HomeMy WebLinkAbout1988-03-14PLANNING BOARD MINUTES
MEETING OF MARCH 14, 1988
The meeting of the Lexington Planning Board, held in Room G-15, Town Office
Building, was called to order at 7:34 p.m. by the Chairman, Mrs. Uhrig, with
members Klauminzer, Sorensen, Williams, Wood, Planning Director Bowyer and Secre-
tary Peters present.
79. Approval of Minutes: The Board reviewed and amended the minutes for the
meeting of March 7, 1988. On the motion of Mr. Sorensen, seconded by Mrs. Wood,
it was voted unanimously to approve the minutes of March 7, as amended.
80. Form A/88-2, Robert E. Phelan, Diamond West Development Corp.: The Board
reviewed a revised plan, dated March 10, 1988 that resolved the discrepancy in
the labelling of the lot numbers on the plan and the note containing a descrip-
tion of what the applicant proposed.
On the motion of Mr. Sorensen, seconded by Mrs. Wood, it was voted unanimously to
rescind the vote of the Planning Board taken on March 7, 1988 to not endorse the
plan. 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. (Middlesex
County)", dated March 10, 1988, by The BSC Group -Bedford, Inc., certified by
Norman Irving Lipsitz, Professional Land Surveyor, with application Form
' A/88-2 by Robert E. Phelan.
81. Form A/88-4, William Hamilton, Lincoln Park Realty Trust: Mrs. Klauminzer,
who is an abuttor, did not take part in any discussion or vote on this applica-
tion. The Board reviewed a plan showing two lots, Lots A-1 and B-1. Lot B-1 is
not a building lot and is to be combined with land of Samoylenko (Lot 26 -No.
2180 Mass. Ave.). Lot A-1 conforms to the frontage and minimum lot area require-
ments of the zoning district. On the motion of Mr. Sorensen, seconded by Mrs.
Wood, it was voted 4-0-1 (Mrs. Klauminzer abstaining):
to endorse the plan entitled "Plan of Land in Lexington, Mass. (Middlesex
County)," dated March 7, 1988, by Stamski and McNary, Inc., certified by
William F. McNary, Professional Land Surveyor, with application Form A/88-4
by William Hamilton.
82. Form A/88-5, Laconia Street Town of Lexington, Tax Title Lot: Assistant to
the Town Manager, Susan Adler, asked the Board's direction in the preparation of
a Form A application and plan required for the transfer of parts of a tax title
lot to interested abuttors. The Board indicated what notes should appear on the
plan.
************************ ARTICLES FOR 1988 TOWN MEETING ***********************
83. Article 40, Nonconforming Situations: The Board reviewed a draft, as of
March 11, making revisions. Mr. Sorensen did not take part in the discussion of
section 6.5.3 since he is a party to litigation on this issue. Mr. Williams
recommended numbers be prepared for Town Meeting to show how many properties may
be affected by these revisions.
Minutes for March 14, 1988
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84. Article 41, Accessory Apartments: The Board reviewed a draft, as of March
14, making revisions. In response to a question from Mrs. Klauminzer, Mr. Bowyer
stated the change in the method of calculating the area of a dwelling, using
gross floor area rather than net floor area, was made at last year's Town Meeting
in Article 42, Technical Corrections.
85. Article 39, Adjustments, Various Sections: The Board reviewed a draft, as
of March 14, making revisions. James O'Neal, representing the Flatley Corpora-
tion, asked if the Board has agreed to a position on the corporation's proposed
amendment to provide a separate method of calculating net floor area for motels
and hotels. The Board stated they did not favor the amendment.
Mr. Sorensen expressed opposition to Part C, relating to the preference in the
density calculation for cluster subdivision or special residential districts. He
proposed this section be deleted. No other member of the Board favored this
proposal.
86. Other Article
Article 42, Minimum Developable Site Area: The Board agreed to support this
article sponsored by the Conservation Commission. Mr. Sorensen will present
the Planning Board report at Town Meeting.
Article 33, Parking Study - Lexington Center: The Board agreed to recommend
that any study done be postponed until construction of the new building is
completed and parking patterns have been established.
Article 49, Home Rule Petition - Historic District: The Board agreed they
generally favored passage of this article.
REPORTS
86. Planning Director
a. 188-194 Lowell Street, McNeil & Castelli: A definitive plan, called
Orchard Crossing, was filed on March 14, 1988.
b. Eaton Road and Blake Road: Mr. Bowyer reported there have been a number
of inquiries about the status of paper street sections of these two roads.
The Board discussed a letter from Attorney George Foote that stated his
research indicates the developer does not have the right to construct the
road on Eaton Road.
c. Ridge Estates III, Ted Freeman: Mr. Bowyer reported he had met with the
Town Manager and Mr. Freeman about amending the plan by extending Jonas
Stone Circle to the subdivision boundary in order to gain access to the
Young Street School site.
87. Planning Board, Subcommittees
a. Board of Appeals - Montesorri School: Mrs Uhrig reported that she had
talked to Mrs. Riffin about this application which is scheduled to be heard
on March 17, 1988. Mr. Bowyer said there would not be time for the staff to
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Minutes for March 14, 1988
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prepare a comprehensive recommendation on this application because of the
Town Meeting workload.
The Board reviewed the application and expressed concern about the site's
ability to handle an increase in staff and students to approximately 250
people, and whether the increased traffic and the activity that represents,
is too much of an adverse impact on the neighborhood. Mrs. Wood reported
entrance to the school already causes traffic to back up onto Pleasant
Street.
The Board agreed the application does need a detailed review because of the
size and complexity of the proposed addition, and they agreed to ask that
the Board of Appeals consider continuing the hearing until April.
b. Board of Appeals - Countryside: Mrs. Wood reported that at their hear-
ing held on March 7, 1988, the Board of Appeals approved both changes to the
special permit.
c. TMMA Bus Tour: Mrs. Uhrig reported the bus tour is scheduled for
Sunday, March 20, 1988. There will be three buses, and they would like a
representative from the Planning Board on each bus.
The meeting was adjourned at 10:22 p.m.
Eleanor Klauminzer, Clerk