HomeMy WebLinkAbout1984-03-19PLANNING BOARD MINUTES
MEETING OF MARCH 19, 1984
The meeting of the Lexington Planning Board, held in Room G-15, Town Offices, was
called to order at 7:37 p.m. by the Chairman, Mrs. Smith, with members Cripps,
Flemings, Sorensen, Uhrig and Planning Director Bowyer present.
PLANS NOT REQUIRING SUBDIVISION APPROVAL
58. 124-128 Spring Street, Beal Company: Form A-84/5: The Board reviewed a plan
dated March 13, 1984 of the Ledgemont property at 124-128 Spring Street which
showed a Parcel A with 10.023 acres and a Parcel B with 26.208 acres. Land Surveyor
Donald Forand explained that the plan had been revised from that approved by the
Board on March 5 so that the parcel boundaries would be the same as those Shown on
the site plan approved by the Board of Appeals in June, 1983. On the motion of Mr.
Sorensen, seconded by Mrs. Flemings, it was voted unanimously:
The plan entitled "Subdivision Plan of Land in Lexington, Mass.," dated March
13, 1984, by Miller & Nylander Company, certified by Donald J. Forand, Reg-
istered Land Surveyor, with application Form A-84/5, by Irwin Barkan for Beal
and Company Inc., does not require approval under the Subdivision Control Law;
and
That a letter be sent to the applicant notifying him that this plan may poten-
tially be in conflict with the floor area limitation included in Article 18 of
the 1984 Town Meeting, if adopted.
ARTICLES FOR 1984 TOWN MEETING
59. Article 18, CR District, Floor Area Ratio: By a poll of the Board, it was
voted unanimously to delete the provision excluding steep slopes from the land that
may be used in calculating developable site area.
A delegation of representatives of three large properties in the South Lexington CR
districts were present to discuss this article. Chairman Smith commented that
their presence was outside of the Board's normal process in which arguments pro and
con on a zoning amendment are presented at a public hearing. The Board usually
does not provide for additional argumentation in its meetings after the public
hearing but an exception would be made in this case.
Lee Mapletoft and Mario Favarito, counsel for W. R. Grace, said that the adoption
of the 0.25 floor area ratio would be a substantial taking of their property. They
appealed to the Board's fundamental fairness because under the proposed regulation,
W. R. Grace would be able to build less than 50% of what would have been permitted
under a master plan approved by the Board of Appeals in 1974.
Robert Baker of Ginn and Company said that his company would not be able to expand
as originally planned when it bought the property. They have plans for an addi-
tional 300,000 square feet of floor area.
Irwin Barkan and Michael Manzo of Beal and Company said the exclusion of the steep
slopes from the calculation of developable site area was a step in the right direc-
tion but the proposal was still unfair to particular owners. Mr. Manzo commented
that including residentially zoned land was singularly unfair to Beal and Company.
They claimed that the information used by the Planning Board was not substantiated.
Planning Board Minutes: March 19, 1984 2
Ronald Kulpinsky, property manager for Xerox at 191 Spring Street, said that a
floor area ratio of 0.30 or 0.35, based on lot area, would be acceptable. Mr.
Mapletoff said that a floor area ratio of 0.35 based on developable site area, with
wetlands excluded, was acceptable to W. R. Grace.
60. Article 14, Parking Requirements: The Board reviewed and made editorial
changes in a draft of its report to the Town Meeting. On the motion of Mr.
Sorensen, seconded by Mrs. Uhrig, it was voted unanimously to recommend that the
Town Meeting adopt the proposed amendment, as set forth in a motion attached to the
report, and to approve the report as amended.
61. Article 15, Rezone to CG, East Lexington, Worthen Road: The Board reviewed a
draft and made changes to its report to the Town Meeting. On the motion of Mr.
Sorensen, seconded by Mrs. Flemings, it was voted unanimously to recommend that the
Town Meeting approve the proposed amendment and that the Planning Board approve the
report to Town Meeting as amended.
62. Article 16, Parkitig, Central Business District: There was a discussion of
policies for development in Lexington center on which the Land Use Subcommittee of
the Center Revitalization Committee had been working. it was agreed that the
Planning Board would include policies, for which it would take sole responsibility,
in its report to the Town Meeting.
63. Article 17, Height Limit, CB District: On the motion of Mrs. Flemings,
seconded by Mr. Sorensen, it was voted unanimously to recommend that the Town Meet-
ing approve the proposed amendment and that the Planning Board approve the report
to the Town Meeting as drafted.
The meeting was adjourned at 11:18 p.m.
Judith Uhrig, Clerk,
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