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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1987-11-23PLANNING BOARD MINUTES MEETING OF NOVEMBER 23, 1987 The meeting of the Lexington Planning Board held in Room G-15, Town Office Building was called to order at 7:08 p.m. by the Chairman, Mrs. Uhrig, with members Klaumin- zer, Sorensen, Williams, Wood, Planning Director Bowyer, Assistant Planner Rawski and Secretary Peters present. 294. EXECUTIVE SESSION, Litigation against the Town, and Value of Real Property: On the motion of Mrs. Wood, seconded by Mrs. Klauminzer, after a poll of the Board, it was voted unanimously, 5-0-0, to go into Executive Session at 7:12 p.m. to discuss: 1) the value of real property and 2) litigation against the Town, and to return to open session in approximately one hour. The Board returned to open session at 8:22 p.m. 295. Review of Minutes: The Board reviewed the minutes for the meetings of Octo- ber 26 and November 9, 1987. On the motion of Mr. Sorensen, seconded by Mrs. Wood, it was voted unanimously to approve the minutes for both meetings, as written. PLANNING BOARD ORGANIZATION 296. Amendment to the Procedural Rules of the Lexington Planning Board: The Board reviewed a proposed amendment to Article 3.5, Agenda dealing with previously unseen material (see attached copy). On the motion of Mrs. Klauminzer, seconded by Mrs. ' Wood, it was voted unanimously to incorporate the amendment into the Procedural Rules. ******************************** REPORTS ***************************************** 297. Planning Director a. Fine Homes Realty Trust, Ulysses Bourque: They are investigating the feasibility of an RD development of approximately 18 to 25 units on the pro- perty across from Chadwicks. b. Pheasant Brook II: Fine Homes Realty Trust may be taking over this pro- posal, also. The Board stated its preference for a cluster development, since the conventional plan submitted by Kahn -Quinn shows how difficult it is to do a conventional subdivision layout on this site, due to excessive wetlands on the site. c. Vacant School Sites: Mr. Bowyer reported on his regular meeting with Frank DiGiammarino, Asst. Supt. of Planning and Development, dealing with school enrollment projections. Acting Superintendent Isa Zimmerman commented the school department had no future plans for the four vacant school sites, and, in fact, she thought the School Committee had already transferred jurisdiction of the sites to the Selectmen. ******************* ARTICLES FOR 1988 TOWN MEETING ****************************** 298. Middlesex Mall Rezoning, presentation by Northland Development Co: Mark Wexler, representating Northland made the presentation. He briefly reviewed the proposal that was not passed by the 1986 Town Meeting and explained what changes they had made to this proposal to overcome the objections voiced earlier. Minutes for November 23, 1987 Page 2 They propose that only the 1 1/4 acres, on which the additional parking and build- ing will be located, be rezoned to CD, and that the zoning of the rest of the parcel would remain unchanged (RO). In response to questions from the Board, he said the size of the building had been reduced from 22,000 s.f. to 14,000 s.f., the building had been moved away from the hillside so the cut will be less, and that they planned to plant the hillside with vegetation. Mr. Sorensen recommended they meet the parking requirements of the district, and that the whole parcel should be rezoned CD. Mr. Williams questioned whether the existing buffer required in the 1973 Special Permit issued by the Burlington Board of Appeals could be moved, and noted he was against any more land being zoned commercial in this area. ************* ADMINISTRATION OF LAND DEVELOPMENT REGULATIONS ******************** PLANS NOT REQUIRING APPROVAL UNDER THE SUBDIVISION CONTROL LAW 299. Form A/87-26 Walnut Street Robert E. Phelan: The Board reviewed a plan showing the division of land in which a lot is created (Lot 4B) without sufficient legal frontage on a public way. On the motion of Mrs. Wood, seconded by Mrs. Klauminzer, it was voted unanimously: ' to not endorse the plan entitled "Plan of Land in Lexington, Mass. (Middleses County), dated October 30, 1987, by BSC - Bedford, certified by Donald J. Forand, Professional Land Surveyor, with application Form A/87-26 by appli- cant Robert E. Phelan, because the plan creates a lot (Lot 4B) without legal sufficient frontage on a public way. SUBDIVISION OF LAND 300. Carchia Woods, endorsement of plans: The Board reviewed a memo dated November 9, 1987 from the Engineering Department stating they have reviewed the revised plans and, with minor drafting changes, they are acceptable to the department, adding that this need not hold up endorsement of the plans by the Planning Board. On the motion of Mrs. Wood, seconded by Mr. Sorensen, it was voted unanimously to accept the covenant as presented, and to endorse the plans. 301. North Street, action on request for extension of time: The Board reviewed a letter dated November 19, 1987 from Harry S. Fuller, of Carol R. Johnson & Assoc- iates, Inc. requesting an extension of time for action by the Board until December 11, 1987. On the motion of Mrs. Klauminzer, seconded by Mr. Sorensen, it was voted unanimously to grant an extension of time for action by the Board until December 11, 1987. 302. PUBLIC HEARING, W. R. GRACE: Mrs. Uhrig opened the hearing at 9:09 p.m. by reading the legal notice. Representating W. R. Grace were: Kenneth MacKenzie, Joseph Haley of Goodwin, Procter & Hoar, Michael Carpenter, and Andrew Murphy of Whitman & Howard, Engineers. Approximately four or five residents attended. Mr. MacKenzie reported they propose to divide the 37.36 acre site into three lots, and that the Conservation Commission had approved the plan, with conditions. He Minutes for November 23, 1987 Page 3 noted that W. R. Grace has requested waivers be granted by the Board for construc- tion of the turn -around, sidewalks and the installation of a fire alarm circuit within the subdivision. They also propose that the road be kept private. In response to questions from David Williams and Jacqueline Davison, 86 Spring Street, on why W. R. Grace had filed a subdivision plan when the development poten- tial of lots B and C are minimal, Mr. MacKenzie stated that in order to obtain an eight year freeze of the .25 FAR under the 1986 Zoning By -Law, which was amended to .15 FAR at the 1987 Town Meeting, a definitive subdivision plan must be approved. He stated approximately 48,115 s.f. of floor area expansion potential on lot A would be lost if they did not file a definitive subdivision plan for the property. He added that the eight year freeze begins with the endorsement of the subdivision plans, if they are approved. Mrs. Uhrig closed the hearing at 9:33 p.m. 303. CONTINUED PUBLIC HEARING, Carriage Drive: Mrs. Uhrig opened the hearing at 9:25 p.m. by reading the legal notice. Landscape Architect Gary Larson, with developers Peter Kelly and Richard Perry, reported they had decided to stay with the definitive plan as originally presented. The drainage plans have not been approved by either the Conservation Commission or the Engineering Department, although they have discussed them with Mssrs. Wyman, Vears and Samaha. The Board agreed to continue the hearing until December 7, 1987, and the developers agreed to deliver the revised drainage plans to the Planning Department by Friday, November 27, 1987. Mrs. Uhrig declared the hearing closed at 10:10 p.m. APPLICATIONS TO THE BOARD OF APPEALS 304. Hearings scheduled for December 10, 1987: Mrs. Wood gave an oral review of the following applications: 151 Grove Street, Marcel P.J. Gaudreau, SP, to conduct a consulting business in his residence. On the motion of Mr. Williams, seconded by Mrs. Klauminzer, it was voted 4-1-0 (Mr. Sorensen voted in the negative) to make no comment on the application. 18 Curve Street, Peter S Anne Kimball, Variances from front, rear and side yard setbacks to construct an addition to a residence: Mrs. Wood noted the addition would reduce the rear yard setback at one corner of the addition to 0.5 feet, and the front yard setback to 8.3 feet on the irregularly shaped lot. The Board felt that the size of the addition was inappropriate for the size of the lot and too severely encroached into the setbacks at the front and the rear of the lot. On the motion of Mr. Sorensen, seconded by Mr. Williams, it was voted unanimously to recommend the variances be denied. 51-53 Woburn Street, Charles Price, Variance, to allow deck to remain as rebuilt in a non -conforming 2 family house. Mrs. Wood reported the applicant had rebuilt a deck larger than the original without obtaining a building permit. The Board noted that they would continue to object to the legitimiz- ing of additions built without a permit. On the motion of Mr. Sorensen, seconded by Mrs. Wood, it was voted 4-0-1 (Mrs. Klauminzer abstained) to Minutes for November 23, 1987 Page 4 recommend the applicant be required to reconstruct the deck to the original dimensions. 141 Spring Street, Raytheon Company, SPS, addition: The Board will comment on this application separately. The Board also agreed to make no comment on the following application: 32 Hartwell Avenue, MBZ-Lex Trust, SP, standing sign 305. Planning Board, Subcommittees a. Minuteman Bikeway Implementation Committee: Mrs. Wood reported on a public information meeting held on November 17, 1987 at Cary Hall to review the initial concept designs for the Minuteman Commuter Bikeway. Vollmer Associates, design consultants, made the presentation. Approximately 50 to 60 persons attended. The next meeting will be held December 8, 1987 in the Selectmen's Meeting Room. b. HATS Meeting: Mrs. Uhrig reported the second revision of the HATS II Memorandum of Agreement is being circulated for approval by the Boards of Selectmen of the four towns, following revisions reflecting the substantive comments and editorial suggestions offered at the Nov. 12th meeting. C. Board of Appeals, Hearings for November 19, 1987: Mr. Williams reported all the applications heard that evening were approved with the exception of the application to operate a TV repair business from a home, and the Lexington Toyota application for a SP to construct an addition which was continued until January 21, 1988. The meeting was adjourned at 10:52 p.m. [1 Eleanor Klauminzer, Clerk PLANNING BOARD MINUTES EXECUTIVE SESSION OF NOVEMBER 23, 1987 After a unanimous vote of the five members present, by poll of the board, the Lexington Planning Board met in Executive Session in Room G-15, Town Office Building, at 7:12 p.m. to discuss strategy with respect to litigation and value of real property which, if discussed in open session may have a detrimental effect on the litigating position of the Town. Present were Chairman Uhrig, members Klauminzer, Sorensen, Williams, Wood, Planning Director Bowyer, Assistant Planner Rawski and Secretary Peters. Litigation against the Town, Colangelo decision: The Board reviewed copies of the decision entered by Justice William Highgas, Jr., on November 17, 1987. Mr. Bowyer reported Town Counsel has recommended to the Selectmen that the Town appeal the decision at the Appeals Court level. On the motion of Mr. Williams, seconded by Mrs. Wood, it was voted unanimously to recommend the decision be appealed by the Town. Litigation against the Town, Rockville Avenue, Shea: Mr. Bowyer briefly reviewed the background of the case, in which the portion of Rockville Avenue in front of Mr. Shea's property is not a legal street for purposes of creating frontage since it does not meet the critia established by the Planning Board for unaccepted streets. In 1980 the Building Commissioner refused to issue a building permit, and the Board of appeals upheld his decision. The case was taken to court by Mr. Shea and on July 28, 1986 was dismissed. Unfortunately, the clerk's office lost the judgement so it was not entered, and is back in court. A preliminary offer has been received from Mr. Shea's attorney, proposing to build the street to Town standards for 150 feet in front of his property. The Board agreed to consider a submittal showing that section of Rockville Avenue built to Town standards. It will make a determination after the plan is submitted. Value of real property, Pine Meadows: The Board reviewed a staff memorandum on policy development entitled "Thoughts on Pine Meadows", dated November 19, 1987. Various proposals were discussed to use the abutting Town owned property in conjunction with the Moore Homes property with no specific design in mind. They agreed to continue the discussion next Monday, November 30, 1987, and to schedule a meeting on Wednesday, December 9, 1987 to which representatives from the Board of Selectmen, Conservation Commission and the Recreation Committee would be invited. Mr. Williams questioned whether Moore Associates has bought the property. BSC - Bedford has begun flagging the wetlands on the property for Moore Homes. The Board agreed they needed to know whether Moore Homes has taken title to the property, and whether they have filed a Notice of Intent to convert to another use under Chapter 61B. The Planning Board returned to open session at 8:22 p.m. Eleanor Klauminzer, Clerk 1 AMENDMENT TO PROCEDURAL RULES OF THE LEXINGTON PLANNING BOARD IN ARTICLE 3.5 AGENDA which now reads: "Except for emergencies or compliance with legal requirements, the agenda for each meeting will be closed at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday of the preceding such meeting and no appointments or items for action for such meeting will be accepted or scheduled thereafter. At the outset of the meeting, the agenda may be amended by the Chairman or by a majority vote of the Board, but major or policy decisions will be avoided on items not on the prepared agenda, except under special circumstances. By adding a new paragraph, as follows: "PREVIOUSLY UNSEEN MATERIAL: The Board will generally not take action on, ' or respond to plans, proposals or other material presented by applicants or others with business before the Board which has not been filed with the staff by the time the agenda closes and is not distributed to Board members in advance of the meeting as part of material described in 2.9. Action or discussion of previously unseen material will be deferred to a subsequent Board meeting." Approved by the Planning Board, November 23, 1987