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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1986-03-10PLANNING BOARD MINUTES OF MARCH 10, 1986 The meeting of the Lexington Planning Board, held in Room G-15, Town Office Building, was called to order at 7:36 by the Chairman, Mrs. Uhrig, with members Cripps, Klauminzer, Sorensen, Planning Director Bowyer and Secretary Peters present. Mrs. Wood was absent. ************************ PLANNING BOARD ORGANIZATION ************************* 61. Election of Officers: Mr. Cripps nominated Mrs. Uhrig for chairman, Mrs. Klauminzer seconded the nomination. There were no other nominations, and the Board voted unanimously to elect Mrs. Uhrig chairman. Mrs. Klauminzer nominated Mr. Cripps for vice-chairman. Mrs. Uhrig seconded the nomination. There were no other nominations, and the Board voted unanimously to elect Mr. Cripps vice-chairman. Mrs. Uhrig nominated Mrs. Wood for clerk. Mr. Cripps seconded the nomination. There were no other nominations, and the Board voted unanimously to elect Mrs. Wood clerk. 62. Signature Forms: Members of the Planning Board present, Planning Director Bowyer and Assistant Planner Rawski signed the Signature Forms for the Registry of Deeds and the Recorder of Land Court. The forms will be held by the staff until Mrs. Wood's signature can be obtained. ****************** PUBLIC PARTICIPATION ************************* Mr. and Mrs. Albert Brown of 12 Carol Lane, expressed concerns about the loss of the country atmosphere they enjoyed when they moved to Lexington. They particu- larly objected to the appearance of Custance Place and The Lumberyard develop- ments on Bedford Street. They felt the Town should have been able to prevent "such excessive development". They asked what the Planning Board and/or citizens could do in the future. Mrs. Uhrig said these developments are a permitted use in the zone in which they are located. No traffic study is required; and the applicant needs only apply for a building permit which is granted by the Inspection Department if the de- velopment conforms to the Zoning By -Law and the State Building Code. She added the Planning Board tries to propose as many corrections to the Zoning By -Laws as they can, noting the seven zoning articles proposed by the Planning Board for this year's Town Meeting. Mr. Brown recommended the setbacks should be increased to 50 feet in commercial districts. William Spencer felt that the applicant for a building permit in the CG District should be required to furnish the informa- tion required for site development plan approval, which includes a traffic analy- sis, as described in Section 3 of the Zoning By -Law. Mr. Brown added he had heard that the Medi -Mart building on the corner of Worthen Road and Bedford Street was for sale, and he hoped there could be something done to prevent that site from being as intensively developed as Custance had been. Minutes of March 10, 1986 Page 2 ********************* ADMINISTRATION OF LAND DEVELOPMENT REGULATIONS *********** SUBDIVISION OF LAND ---- ---- - --------------------- 63. Pheasant Brook Estates II, Kahn -Quinn: Mr. Bowyer explained the subdi- vision application filed by the developer was incomplete, and he had returned it it to them as incomplete. Town Counsel advised the Board to confirm the action of the Planning Director. On the motion of Mr. Cripps, seconded by Mrs. Klau- minzer, it was voted: That the Board has reviewed the plans submitted by Pheasant Brooks Estates, Inc. off Maple Tree Lane and Butterfield Road and has determined that in accordance with Sections 3.5 and 8.2 of the "Rules and Regulations Governing the Subdivision of Land in Lexington, Mass.," the required procedure was not followed for the reasons set forth in the Planning Director's letter to Pheasant Brook Estates, Inc. dated March 5, 1986, and a number of items required to be filed with a definitive plan were not included; and that the application is considered incomplete and is returned to the applicant. It will be necessary to file a new application at which time the 60 day period for approval or disapproval, set forth in the "Rules and Regulations" will begin. 64. Farmington Rise, Mark Moore: Mr. Bowyer explained the developer has re- quested a reduction in the amount of surety being held by the Town, adding that ' the Town must retain at least $6,000, 15% of the amount originally provided as surety by the developer. The Engineering Department has recommended that this will be more than sufficient to complete any outstanding work on the subdivision. On the motion of Mrs. Klauminzer, seconded by Mr. Cripps, it was voted unanimously: to reduce the amount of surety held by the Town for completion of work at Farmington Rise to $6,000. *********************** ARTICLES FOR 1986 TOWN MEETING ************************* 65. Article 47, Choate Symmes: The Board met with Housing Needs Advisory Com- mittee members Adler, Flemings, Hays and Spencer to discuss the housing parts of the Choate Symmes Life Care facility. Mrs. Uhrig asked for a progress report of discussions with Choate Symmes on their compliance with the Housing Element of the Comprehensive Plan. The Committee reported that Choate Symmes had proposed a lump sum payment of $480,000 in lieu of providing affordable housing units. Mr. Spencer noted the difficulty of: 1) attempting to separate the nursing care costs from the housing costs of the proposal and 2) establishing an assets test. He added assumptions made now would have to be guesswork since an assets test has not been used before for this type of housing. It was noted that the Lexhab and Housing Authority have an assets test. Mrs. Klauminzer asked if it could be modified to apply to the Choate Symmes proposal. Mr. Hays felt it would be difficult to adjust these figures to apply to Choate Symmes. He felt Mr. Bowyer's report has shown how difficult it is to set levels of rents and purchase costs. Minutes of March 10, 1986 Page 3 Discussion followed on what would be done if the Town decided to accept the proposal of a lump sum payment. Mr. Spencer and Mrs. Flemings both recommended it be earmarked to fund congregate housing in Lexington, with the Housing Author- ity given the charge to get a specific plan underway. Mr. Adler felt that Choate Symmes wanted to "buy out" of their obligations to provide a certain percentage of affordable housing as specified in the Housing Element. The Housing Needs Advisory Committee endorsed the need for this kind of facility in general, but questioned whether the numbers could be worked out to provide affordable housing in the development, given the difficulty of separating the health care part of the cost from the rental expenses. Mrs. Flemings asked what concerns the Planning Board might have. Members men- tioned setting up a procedure to substitute some form of payment for taxes lost, making units available to as many Lexington residents as possible, and site problems. All agreed that there should be a fixed period for people to sign up for renting units, not permitting renting on a first come, first served basis. Mrs. Klauminzer hoped the committee would not give up trying to work out an assets test. She encouraged them to try once more. Mr. Hays felt time was running out, and that in any new deliberations Choate Symmes should participate. The Board went on to a more general discussion of issues on the Choate Symmes proposal. Mr. Sorensen felt the application for the rezoning should be judged in ' the same way as other development proposals were judged, and not treated dif- ferently because a community service organization is the proponent. His major concerns were the density/acre ratio which was too high, resulting in overcrowd- ing of buildings, excessive grading and use of the site. The commercial parking in a residential zone also worried him. He felt the only open land left undis- turbed was the steep slopes and the wetlands. Other members expressed site concerns, and added that clearly there was a need for this type of development in Lexington, but at what price. 66. Articies 40-46: The Board discussed the format for presentation of Planning Board reports at Town Meeting. It was agreed the existing portion of the By -Law would be presented with additions underlined and deletions in parenthesis, and the revised text printed in its entirety below. ---- Article 43, Non-Conformin Dwellings: The Board discussed added language in the draft dated 3/10/86 dealing with second story projections and the minimum yard setback, and decided to stay with the draft dated 1/30/86. 67. APPLICATIONS TO THE BOARD OF APPEALS Mr. Sorensen gave an oral report on the three applications to be heard by the Board of Appeals on March 13, 1986. On the motion of Mr. Cripps, seconded by Mrs. Klauminzer it was voted unanimously to comment on the following case: 27 Muzzey Street, Kayn Realty Trust: The Board had no objection to the use. It noted that parking plan was the same plan the Board rejected last fall as unworkable, and still feels is unworkable. They recommended that the number of employees permitted in the building not exceed the number of workable parking spaces on the lot, and that the parking spaces must be on the site. 1 1 1 Minutes of March 10, 1986 Page 4 They objected to the use of the Town's parking spaces to satisfy the park- ing -zoning requirements of the building. They felt in no case should the two large colorado blue spruce trees be cut down to provide required parking spaces. The Board also voted to make no comment on the following two cases: 10 Pleasant Street, Wilson Farm, Inc., SP. 83 Grant Street, Richard F. McDonough, Variance. ******************************* REPORTS 68. Planning Board, Subcommittees: a. Center Revitalization Committee: Mr. Cripps will attend and Mr. Sorensen will try to attend the meeting on March 18, 1986. b. HATS: Mrs. Uhrig reported there will be a HATS meeting on March 20, 1986. c. Selectmen's Breakfast Meeting on March 14, 1986: Mrs. Uhrig announced she will attend the breakfast meeting and propose putting the citizen zoning articles on at "times certain" (8:00 p.m. on specified dates) at the Town Meeting sessions. 69. Planning Director a. Planning Board Rules: Mr. Bowyer reported that the Planning Board Procedural Rules were in need of updating. He has obtained a copy of the Selectmen's Rules and will examine them for ideas. It was agreed the up- dating should be undertaken soon. The meeting was adjourned at 10:24 p.m. Stephen Cripps Vice Chairman