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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1985-06-03PLANNING BOARD MINUTES MEETING OF JUNE 31 1985 The meeting of the Lexington Planning Board held in Room G-15, Town Offices, was called to order at 7:45 p.m. by the Chairman, Mrs. Smith, with members Cripps, Flemings, Planning Director Bowyer and Assistant Planner Delori present. Mr. Sorensen joined the meeting during item 145, Mrs. Uhrig joined the meeting during item 147. PLANS NOT REQUIRING SUBDIVISION APPROVAL 144. 38 Merriam Street, Marjorie Emory Estate, Form A-85/9: The Board reviewed a plan showing the transfer of land at the rear of 38 Merriam Street to another lot fronting on Somerset Road. The frontage of the two lots remains the same. The transfer of the land would reduce the area of lot A -1D which already has less than the minimum lot area required by the Zoning By -Law, and that would be a violation of Section 7.2.1 of the By -Law. The Board considered two choices. One was to disapprove the plan. The second was to endorse the plan with a note that there was a zoning violation caused by the subdivision. Placing that type of note would: 1) potentially cast a cloud on the title, 2) create the need for enforcement action by the Building Commissioner and 3) potentially result in an application to the Board of Appeals. That choice results in a number of awkward situations and unnecessary administrative work. On the motion of Mrs. Flemings seconded by Mr. Cripps it was voted 3-0 : to not endorse the plan entitled "Compiled Subdivision Plan of Land in Lexington, Mass." prepared by Miller and Nylander Company, certified by by Donald Forand, Registered Land Surveyor, dated March 15, 1985, because the proposed subdivision would violate Section 7.2.1 of the Zoning By -Law which provides that a lot already non -conforming shall not be changed in size or shape so as to increase the degree of non -conformity. 145. APPLICATIONS TO THE BOARD OF APPEALS Mrs. Smith and Mr. Bowyer provided an oral review of cases to be heard by the Board of Appeals on June 13. It was agreed the Board would make no recommenda- tions on the following 3 cases: 643 Waltham Street, James Catalano: SP, Greenhouse, nursery. 196 Woburn Street, David Modoono: SP, Roadside Stand 321 Woburn Street, Iole Rocchi: SP, Food Service Mr. Sorensen joined the meeting at this point. 231 Bedford Street, Carmen Lombardo: Variances, parking: The Board reviewed a staff memo dated May 30, 1985. The Board agreed to oppose the variance petition, because, in addition to points raised in the memo: 1) the application is not complete because it does not indicate what other uses are in the building and 2) there is no hardship as Lombardo was aware in 1983, before he started the busi- ness, that the Board of Appeals would not allow parking in the residential area. On the motion of Mrs. Flemings, seconded by Mr. Sorensen, it was voted 4-0 to Minutes, June 3, 1985 page 2 recommend against granting the variance. 101 Spring Street, John Geany: Variance, Front Yard Setback: There was discus- sion as to whether a variance is needed for a second story addition which does not further violate the setback requirement. Mr Bowyer reported Building Commis- sioner DiMatteo said it was a close call but his interpretation was that the addition increased the degree of non -conformity with respect to building mass. On the motion of Mr. Sorensen seconded by Mrs. Flemings, it was voted 4-0 to recommend in favor of granting a special permit under Section 6.3 of the Zoning By -Law to permit the enlargement of the non -conforming structure and, if it is determined that a variance is required, the Board is not opposed to granting a variance. 146. APPROVAL OF MINUTES On the motion of Mr. Cripps seconded by Mr. Sorensen, it was voted 4-0 to approve the minutes of March 11 and March 18 as written. SUBDIVISION OF 147. Lincoln Hills, establishment of surety: The Board was in receipt of a memorandum from Town Engineer Francis Fields dated May 28, 1985 estimating that the cost of completing the required improvements was $11,429. The Board noted there was not an allowance for contigencies included in the estimate. On the motion of Mr. Sorensen seconded by Mr. Cripps, it was voted 4-0 to set the ' amount of surety for the Lincoln Hills Subdivision at $12,000. The Chairman declared a brief recess at 8:15 p.m. The meeting was reconvened at 8:22 p.m. Mrs. Uhrig joined the meeting at this point. 148. Graystone, off Pleasant Street, design alternatives: William Smith, Joel Roos of Boyd -Smith, Landscape Architect Rick Lamb and Attorney Michael Malm were present to discuss alternatives for dealing with several site development issues. The Board worked from a letter dated May 22 to Boyd -Smith that cited 6 develop- ment issues. Mr. Lamb showed a plan with different cross-sections for the road, the turn- around, and the sidewalk. It was agreed that either retaining walls or slopes could be located within the right-of-way of the subdivision street, so as to preserve more of the natural landscape, provided there was a level area of at least 5 feet adjacent to the paved section of the road, and provided any cons- truction was low maintenance and the maintenance was performed by property owners and not the Town. It was agreed the sidewalk should extend from the subdivision street to the Goldman property. There was discussion about obtaining a permit from the State DPW for work within the State-owned part of the Pleasant Street right-of-way adjacent to the Route 2 on-ramp. This includes drainage, sanitary sewer,a sidewalk and a small clearing on the corner of Pleasant Street and Worthen Road East as a safe place for school children to wait for the school bus. It was agreed the staff would have further discussion with the Town Engineer about the direction of the sewer and drainage lines to connect to existing Town lines. 1 Minutes, June 3, 1985 page 3 Mr. Smith reported that field survey work is still underway to locate all trees with a caliper of 6 inches or greater and to define a limit of work line. That should be available for the next meeting of the Board. For the drainage along the rear of lots 9, 10 and 11, a swale is proposed. The Engineering Department favors an underdrain in addition to the swale. The Board was skeptical of a one-way system in the turn -around. Even if the Town adopted such a system, it would be difficult to police. They favored a roadway width of 24 feet in the turn -around section with safe sight lines. Mr. Smith had a proposed memorandum of agreement dealing with blasting stipulat- ing time of day limitations, safety measures, procedure for notifying property owners and the provision of surety. There was a discussion of the schedule for review and action on the subdivision; discussion of the design alternatives will continue at the meeting on June 17. Mr. Smith requested that the time for action on the subdivision be extended until July 17, 1985; on the motion of Mr. Sorensen seconded by Mr. Cripps it was voted unanimously to approve that request. REPORTS 149. Planning Boards Members, Sub -committees: a. Congregate Housing Committee: Mrs. Flemings reported that the Selectmen -appointed Congregate Housing Committee is becoming very active. They are considering a variety of congregate housing and there are a number of choices to be made. When the Committee reaches some decision points, she will suggest a more formal review by the Planning Board. Members suggested that the Housing Needs Advisory Committee participate at that time. b. Meeting Schedule: It was agreed the Planning Board's summer meeting schedule would be June 17, July 1, July 22, August 12, with August 26 held in reserve. The Board will resume its regular meeting schedule on September 9, 1985. The meeting was adjourned at 10:07 p.m. Judith J. rig, Clerk l/