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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1987-05-26PLANNING BOARD MINUTES MEETING OF MAY 26, 1987 The meeting of the Lexington Planning Board held in Room G-15, Town Office Building was called to order at 7:32 p.m. by the Chairman, Mrs. Uhrig, with members Klauminaer, Sorensen, Williams, and Assistant Planner Rawski pres- ent. Mrs Wood arrived following item 160. Mr. Williams left the meeting at 8:50 p.m. to attend a Conservation Commission meeting. ******************** ADMINISTRATION OF LAND DEVELOPMENT REGULATIONS ******* PLANS NOT REQUIRING APPROVAL UNDER THE SUBDIVISION CONTROL LAW 156. Form A/87-16, Oakmount Circle: Assistant Planner Rawski explained that lot #4, having no frontage on a public way, is shown on the plan in order for it to be put on record at the Registry of Deeds. The lot did not appear on previous plans or deeds of the property due to a conveyancing error. The applicant intends to submit a second form A, at a future date which will combine lots three and four to create one lot with frontage on Oakmount Circle. Roger Estey, Manager for Oakmount Realty Trust, explained a note was added to the plans to indicate that lot #4 was not to be considered a buildable lot, and added they had just received the deed for the "bow -tie" lot. ' Karsten Sorensen indicated that he believes a note should be added to the plans that more than one dwelling can not be constructed on lot number three unless the property owner goes through the subdivision process. Mr. Williams questioned the legal status of the street. On the motion of Mr. Williams, seconded by Mr. Sorensen, it was voted unanimously : to endorse the plan entitled "Subdivision Plan of Land in Lexington, Mass. (Middlesex County)", dated April 27, 1987 and revised May 15, 1987, by Noonan & McDowell, Inc., certified by Malcolm P. McDowell, Professional Land Surveyor, with application form A/87-16, by Terri E. Junior, as it does not require approval under the Subdivision Control Law. with the addition of the following note: "by this endorsement, the Planning Board makes no determination of compliance with the Zoning By-law or that the lots shown hereon are building lots, or that Oakmount Circle is now of adequate grade, con- struction and/or legal status to meet the requirements of the Zoning By-law for the construction of a new dwelling on an unaccepted street". Martha Wood arrived 7:42 p.m. SUBDIVISION OF LAND 157. Beechwood Lane, off Hill Street, Definitive Subdivision Plan: Mrs. Wood said that including comments of the residents made at the hearing in the draft decision was misleading. She felt that it should be indicated the comments do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Board.or requirements of the Development Regulations. Minutes for May 26, 1987 Page 2 Mr. Sorensen felt that location of the drainage system should not be a basis for denial of the plan because the Town Engineer has indicated that the system will function properly, and because many types of drainage systems are generally located out of the right-of-way. On the motion or Mrs. Wood, seconded by Mrs. Klauminzer, it was voted 3-1-0, with Mr. Sorensen voting in the negative, to disapprove the definitive subdivision plan and to approve the decisions on the special permit and certificate of action, as amended. 158• W• R. Grace, 55 Hayden Avenue, preliminary plan: Mrs. Wood suggested that the following phrase be added to condition #3 in the draft decision: "and placed in the deed of each property". on the motion of Mr. Sorensen, seconded by Mrs. Klauminzer, it was voted unanimously to approve the prelim- inary subdivision plan and to approve the decision, as amended. 159, Tracer Lane, preliminary plan: Assistant Planner Rawski distributed a letter dated May 22, 1987 from Gadsby & Hannah, the applicant's attorney, which attempted to clarify issues pertaining to the provision of public services and wetlands restrictions on land in Waltham, which had not been addressed at the public informational meeting. Mr. Sorensen mentioned that this letter does not address the issue pertain- ing to the maximum length of a cul-de-sac. He asked the staff to request ' the opinion of Town Counsel on the second paragraph of the Gadsby & Hannah letter involving an inland wetlands restriction imposed by the Mass. Dept. of Natural Resourses (now the Division of Environmental Quality Engineer- ing). The letter asserts the restriction applies only to parcels of land in Waltham, saying Lexington never requested such a restriction. David Williams proposed and the Board agreed to eliminate the sentence in the draft decision which stated that it would be a practical impossibility, financially and physically, for the development to be serviced by the Town of Lexington. The Board also revised the order in which the reasons for denial were presented. On the motion of Mrs. Wood, seconded by Mr. Williams, it was voted unani- mously to disapprove the preliminary subdivision plan and to approve the decision, as amended. 160, North Street, Dr. Manganello, preliminary plan: Mr. Williams suggested and the Board agreed that the request for the applicant to convey the wet- lands area to the Town of Lexington be clarified to read the Conservation Commission of the Town of Lexington. On the motion of Mrs. Wood, seconded by Mrs. Klauminzer, it was voted unani- mously to approve the preliminary plan and to approve the decision, as amended. 161. Trinity Covenant Estates, Clematis Road, Theodore Freeman: Mr. Freeman has requested a release of lots from the terms of the covenant because he says all of the work has been completed and he is selling the subdivision. No surety has ever been provided to ensure completion of the work and all lots remained under the terms of the covenant. An inspection of the site revealed that several of the required street trees have died. Surety would Minutes for May 26, 1987 Page 3 be required to insure their replacement. In return for release of the lots, the applicant has indicated that he would provide surety in the form of a passbook in the amount of $3,900.00 to insure completion of all outstanding work. On the motion of Mr. Sorensen, seconded by Mrs. Klauminzer, it was voted unanimously: 1) to set the surety at $4,000.00, 2) to release all of the lots except lot #4 and 3) to authorize the Planning Director or the Assis- tant Planner to sign the final release upon provision of the surety in a proper form. Mr. Williams mentioned that the developer had agreed to provide an easement across lot #4 to allow for the continuance of the existing bridle path, but the easement had never been granted. GRADE AND CONSTRUCTION OF UNACCEPTED STREETS 162, Revision of Policy: Mr. Sorensen made the following comments on the draft of the revised policy: 1. that a cover sheet should be provided which indicates the changes made to the policy; 2. that at the next meeting where the revised policy is discussed, the Town Engineer or his representative be present to answer questions pertaining to road construction; 3. to specify how the distances referred to in the policy are ' measured; 4. to examine for further discussion the implications of requiring a subdivision plan to be filed if more than one lot is created; 5. that the rationale behind how the distances were arrived at be explained, and that a statement should be added to the policy that this requirement can not, under any circumstances be waived. Mrs. Wood stated that the words "in use" as applies to a road in use should be further clarified and questioned whether Mountain Road would qualify as a road in use. Mrs. Klauminzer felt that the maximum length of a dead end street should be specified because it is a requirement related to safety and should not be overlooked. The Board agreed that the policy should be referred back to the staff for further study and revision and would be taken up at the June 8th meeting at which time the Town Engineer should be asked to be present. ********************** PLANNING BOARD WORK SCHEDULE *********************** 163. Future work projects: The Board agreed an immediate priority was to schedule a meeting with the Selectmen to discuss development on Pine Meadows golf course and the town's development guidelines for the site. Mr. Williams felt that Section 9 of the Zoning By -Law should be revised for next year's town meeting and should rank that as a high priority. He would like to see a revision to section 9.2.9., the calculation of density which would require wetlands to be excluded from the proof plan. He also felt Minutes for May 26, 1987 Page 4 that the definition of usable open space should be modified. He suggested the Board should look hard at Section 9 to modify and correct its weaknessess. Mrs. Klauminzer would like to see the Planning Board's development regula- tions completed, and to provide design standards for development on steep slopes. The Board agreed that there should be more discussion of the proposed revi- sions to the ZBL section on non -conformity and asked that they receive a copy of the staff memorandum to Town Counsel which provided an outline of this revision as a research project for a summer intern. Mrs. Uhrig asked that the Board think about how the housing resolution should be implemented. Mrs. Wood suggested, and the Board agreed, that Mrs. Klauminzer distribute copies of the work program to the Housing Advisory Committee to obtain their input prior to more discussion later. ************************* REPORTS ************************************ 164. Planning Board, Subcommittees a. HATS Computer Model: Mrs. Uhrig submitted a copy of the HATS computer model for the Planning Board office files. She said that HATS has decided that the next move would involve agressive lobby- ing as a four town group. b. EOCD Conference on Affordable Housing and Comprehensive Permit Process: Mrs. Wood asked which of the members would be interested in attending the upcoming EOCD conference. Mrs. Klauminzer stated that she would ask HAC members if they would be interested in attending and whether the fee could be paid out of the Planning Board budget. The assistant planner said she thought money could be found for those wishing to attend. The meeting was adjourned at 9:12 p.m. 1 L272a,e d4 C. GJ9� Martha Wood, Clerk