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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1983-03-14PLANNING BOARD MINUTES MEETING OF MARCH 14, 1983 The meeting of the Lexington Planning Board, held in Room G-15, Town Offices, was called to order at 7:32 p.m. by the Chairman, Mrs. Smith, with members Flemings, Nichols, Sorensen, Uhrig and Planning Director Bowyer present. PLANNING BOARD ORGANIZATION 41. Election of Officers: As provided in Section 2.1 of the Planning Board's "Procedural Rules," the Board elected officers. Mrs. Uhrig moved that the current Chairman and Vice Chairman be re-elected; with the motion seconded by Mrs. Nichols, it was voted unanimously to elected Mrs. Smith as Chairman and Mrs. Nichols as Vice Chairman. For the office of Clerk, Mrs. Uhrig was nominated by Mrs. Nichols, sec- onded by Mr. Sorensen. Mrs. Uhrig was elected unanimously. 42. Signatures for Registry of Deeds: The Board signed a letter to the Register of Deeds showing the current signatures of each member of the Board, as now consti- tuted. By previous votes of the Board, Robert Bowyer, Planning Director, and Jehanne Arslan, Assistant Planner, are authorized to sign plans and documents when specifically authorized by a vote of the Board. 43. Approval of Minutes On a motion by Mr. Sorensen, seconded by Mrs. Uhrig, the minutes of the Executive Session of February 28, 1983, were approved as written by a vote of 3-0. Mrs. Flemings and Mrs. Nichols abstained because they were not present at that meeting. The minutes of the meeting of March 7, 1983, were corrected and on a motion by Mr. Sorensen, seconded by Mrs. Nichols, were approved, as corrected, by a vote of 3-0. Mrs. Flemings and Mrs. Smith abstained. PLANS NOT REQUIRING SUBDIVISION APPROVAL 44. 498 Lowell Street, Ethel Alzovan, Form A-83/2 The Board reviewed a plan of land near the corner of Lowell Street and Laconia Street. Mr. Bowyer explained that the plan involved the confirmation of lot line for the purposes of correcting a faulty description in a deed. On the motion of Mr. Sorensen, seconded by Mrs. Flemings, it was voted unanimously: The plan entitled "Plan of Land in Lexington, Mass." dated November 2, 1982, by Miller and Nylander Company of Lexington, Mass., certified by Donald J. Forand, Registered Land Surveyor, with application Form A-82/2, by Steven Russian, attorney for Ethel V. Alzovan, owner, does not require approval under the Subdivision Control Law. SUBDIVISION OF LAND 45. Simonds Estates, off Grove Street: Endorse Plan, Approve Covenant: Mr. Bowyer reported the covenant had been received, reviewed and approved by Town Counsel. On the motion of Mr. Sorensen, seconded by Mrs. Nichols, it was voted unanimously to accept the covenant and to endorse, by the signatures of each member of the Board, the approval of the definitive subdivision plan. M Planning Board Meeting: March 14, 1983 2 46. Subdivision Rules and Regulations: New Form for Surety The Board reviewed a proposed new standard form for the provision of surety for subdivisions by funds being held by a lending institution. The Board was in receipt of a letter from Town Counsel suggesting minor changes in the proposed form. On the motion of Mr. Sorensen, seconded by Mrs. Nichols, it was voted unani- mously that the proposed standard form, with the inclusions of the suggestions made by Mr. Cohen, is acceptable. At some future date when the subdivision "Rules and Regulations" are being amended, this form will be included. ARTICLES FOR 1983 TOWN MEETING 47. Article 14, Accessory Apartments: Margaret Rawls and Jean Gaudet of the Accessory Apartments Committee were present for the discussion which focused on comments made at the public hearing on March 10. Mrs. Rawls reported that in re- sponse to the inquiry about increasing the minimum floor size for qualifying units to 2500 square feet, the data showed that 998 houses would then qualify. Mrs. Rawls and Mrs. Gaudet indicated the Committee would be willing to use 2500 square feet as the minimum qualifying area, in order to gain passage of the amendment. They saw it as a starting point, which could then be reduced to 2000 square feet at a later Town Meeting, if the need arose. On the issue of "by right" versus special permit, Mrs. Rawls indicated they would agree to some procedure to notify the immediate abutters and give them an oppor- tunity to review the plans before a building permit is issued. Others commented that prior notification would have the additional advantages of better informing ' neighbors of the rules for accessory apartments, and providing a neighborhood moni- toring mechanism for such key provisions as owner occupancy, the number of cars, maintenance of screening and the like. Mr. Sorensen observed that the notification to neighbors has to be carefully phrased so that people do not think they can go to Town Hall and prevent the issuance of a permit, as long as the application complies otherwise. On a poll of the members, Mr. Sorensen and Mrs. Uhrig favored the by -right proced- ure; Mrs. Nichols and Mrs. Flemings favored the by -right procedure as long as the neighbors were notified. Mrs. Smith still favored the special permit procedure. She was concerned about providing an opportunity for the neighbors to be involved in the process. She was very concerned that insistence on the by -right procedure might jeopardize the chances of passage in Town Meeting. Despite those reserva- tions, she would support the by -right provision to make the Planning Board's posi- tion unanimous. Mr. Sorensen observed that the criteria and procedures in the pro- posed amendment are very tight and are better than a special permit with general- ized guidelines. Mrs. Smith expressed concern that a group of owners, obtaining permits for acces- sory apartments, would develop a set of rights that would be difficult for the Town to reverse if the Town Meeting later amended the By -Law to reduce or eliminate the right for accessory apartments. It was agreed that Town Counsel should be consul- ted on what rights become vested and how the By -Law should be drafted. Mr. Sorensen suggested a disclaimer statement that would put owners on notice that they had no automatic right after the three year occupancy period expired. 961 Planning Board Meeting: March 14, 1983 3 On the issue of temporary absence of the owner, there was discussion as to how to clarify or treat the matter. Mr. Sorensen suggested that the By -Law state that the owner must reside in the house for two years prior to a temporary absence. The issue of enforcement, if the By -Law does not pass, and its potential effect on the Town Meeting vote. were discussed. Mr. Sorensen recommended that there be a clear statement that the Town will enforce the existing regulations if the By -Law is not adopted. 48. Planning Related Articles a. Article 10 - Transfer of Poor Farm Land: The Board reviewed a draft report dated March 11 with most of the discussion focusing on whether to include language which would tie future Planning Board recommendations on the use of Town -owned land to a Land Use Plan duly adopted by the Board. Mr. Sorensen made a motion, seconded by Mrs. Nichols, that the report be approved, as amended, and with the reference to the Land Use Plan deleted. Mrs. Smith argued against the deletion of the reference to the Land Use Plan because then the Planning Board would be perceived as engaging in piecemeal decision-making. Mrs. Nichols noted that the poor farm land, and the other surplus school site parcels, have been in an informal land bank for a long time. The land is not going anywhere and no harm would be done by having it sit a little longer while the Town develops a sensible planning approach. No vote was taken on Mr. Sorensen's motion. Mr. Sorensen made another motion, seconded by Mrs. Nichols, that the report, as amended, be approved with a reference to the Land Use Plan. That motion was approved unanimously. ' b. Article 11, Transfer of School Property: The Board agreed on the first part of the report which recommends that an inventory of each parcel of Town -owned land be prepared and that articles for change in the use of school sites be deferred until the Planning Board has made a recommendation which would be consistent with a Land Use Plan. On the second part of the report dealing with Franklin School, Mr. Sorensen and Mrs. Uhrig thought the Town should move toward the permanent disposal of the Frank- lin School building. Mr. Sorensen observed Franklin is the first of the surplus school buildings that is not located on a major street. Any future use should be compatible with a residential neighborhood. An office or commercial use is not desirable at Franklin. In view of the success of the limited equity condominium proposal at Muzzey School, a housing use seems very appropriate. Mrs. Smith favored retaining the school in Town ownership. She commented on the absence of any plan for the disposal of the other surplus school buildings; that the Town had acted on a piecemeal basis; and that the practice was to entertain proposals on an open-ended basis without a prior determination of the desired use. She advocated retaining the Town's resources. Mr. Sorensen and Mrs. Uhrig favored a decision on disposition now. Mrs. Smith and Mrs. Nichols favored retaining the property and seeking an interim use. Mrs. Flemings abstained desiring more time to study the issue. It was agreed to defer a decision on the second part of the report. C. Article 13, Renaming of Streets: On the motion of Mrs. Nichols, seconded by Mr. Sorensen, it was voted unanimously to approve the report as written. 111 C Planning Board Meeting: March 14, 1983 4 d. Article 15, Substitute Units for Morrow Crossing: The Board reviewed a draft report dated March 11, 1983. Mr. Sorensen suggested clarification that the inclu- sionary zoning policy was part of obtaining a favorable Planning Board recommenda- tion and that the developer had an agreement with the Town which needed to be honored. Other corrections were agreed to and it was agreed that a new draft of the report should be prepared. 49. Other Articles for Planning Board Comment It was agreed that reports be prepared for other articles included on the Planning Director's list dated March 11, 1983 and that a report on Article 48, Lexpress, should be added to that list. 50. Article 16, 87-89 Waltham Street On the motion of Mr. Sorensen, seconded by Mrs. Nichols, it was voted unanimously to approve the report as written. COMPREHENSIVE PLANNING, POLICIES 51. Comment on Draft Report of Alternative Tax Revenue Committee: The Board re- viewed a draft of Planning Board comments on the draft report of the Alternative Tax Revenue Committee. Mr. Sorensen commented that unless one or both of the assumptions, i.e., that expenses will increase by 7% while revenue would increase at 2�%, are changed, no amount of increase in user fees, revenue from increased land development or the other revenue generating devices mentioned in the Commit- tee's report, will close the gap between expenditures and revenue. A change in the assumptions could result in a different conclusion and less pressure on land devel- development. Mrs. Nichols spoke in favor of more extensive use of water and sewer user fees, noting that water is undervalued and an increase in the rates is over- due. On the motion of Mrs. Uhrig, seconded by Mrs. Nichols, it was voted unani- mously to approve the comments as written. REPORTS 52. Planning Board Members, Subcommittees a. Service Stations: Mrs. Smith reported she had talked with Building Com- missioner DiMatteo about his approach to service stations. They agreed the approach should be tried on a policy, rules and procedures basis first before amendments are proposed to the Zoning By -Law. It was agreed the Board would meet soon with Mr. DiMatteo. EXECUTIVE SESSION After a motion by Mrs. Nichols, seconded by Mrs. Uhrig, and a poll of the Board, it was voted unanimously to go into Executive Session to discuss a matter of current litigation involving the Town. It was agreed the Board would return to its open session only for the purposes of adjournment. At 10:47 p.m., the Board went into Executive Session. Following the Executive Session, the Board returned to open session at 11:13 p.m. Board members signed copies of the Definitive Subdivision Plan, as voted in item 45. The meeting was adjourned at 11:18 p.m. ;dith J. U g, Clerk r I PLANNING BOARD MINUTES EXECUTIVE SESSION: MARCH 14, 1983 After a unanimous vote, by poll of the Board, the Lexington Planning Board met in Executive Session in Room G-15, Town Offices, at 10:48 p.m. with Chairman Smith and members Flemings, Nichols, Sorensen and Uhrig, and Planning Director Bowyer present for discussion of litigation involving the Town. Mr. Sorensen commented on the references in the minutes of the meeting of the Executive Session of February 28, 1983 to his remarks and clarified them. On the motion of Mr. Sorensen, seconded by Mrs. Uhrig, it was voted 3-0 to approve the minutes as written. Mrs. Nichols and Mrs. Flemings abstained because they were not present at that meeting. Mr. Bowyer explained that Norman Cohen and Steven Anderson of Palmer and Dodge indicated that if an appeal were filed on the Butts -Campbell case, the Town would have a ten day period in which to file a cross appeal on points in the decision that it felt should be improved. They had inquired whether the Planning Board wanted to appeal any parts of the decision. They had suggested that one part of the decision was troublesome. The decision included a conclusion that because Town Meeting, on three occasions, had not adopted a tightening of the grandfather clause on substandard lots, that it was the Town's intent to maintain a liberal interpretation for substandard lots. The concern of Messrs. Anderson and Cohen is that it is not proper to draw such a conclusion from the Town Meeting's disap- proval of articles because there are numerous factors that go into the decision of a legislative body. After some discussion, it was agreed to defer a decision until the appeal is filed by Butts -Campbell and to schedule another session to discuss whether to proceed with a cross appeal or not. The Executive Session was adjourned at 11:13 p.m. and the Board reconv ed in open session. ith J. Uhri , Clerk 94T