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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1981-09-14MINUTES OF LEXINGTON PLANNING BOARD September 14, 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, Mr. Sandy, with members Nichols, Smith, Sorensen and Planning Director Bowyer present. Mrs. Wheaton was absent. 175. Approval of Minutes The minutes of the meeting of August 31, 1981, were corrected and on a m6tfoh by Mr. Sorensen, seconded by Mrs. Smith, were approved unanimously as corrected. DETERMINATION OF PLANNING BOARD APPROVAL 176. 72 Shade Street, Form A-81/12 The Board reviewed a plan of land of the Malkus property at 72 Shade Street. On a motion by Mrs. Nichols, seconded by Mrs. Smith, it was voted 3-0: The plan entitled "Subdivision Plan of Land in Lexington, Mass." dated July 17, 1981, prepared by Miller and Nylander Company, surveyors of Lexington, Mass., certified by Donald J. Forand, registered land surveryor, with application form A-81/12, by Patricia K. Hagedorn, attorney for Willem V. R. and Ulla Malkus, does not require approval under the Sub- division Control Law. Mr. Sandy abstained from voting because he is employed by the Raytheon Corp- oration which is transferring a small parcel of land to the Malkus Family. 177. APPLICATIONS TO BOARD OF APPEALS' The Planning Board reviewed a staff analysis, dated September 11, 1981, on appli- cations to be heard by the Board of Appeals on September 24. On a motion by Mrs.Smith, seconded by Mrs. Nichols, it was voted unanimously to make no recommenda- tion on the applications re: 34 Circle Road, John Kelly: SP, continue use of dwelling 727 Marrett Road, Sheraton Lexington Inn: SP, sign 93 Hancock Street, Lexington Gardens: SP, Sunday opening in December SUBDIVISION OF LAND 178. Trodden Path, Concord Avenue: Reduction of Surety The Board was in receipt of a request from J/G Homebuilders dated August 19, 1981, for a second partial reduction of surety. Memoranda from the Town Engineer dated. September 10, and from the Planning Director dated September 11, recommended against the reduction of surety. Mr. Sandy stated there ought to be a policy against fre- quent requests for reduction of bond. Further, the Board should not vote any reduc- tion of bond until the binder course is installed on the road, a step he noted was necessary to protect purchasers of homes in a partially completed subdivision. 9/14/81 Page 2 On the motion of Mrs. Smith, seconded by Mr. Sorensen, it was voted unanimously to deny the request for partial release of surety for the following reasons: (1) The Board had just approved a reduction of surety on August 17, 1981, (2) The binder coarse has not been installed on the road yet, (3) The Town Engineer noted he did not see sufficient progress on out- standing items beyond that in his memo of August 14, 1981, and (4) The Board had seen no evidence of a resolution of the issue of the trees on Lot 4, which are in violation of the Certificate of Action 179. WORK PROGRAM FOR 1981/82 The Board discussed a memo from the Planning Director dated August 13, 1981 entitled "Productivity" which discussed steps to obtain the most effective use of staff resources and the human resources of the Board members. The main theme of the memo was to achieve more efficiency in carrying out routine responsibilities for the administration of land use controls so that more time is available for planning projects. The Board agreed unanimously to take the following steps: 1. Hold no more than two (2) meetings, except for required public hearings on zoning, in any one month. 2. Divide the meetings so that procedural matters are in the first part of the meeting and comprehensive planning is in the second part. 3. Set a maximum time limit for most routine business items of 15 minutes and no more than 30 minutes on any one agenda item except for discussion of a policy item which should be limited to 60 minutes. It was agreed these time limits would be guidelines rather than rigid limits. 4. Have adequate preparation for items on the agenda. There should be something on paper, i.e., a draft report or letter for each item on which the Board is acting. 5. The amount of staff effort expected should be related to the importance of the work item. If Board members want a more detailed report on a routine administrative item, the Board member will assume responsibility for its preparation. 6. Members will assume responsibility for preparing letters or reports which the Board requests during a meeting. This does not apply to letters or drafts which have been prepared by the staff before the meeting. 7. Members are encouraged to use Monday evenings on which the Planning Board is not meeting for individual projects or subcommittee meetings. The Planning Director will work out proper notification with the Town Clerk and Town Counsel to avoid any problems with the Open Meeting Law. 9/14/81 Page 3 8. Early attention will be given to requests for waivers in subdivisions. In reviewing a preliminary plan, the waivers will be identified and a poll, giving a sense of the Board, will be taken. In reviewing a definitive subdivision, early in the process, a similar poll will be taken on waivers required. The objective of the poll is to get a sense of the Board on whether waivers are acceptable before extensive work is done on other parts of the subdivision review. The effect of the poll would be limited to the waivers requested and would not bind individual members or the Board to a vote on the subdivision as a whole. 9. The Board will adopt a policy prescribing submission requirements for RD and CD rezoning proposals. Chairman Sandy appointed a subcommittee consisting of Mrs. Nichols, Mrs. Smith, and Mrs. Wheaton to prepare the policy. 10. Proposed amendments to the text of the Zoning By -Law will be made by revising whole chapters or sections at a time and not by individual editing changes. It was agreed that the Planning Board would not pre- sent editing articles to the 1982 Annual Town Meeting but may become involved in zoning changes through the work of other committees, such as the Accessory Apartment Committee. 11. The Chairman will send a letter to the Building Commissioner and the Board of Appeals requesting that if they advocate amendments to the Zoning By -Law, they should submit a written outline of what the section should say. The Planning Board will not draft changes for them from scratch. 180. PLANNING DIRECTOR'S REPORT Mr. Bowyer reported that he. and a former associate of his who is now teaching a planning course at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, would be supervising two students who will be doing some work on the South Lexington -Waltham Street area study. 181. REPORTS BY MEMBERS 181a. Meeting Schedule As the meeting scheduled to be held on September 28 coincides with the start of the Jewish holiday, it was agreed that the schedule of meetings would be Tuesday, September 22,.and October'5 and 19. 181b. Capital Budget Requests: The Board discussed a memorandum from the Town Manager requesting the submission of proposed capital improvement projects. One item discussed was new photogrammetric maps. 181c. W. R. Grace Application: Chairman Sandy noted the need to obtain more information about W. R. Grace operations in view of their pending applica- tion before the Board of Appeals and their recent environmental experience in Acton and Concord. Chairman Sandy will write a letter to W..R. Grace requesting information on what they are currently doing and what they plan to do with their proposed addition. 9/14/81 Page 4 181d. Revisions to Subdivision Regulations: Chairman Sandy appointed a sub- committee of Mr. Sorensen, Mrs. Nichols and himself to work on revisions to the subdivision Rules and Regulations. Each member should submit suggested changes to the subcommittee which will then prepare a report and submit it to the full Board. The meeting was adjourned at 9:30 p.m. 1AA4 Karsten Sorensen, Clerk