Joyce Co., surveyors of Arlington, Mass., certified
by Eugene J. Mulligan, registered land surveyor, with application Form A-81/6,by
Mae W. Bollinger, does not require approval under the Subdivision Control Law.
SUBDIVISION OF LAND
60. Trinity Covenant, off Allen Street: It was agreed to hold a public hearing on
this subdivision on May 4, 1981, at 8:00 p.m.
61. Ridge Estates II, off Ridge Road: The Board reviewed a memorandum from Michael
Hanlon, Town Engineer, recommending that the bond for this subdivision be set at
$600,000. Questions were raised as to whether the holding ponds, drainage system
and bicycle paths were included in the estimate and whether estimated costs were
stated in current dollars or included an allowance for inflation. It was agreed
that the bond should be set for a period of two years. The Planning Director is
to obtain further information from the Town Engineer. On the motion of Mrs.
Nichols, seconded by Mr. Sorensen, it was voted unanimously to table the matter.
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April 6, 1981
62. Kitson Park, off Concord Avenue: The Board review the Covenant for the sub-
division. It was agreed that the Planning Director would confer with the Town
Counsel on the ownership of the right-of-way. On the motion of Mr. Sandy,
seconded by Mrs. Nichols, it was voted unanimously to execute the covenant.
The Board reviewed a memo from the Town Engineer recommending that the bond
for this subdivision be set at $190,000. On a motion by Mr. Sandy, seconded
by Mrs. Nichols, it was voted unanimously to set the amount of the bond for this
subdivision at $190,000, and that the work described shall be completed within
two years unless otherwise approved by the Planning Board.
63. Trodden Path Subdivision, Concord Avenue and Blossom Street; Public Hearin
Mrs. Wheaton opened the public hearing on the subdivision by reading the notice
of the public hearing. Joel Greenstein, the developer, spoke briefly and intro-
duced Peter Ogren of Hayes Engineering Company. Mr. Ogren commented on several
important features of the development.
Mrs. Nichols reported that she had the responsibility for monitoring this
subdivision and that all her comments had been addressed. Several abutters
-were in the audience but no one chose to speak. Mrs. Wheaton declared the
hearing closed. The Board reviewed a Certificate of Action and made corrections.
On the motion of Mrs. Nichols, seconded by Mrs. Smith, the Board voted 4-1,
with Mr. Sandy opposed, to approve the Definitive Subdivision Plan for the
Trodden Path Subdivision and to accept the Certificate of Action, as corrected.
Rr. Sandy said the public interest would be better served by having a through
' road rather than a cul-de-sac and, therefore, voted against the waiver for the
length of the cul-de-sac.
64. Battleview, off Young Street: The Board discussed briefly a memorandum from 'Chief
R. G. Bergeron stating he is not in favor of fire alarm boxes in residential
subdivisions. It was agreed to defer discussion of this issue until after
Mrs. Smith had discussed it with Chief Bergeron. Members agreed to review the
draft Certificate of Action and submit their comments to the Planning Director
prior to the public hearing scheduled for April 27.
65. Procedures for Review of Subdivisions: The Board reviewed a memorandum from
the Planning Director, dated April 3, 1981, which outlined suggested procedures
for the review of subdivisions. The essence of the memo is that a thorough re-
view of each subdivision plan will be made by the staff, Town departments and
the member of the Board assigned to that subdivision, before the plans are
brought before the full Board. That procedure is intended to reduce the amount
of time the full Board spends on subdivision review. It was agreed that the
procedure would be revised so that an early decision could be made by the full
Board on policy questions, such as approving or denying waivers. In response
to a question as to how much responsibility the member assigned to a subdivision
would have, Mr. Bowyer responded that the member would be expected to monitor
the work of the staff and other Town departments and to be sufficiently familiar
with the subdivision plan to be able to persuade the other members of the Board
that it is in shape to be acted upon.
66. Applications to Board of Appeals: The Board reviewed a staff analysis, dated
March 31, 1981, on petitions to be heard on April 9, 1981. It was voted unani-
mously to make no recommendation on the applications re:
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April 6, 1981
Service Area, Route 128, Howard Johnson Co., Special Permit, Sign;
6 Locust Avenue, David Smith, Variance, Side Yard;
235 Bedford Street, Harry Knight, Variance, Side Yard ------on the motion of
Mr. Sandy, seconded by Mr. Sorensen, it was voted unanimously to recommend
against the granting of the variance for the reasons stated in the staff
recommendations. Mr. Bowyer was requested to expand on the staff recommenda-
tion and make a stronger case in the report to the Board of Appeals.
Lot 19, Hayden Avenue: DiNapoli - Arthur, Variances, SPS ----- The Board
reviewed a draft of recommendations on both the SPS and variances. Corrections
were made in both reports. It was agreed to add to the report on the SPS
language similar to that in the report on the variances to the effect that the
CD zoning procedure would provide more flexibility in dealing with the physical
problems of the site.
67. Policy on Hartwell Avenue Traffic - Commercial Development: The Board discussed
ways of implementing the part of the Hartwell Avenue policy that deals with
regulating the timing and intensity of commercial development on land already
zoned for that purpose. It was agreed that this subject needs considerably
more work. Among the techniques discussed were: complete or partial limita-
tions on beginning and closing hours of work, requirements for "flex time,"
the number of parking spaces provided, and a moratorium on development. It
was agreed that the members would give this subject more thought and the Planning
Director would consult technical resources to see if other communities have de-
veloped techniques to deal with this issue.
68. House Bill 1925, Environmental Reports on Transportation Projects: The Board
reviewed a request from the Board of Selectmen that they comment on House Bill
1925, which would weaken the requirements for environmental reports on trans-
portation projects. It was agreed unanimously to oppose House Bill 1925.
Mrs. Wheaton will prepare a response to the Board of Selectmen on behalf of
the Board.
69. Articles for 1981 Annual Town Meeting
Article 24, Certificate of Compliance:
Article 24 would not be made at the
Mrs. Wheaton will be responsible for
The meeting was adjourned at 11:05 p.m.
L,
It was agreed that a motion to reconsider
Town Meeting session scheduled for April 8.
the next steps on this article.
Q�,i,J10.
TC), tC1S6
Laura F, Nichols, Clerk