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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1984-12-17PLANNING BOARD MINUTES MEETING OF DECEMBER 17, 1984 The meeting of the Lexington Planning Board, held in Room G-15, Town Offices, was called to order at 7:39 p.m., by the Chairman Mrs. Smith, with members Cripps, Flemings, Sorensen, Uhrig, Planning Director Bowyer and Assistant Planner Davidson present. SUBDIVISION OF LAND 247. Hampton, off Concord Avenue: Extension of Time: On the motion of Mrs. Flemings, seconded by Mr. Sorensen, it was voted unanimously to approve the request of Boyd -Smith Inc., that the time for action on the definitive subdivi- sion plan be extended for 60 days, i.e., from December 25, 1984 to February 24, 1985. 248. Pine Meadows Estates, Preliminary Plan: Mr. Bowyer showed a preliminary plan for 160 lots on the Pine Meadows Golf Course property submitted by John Pennucci. Although the Board has until February 12 to act on the preliminary plan, it will attempt to do so prior to Feruary 4, the date of the adjourned Special Town Meeting which deals with the acquisition of the golf course property. ARTICLES FOR 1985 TOWN MEETING 249. RO to CD, Waltham Street and Concord Avenue: Nicholas Canalonga, the owner, was present along with attorney Robert Factor and architect Jerry Heckert to show two alternatives for the redevelopment of the property which now has a one-story concrete block building formerly housing the Abbott Spray and Farm Equipment Company. Several Board members expressed a preference for the alterna- tive with the ground floor retail and second floor offices rather than the alter- native of two floors of office use. Mrs. Flemings commented favorably on the scale and appearance of the retail alternative. Mr. Canalonga will have a traffic study prepared and will furnish data on the size of the proposed building in comparison with the other commercial buildings in the intersection. 250. RO to RD, 180 Lowell Street: William Rupe and William McDevitt of McNeil Associates and George Houk of the Boston Architectural Team were present to show plans for an elderly retirement village to be located between two existing nurs- ing homes. The concept is to have a combination of congregate living and a conventional retirement village, with some medical services available through the two nursing homes. Mr. Sorensen thought the 103 units proposed would make many people nervous as to density. He thought the developer should estimate the minimum number of units necessary to make the project economically feasible. The consensus of the Board was that much density will be very difficult to sell to Town Meeting. There was extended discussion about a long dead-end road and the probable need to provide a connection to another street to provide two means of access. The Board was intrigued by the financing scheme and the relatively low monthly rentals for Planning Board Minutes: December 17, 1984 2 older people but thought the site planning and intensity of development needed a great deal more study. 251. RO to CD, 16 Hayden Avenue: Mrs. Uhrig disqualified herself from consider- ation of this item as she is employed by Temple, Barker and Sloane. Gregory Muzzy of Temple, Barker and Sloane was present to report they were interested in filing a petition for a rezoning which would be practically identical to that presented in Article 24 of the 1984 Town Meeting. The section on repetitive petitions in Chapter 40A provides a Town Meeting may not consider, for two years, a rezoning petition on which it has taken unfavorable action unless the Planning Board makes a favorable recommendation. Mr. Muzzy inquired as to whether the Planning Board might make a favorable recommendation; otherwise, it would be pointless to submit the petition. Mrs. Smith and Mrs. Flemings said they had supported the petition last year and would again this year. Mr. Cripps said that with a proper presentation to the Town feting, showing the redesign of the building, he would support the peti- tion. Mr. Sorensen withheld comment and Mrs. Uhrig had disqualified herself. Three members of the Board indicated they would make a favorable recommendation if the plan were the same as the most recent plan they had seen last spring. Later in the meeting, Mr. Sorensen explained he withheld comment because of a potential conflict of interest. He recently had made an offer to purchase a small parcel of land which abuts his property on Vinebrook Road. The owner of that property is the same person who was the owner of the 16 Hayden Avenue par- cel. He was uncertain as to whether this situation presented a conflict of interest, or the appearance of a conflict. He wanted the Board to be aware of the situation and did not want to take a position on the proposal. It was agreed that Mr. Sorensen would consult with counsel as to whether this situation consti- tutes a conflict of interest. 252. RO to RD, Woburn Street: Peter Kelley and Richard Perry of Woodhaven Real Estate and landscape architect Gary Larson were present to show a plan calling for 51 dwelling units on the 9.9 acre Winn Development Company parcel on Woburn Street, next to the Woburn city line. Larson had a series of drawings of topo- graphy, natural features and potential development locations which showed the site as a very difficult one to develop. The best of the developable land is in the far corner of the site, beyond the 650 foot maximum length of a dead-end street. It is very difficult to design a road, with two points of access, with- out crossing or encroaching on wetlands. Kelley said they intended to built a rental apartment development because of the crying need for rental housing. He inquired what policy the Planning Board has on the number of low and moderate income housing units to be provided. Mrs. Smith said that the policy is being changed but could not say at this time what the new policy would be. The Board's position seemed to be that it wanted to see more rental housing including some percentage for moderate income households. Kelley thought he could live with providing about 30% of the apartment units for middle -moderate income households according to the LexHab guidelines used for the conversion of the Muzzey School. 253. Convert One -Family to Two -Family: The Board continued its discussion of choices in the standards for conversion of a one -family dwelling to a two-family dwelling. It was agreed that: 1) the floor area of the structure to be converted L7l Ll Planning Board Minutes: December 17, 1984 3 should be 2,500 square feet, the same standard as for accessory apartments; 2) the minimum floor area per dwelling unit should be one unit at least 1,000 square feet with no limit on the other; 3) the dwelling must have existed as of January 1, 1983; 4) enlargements or additions would be permitted to the building if the character of the one family dwelling is maintained; 5) there would be no require— ment for owner occupancy; 6) the minimum lot area would be that required in the RO and RS district, and 7) all conversions would require a special permit. In the policy context, the conversion of one family dwellings to two family should be oriented to families needing apartment units. Accessory apartments are designed to serve smaller households. The floor area of the units will necessar— ily be larger than that for accessory apartments. One objective is to permit larger and older one family dwellings to be maintained, rather than becoming run down. It was agreed the Planning Director would prepare a draft of the article and circulate it to the Housing Needs Advisory Committee, which was unable to attend tonight's meeting because of the hearings on the Franklin School conversion. 254. Liquor Store, CB—CG: The Board reviewed a draft of a proposed amendment to permit liquor stores in the former CB zoning districts, which were reclassified to CG to retain the essentially the same rights as they had under CB. The Board agreed to one wording change which makes it clear that those stores cannot locate in any other CG district in the Town. It was agreed that a copy of the draft, as amended, would be furnished to the owners of the liquor stores in question. REPORTS 255. Plannin-g Board. Subcommittees a. Board of Appeals Hearings of December 13: Mr. Sorensen reported that the Board of Appeals had postponed the hearings on 80 Westview Street and 225 Waltham Street until January 10, 1985. The variance for the yard setback on Locust Avenue was granted. The application for the congregate housing facility on North Street was turned down by a unanimous vote. Most of the members of the Board of Appeals agreed with the Planning Board recommendation that the proposed development was of a magnitude that should be acted upon by the Town Meeting. The meeting was adjourned at 10:50 p.m. Judith J. Uhrig, Clerk