HomeMy WebLinkAbout1986-06-30PLANNING BOARD
MINUTES OF JUNE 30, 1986
The meeting of the Lexington Planning Board held in Room G-15, Town Office
Building, was called to order at 7:25 by the Chairman, Mrs. Uhrig, with mem-
bers Klauminzer, Sorensen, Wood, Assistant Planner Rawski and Secretary Peters
present. Mr. Cripps was absent. Planning Director Bowyer arrived during item
163.
159. Election of Officers: Mrs. Wood nominated Mrs. Uhrig to serve as chair-
man. Mrs. Klauminzer seconded the nomination. There were no other nomina-
tions, and the Board voted 3-0-1, with Mr. Sorensen abstaining, to elect Mrs.
Uhrig chairman.
Mrs. Uhrig nominated Mr. Cripps to serve as vice chairman. Mrs. Wood seconded
the nomination. There were no other nominations, and the Board voted 3-0-1,
with Mr. Sorensen abstaining, to elect Mr. Cripps vice chairman.
Mrs. Klauminzer nominated Mrs. Wood to serve as clerk. Mrs Uhrig seconded the
nomination. There were no other nominations, and the Board voted unanimously
to elect Mrs. Wood clerk.
************* ADMINISTRATION OF LAND DEVELOPMENT REGULATIONS **************
' PLANS NOT REQUIRING APPROVAL UNDER THE SUBDIVISION CONTROL LAW
160. Form A/86-13, Kirksey and Mayne, Solomon Pierce Road: The Board reviewed
a plan showing the combination of 3 lots (18C, 18D-1, and 18E-2) and 2 lots
(18D-2 and 18E-1) creating two lots with frontage and acreage conforming to
current zoning requirements. On the motion of Mr. Sorensen, seconded by Mrs.
Wood, it was voted unanimously:
to endorse the plan entitled "Plan of Land in Lexington, Mass.", dated
May 10, 1986, by BSC - Bedford, certified by Roger M. Corbin, Profession-
al Land Surveyor, with application form A/86-13, applicants Kirksey &
Mayne, as it does not require approval under the Subdivision Control law.
SUBDIVISION OF LAND
161. Sunset Ridge, endorsement of plans: Ms. Rawski reported the applicant
has made all the changes on the plan, prepared the covenant and provided the
blasting information, as requested by the Board. On the motion of Mr. Soren-
sen, seconded by Mrs. Klauminzer, it was voted unanimously to endorse the
plans.
162. Hampton Road, acceptance of surety and release of lots: On the motion of
Mr. Sorensen, seconded by Mrs. Wood, it was voted unanimously:
to accept surety in the form of Performance Secured By Funds Retained By
the State Street Bank and Trust Co., in the amount of $24,397.25 for the
remaining work to complete the development and to release lots 1, 2, and
8.
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Minutes of June 30, 1986 Page 2
163. Willow Ridge, preliminary sketch plan: Chris Nelson, from Nelson Engin-
eering, William Callahan, attorney and David Solomon, designer, reviewed a
plan for land off Wellington Lane Avenue. The site analysis was done by
Larson Associates. The developer is Edward Maddon.
Ms. Nelson said criteria affecting design included existing wetlands, topog-
raphy, noise from Route 2 and abuttors' objections to connecting the proposed
extension of Barrett Road through to Wellington Lane Avenue. There would be
three buildings containing two units of 2100 sq. ft. each, and a single unit
of 3800 sq. ft. The nine units would be held in condominium ownership.
The developer has agreed to construct a footpath to the Bowman School on Town -
owned land (conservation- and school -controlled property) which the Town has
requested. In response to a question from Mr. Sorensen, Mr. Bowyer said
completion of the footpath, which has not been designed yet, would include
construction of a bridge across Beaver Brook.
Mrs. Klauminzer was concerned with the tight clustering of the units and the
size of the buildings which are approximately 80 feet long, with approximately
50 feet of space between the units. She suggested there be more buffer area
between the units.
The Board saw no insoluble problems with the proposal. However they insist a
through street to Wellington Lane Avenue with a 50 foot r.o.w., must be part
of the plan.
164. Ridge Road, letter from Robert L. Johnson: In response to a question
from Mrs. Uhrig, Mr. Bowyer briefly reviewed the events leading to the draft
letter, dated June 30, 1986, responding to the letter from Mr. Johnson. He
commented that the status of Ridge Road does not affect their ability to
develop the land, since any development of more than three units would require
a special permit with site plan review. The Board approved the letter, with
corrections, to be sent to Mr. Johnson and his attorney, Mr. Gilman.
165. Toga Property, off Turning Mill Rd., development options: Richard Cook,
of BSC Engineering, reported the Toga family still hope to have a three lot
subdivision approved on the 2 1/2 acre site. They would give the third lot to
the Town in exchange for permission to access the other two lots with drive-
ways. He added that if they were required to build a road to subdivision
standards, they would have to build three houses.
Mr. Sorensen commented that the proposal created just the kind of oddly -shaped
lot the Board has tried to eliminate over the years. Mr. Cook responded he
would agree if this were an "approval not required plan', but the special
permit with site plan review (for three or more lots) procedure gave the Board
considerable flexibility. He said they were considering this option also, and
asked if the Board would consider allowing 35 feet of frontage for the lots if
they did, to obtain better lots and house sites. The Board said they would
not.
Minutes of June 30, 1986 Page 3
Mr. Costello noted construction of a subdivision road would require extensive
cuts in the hillside and the loss of many mature trees. Mr. Bowyer noted that
the Board could require the 50 foot right-of-way be shown, show that the lots
could have legal frontage along the defined right-of-way and waive construc-
tion of the roadway to full Town standards under the provisions of the Subdi-
vision Regulations.
Mr. Cook asked if he could present to the Board what he feels would be a good
design for an interior drive to serve two homes. Mrs. Uhrig said the board
would entertain such a proposal. She added the Board is looking for a road-
way to subdivision standards or something very close to it.
166. Mason's Hollow, design issues: The Board reviewed MASONS HOLLOW - DIS-
CUSSION ITEMS, dated June 30, 1986, prepared by Ms. Rawski. They agreed that
underground electric and telephone lines must be shown. They also agreed they
would like to see provision for the 100 year storm retention area resolved in
some other way that would not require the excessive removal of trees as now
shown. Joyce Miller, Conservation Commission chairman, noted she had seen two
preliminary plans using: 1) dry wells, and 2) large storage pipes.
The Board agreed to allow an alternate turnaround to be constructed as long as
dense planting is provided along the end of the turnaround. Mr. Sorensen felt
there should be a sidewalk, suggesting the walk be made from porous/crushed
stone, and not necessarily built with bituminous concrete as prescribed in the
Town standards.
As the road will not be a public way, the Board agreed to permit a 20 foot
wide interior drive for the whole length of the drive, to preserve the histor-
ic aspect of the Mason property. Ms. Rawski noted that since there had been
no space provided for guest parking, the 16 ft width proposed could have
created bottlenecks. The 20 foot wide interior drive is a special allowance
by the Board because the property is in a historic district and the interior
drive will not be a public street. This allowance is not to be a precedent
for other subdivisions.
COMPREHENSIVE PERMIT
167. Development Application, Katandin Woods: The Board was joined by Housing
Needs Advisory Committee members, Elizabeth Flemings and William Spencer, to
review a draft response to the request by the Lexington Housing Authority for
Planning Board recommendations on the application of the Boston Investment &
Development Corp. for funding under the Teller Program to construct a mixed -
income apartment development called Katandin Woods.
The Board reviewed a draft of a recommendation prepared by Mrs. Klauminzer and
members of the HNAC. It agreed with Mr. Spencer's suggestion to substitute
the word "education" for the word "persuasion" in the last line of the
"Comment:" under item number 5 on page 5, and approved the draft, with cor-
rections, for transmittal to the Housing Authority.
Minutes of June 30, 1986
Page 4
******************************** REPORTS ************************************
168. Planning Board
a. Housing Needs Advisory Committee: The Board discussed proposed
revisions of the HNAC "Charge to Committee" with Mrs. Flemings and
Mr. Spencer. Mrs. Flemings felt the Committee should be more task
oriented, and thought the Committee would be more effective if it
were considered a permanent resource available to and appointed
jointly by the Planning Board and the Board of Selectmen.
Mr. Spencer mentioned that a possible task for the Committee might
evolve from a proposal under the State Housing Partnership Program
that advocates more affordable housing for moderate income owners.
Mr. Bowyer suggested the Committee become involved with work on the
Affordable Housing grant received by the Town.
The Board approved the "Charge to Committee" with the following
revisions: the elimination of the words "PLANNING BOARD" from the
title of the charge, and the addition of the words "for specific
terms" to section A. under "II. Appointing Authority."
169. Planning Director
a. Material for new Board members: In response to a request from Mrs.
' Klauminzer, Mr. Bowyer agreed to gather resource material to help
familiarize newer members with their responsibilities. This may
involve a "training session" reading plans and other related
material the Board regularly deals with.
The meeting adjourned at 10:33 p.m.
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`?rla&.4Z C. "Cloe
Martha C. Wood, Clerk