Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout1983-06-20PLANNING BOARD MINUTES MEETING OF JUNE 20, 1983 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. Smith, with members Flemings, Sorensen, Uhrig and Planning Director Bowyer present. Mrs. Nichols was absent. 119. APPROVAL OF MINUTES On the motion of Mrs. Uhrig, seconded by Mrs. Flemings, the minutes of the meeting of June 6, 1983, were approved unanimously as written. PLANS NOT REQUIRING SUBDIVISION APPROVAL 120. Pelham Road, Sister Mary Sears, SGM: Form A-83/3 Mr. Bowyer reported that Donald Forand, the land surveyor who had prepared the plan, questioned why the Board had not approved the plan because a notation was placed on the plan indicating Lot 2 did not conform to zoning regulations. Mr. Sorensen commented that the plan does not meet one of the two criteria, frontage, that the Board must address. Creation of some previous substandard lots has come back to haunt the Board and the Town. Roger Corbin, Boston Survey Company, stated he had recently been placed in charge of the Miller and Nylander office in Lexington. He pledged that the Board would have sufficient information about Form A transactions in the future. 121. 73 Grassland Street, Paul Valihura: Form A-83/4 ' The Board reviewed a plan, dated 4/28/83 , by Donald J. Forand, Registered Land Surveyor, of a proposed transfer of property between Paul Valihura and Barbara DeMille, who are brother and sister. Each of them owns a pre-existing, nonconform- ing lot with fifty feet of frontage. They propose to exchange land in the middle and rear of the two lots with the result that the area of each lot remains the same as present; the frontage of each lot would not be changed. The result would be a long thin section in the middle of the Valihura lot, commonly called a 'pork chop' lot. Several members expressed concerne about the precedent that approval of this plan might create. On the motion of Mr. Sorensen, seconded by Mrs. Flemings, it was voted unanimously to: 1) defer action on the plan until it could be reviewed by Town Counsel, and 2) conduct a telephone poll of the Board so that a vote can be taken within the fourteen day period prescribed by the statute for action on this type of plan. OPINION ON CONSTRUCTION OF UNACCEPTED STREET 122, Hayes Lane, Map 48, Lot 211, CUS 83/1: The Board reviewed a staff analysis, dated June 16, 1983, of a request from Charles W. Morgan for the determination of the adequacy of the construction of Hayes Lane and a plan for improvements to Hayes Lane dated June 14, 1983, prepared by Roger Corbin, There was a memorandum from the Town Engineer, Francis Fields, dated June 16, 1983, that commented primarily on sewer service and recommended the proposed road be extended three feet at the Fletcher Avenue intersection. Planning Board Minutes: June 20, 1983 2 Mr. Sorensen expressed concern that the grade was 11.2% for part of the proposed improvements and that the pavement narrowed from 20 feet to about 12 feet adjacent to the lot. Mr. Corbin responded that the right-of-way narrows at that point and it is proposed to narrow the pavement to match the existing street. Without a land taking, it would not be possible to maintain alignment and still match the grades of the adjoining property. On the motion of Mr. Sorensen, seconded by Mrs. Flemings, it was voted unanimously to defer action on the determination until the meeting of July 11. Mrs. Smith requested that the Town Engineer comment on the grades and the width of pavement. SUBDIVISION OF LAND 123. Idylwild Farm: The Board reviewed a memo from Town Engineer Francis Fields dated June 15, 1983, suggesting the Planning Board request a legal opinion from Town Counsel as to whether the Selectmen should present an article at next year's Town Meeting for the appropriation of money to finish Idylwild Road and accept it as a Town way. The bond for the subdivision was called some time ago and there was not sufficient money to finish the road. On the motion of Mr. Sorensen, seconded by Mrs. Uhrig, it was voted unanimously to recommend to the Board of Selectmen that an appropriation be sought at the 1984 Town Meeting to complete Idylwild Road. 124. APPLICATIONS TO THE BOARD OF APPEALS 118 Cedar Street, Viola Brown: SP, Maintain Garage: It was agreed to make no recommendation on this application. 10 Maguire Road, Itek Optical Division: SPS: Robert Silk of Itek Optical Division was present and explained the utilization of existing parking spaces is low because ' the company instituted an extensive program of carpooling and staggered work hours in the mid -seventies. Less than 340 vehicles enter or leave the site in the one hour peak in the morning or afternoon. Work hours are staggered so that a different group of employees is released every half hour during the peak hours. The Board agreed it would be pointless to recommend peak hour traffic and parking limitations, as it has done on other SPS applications in the Hartwell Avenue -Bedford Street area, because Itek already has such a program and has about 200 parking spaces that are now not used. It was agreed unanimously that the Board would recommend that the SPS be approved because Itek is already in compliance with the Planning Board's policy. 70 Westview Street, Kiln Brook IV, Dupree Associates: SP: Roger Corbin, designer for the project, was present and furnished the Board with a "Drainage Design Summary." It was agreed to request that the drainage calculations be reviewed by the conservation director. The Board reviewed a draft report dated June 20, 1983, and agreed to several editorial changes. The Board will support the traffic recommendation but needs further information on the drainage analysis before it decides on comments on the site planning. 125. SPS - Traffic Capacity Finding: Mrs. Smith reported that in the 85 Hartwell Avenue case, the Board of Appeals interpreted the new language in Section 3.4 that requires a finding, that the traffic capacity of the streets adjacent to the devel- opment is adequate, as if the word "adjacent" was the same as "abutting." It was agreed that a memo should be drafted to go to the Board of Appeals explaining the intent of the "traffic capacity" amendment. Planning Board Minutes: June 20, 1983 COMPREHENSIVE PLANNING, POLICIES 91 126. Socio -Economic Characteristics of Lexington: Housing: Mr. Bowyer made a slide presentation of material contained in the forthcoming report on housing which is in preparation. 127. Additional Commercial Development, South Lexington: The Board reviewed a draft of a summary of "Additional Commercial Development: CR Districts, South Lex- ington," dated It was agreed to remove Issue 7 from the report. On the motion of Mr. Sorensen, seconded by Mrs. Uhrig, it was voted unanimously to approve the summary, as amended. Mr. Sorensen said he was eager to see a solution developed for the road system to accommodate the traffic generated from additional development. If the road system cannot accommodate traffic from additional development, then the Board should move on additional zoning controls to maintain a balance between development and traffic on the streets. REPORTS 128. Planning Board Members, Subcommittees a. Housing Needs Advisory Committee: Mrs. Flemings reported on a recent meeting of the Committee at which Mr. Guiterrez's proposal, that the "value added" created by additional density be shared with the Town, was discussed. Mr. Hayes observed that the courts may be skeptical of the proposal, if framed that way, because it appears to be a form of taxation arising out of a regu- latory device, i.e., zoning. ' b. HATS: Mrs. Uhrig reported that a memorandum of understanding for the study to be conducted by the Central Transportation Planning Staff is close to signature. c. Genetic Research: Mrs. Smith reported that James Lambie informed her that the Board of Health would be working on draft regulations for genetic research. Collaborative Research Inc., which is located in the Ledgemont property off Spring Street, would like to expand genetic research activity. d. Green and White Property: Several members noted that the Green and White property between Maple and Woburn Streets, the largest piece of vacant land in Town, had been sold. e. Meeting of Chairmen: Mrs. Smith reported that the School Committee identified the need for a liaison person from the Planning Board to work on issues related to school districting. The Chairman of the Capital Expendi- tures Committee asked the Selectmen to identify the priorities within category "A" of unaccepted streets to be presented for reconstruction. The meeting was adjourned at 10:37 p.m. /,C ith J. Uhrk