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PLANNING BOARD MINUTES
MEETING OF MARCH 20, 2019
A meeting of the Lexington Planning Board, held in the Selectmen’s Meeting Room, was called
to order at 7:00 p.m. by Chair Ginna Johnson with members Richard Canale, Charles Hornig,
Robert Peters, and Bob Creech; and planning staff Julie Mercier, Sheila Page and Lori Kaufman
present.
**********************DEVELOPMENT ADMINISTRATION***********************
PUBLIC HEARINGS
186 Bedford Street, Planned Development District (PDD) 4:
Chair, Ms. Johnson, opened the continued public hearing at 7:02 p.m. with approximately 25
people in the audience. Present were Ed Grant, attorney, Howard Levin, attorney, the Ciampa
family, applicant, Doug Hartnett, engineer, Mike McKay, architect, Mike Radner, landscape
architect, and Bob Michaud parking consultant.
Mr. Hartnett went through the commitments listed in the letter dated March 13, 2019 found in the
Planning Board packet.
Mr. Levin said they met with the Town Manager and staff regarding the proposed MOU and he
provided a draft copy to Board Members. The commitments in the letter were echoed in the
MOU, except the relocation of the dumpster which will be reviewed during the site plan review.
The project will meet LEED silver standards established by the U.S. Green Building Council, but
will not certified. Development maintenance will be according to the required standards. Before
the Certificate of Occupancy is issued there will be a contribution for Transportation Demand
Management improvements. The applicant will make a one-time contribution for the additional
spaces above what is currently approved.
Individual Board Comments:
Mr. Canale asked if the applicant had reviewed the suggested changes. Mr. Levin said the
technical changes would require restructuring the zoning table since there is no PDD
reflected in the table. Mr. Grant said there are no predetermined standards and doing
th
this at the 11 hour is difficult. Since this is a small project the language used was from
preexisting acceptable projects. Town Counsel advised if the language is not included it
is not enforceable. The transition area is very important because there is no
predetermined regulation. A transition area should be allocated.
Page 2 Minutes for the Meeting of March 20, 2019
A Real Estate office should be prohibited in the Barn. The applicant said that the barn
will be used as an office is for the Ciampa’s Family business interest. It will be closed on
weekends and Mondays. It is not going to be a real estate brokerage office.
A Board Member suggested to use a license plate reader at the property’s entrance and
exit to track how many cars are parking and how many cars are for residents; this would
provide real data. The purpose is to duplicate the hour by hour parking lot chart shown by
Mr. Michaud: what are the total number of cars in the lot; how many of that total are
residents and how many are retail customers and employees. This data could also be
made available to the Town should other mixed-use projects be proposed. Mr. Levin said
the applicant would consider this parking management tool and others if deemed
necessary.
Eliminating one apartment and the half story would reduce the massing and height of the
building, which may help getting approval from Town Meeting.
The project is good as is.
There has not been enough time to work through the issues. The list of commitments is
good, but some will impact the abutters. Banks and credit unions are not an appropriate
use. Instruction in the arts will disrupt the traffic pattern. The neighbors do not want food
uses here including fast food. We want to see creative uses to have this site be vibrant.
The transition zone is very important because of the impact it the project will have on
abutter’s real estate values. The dumpster needs to be relocated; move it closer to
Bedford Street. Screening the utilities and the dumpster is important. Snow storage is an
issue and needs a plan. The dimensional standards should reflect the actual dimensions of
the site. We have not heard about anything about any Net Zero standards. Short term
rentals like Airbnb should be prohibited. Mr. Levin said LEED standards and the stretch
code are more efficient than what currently exists. The landscape transition area will be
part of the site plan review along with the dumpster relocation. The current
Comprehensive Plan says the Town should help and encourage businesses that currently
exist. The adjacent abutter footprints should be shown. Mr. Hartnett said the drainage
issues have been discussed with the engineering Staff. Mr. Radner said they will use
natural fieldstone and will include that language. Mr. Levin said they will not allow
tenants to sublet. Changes to the use tables and the dimensional standards should be
reflected in the PSDUP. Mr. Hartnett said dimensional setbacks are broad the exact
numbers don’t match with changing technology.
Minutes for the Meeting of March 20, 2019 Page 3
Vaille Avenue is a private way and should have no parking or standing; increase the
number of one floor apartments, and roof could then be flat for solar panels.
Recess for five minutes.
Mr. Levin said the applicant is amenable to the requests of the Board regarding the dumpster and
the transformer. The location of the dumpster determined by servicing needs. The location of the
transformer is approved by the utility. The applicant can limit the amount of office use to no more
than 25%, and the dimensional standards for the site will be closer to what they really are.
Audience Comments:
There is a lack of clarity and this project seems to be rushed. Expectations should be
written down. There have been issues with the dumpster in the past being emptied at an
illegal time and complaints were made. The project should be peer reviewed.
Restricting parking to one car in the lease is creating a problem because people will need
a second car.
The Alexander’s Plaza dumpster abuts my home and is emptied at 5:36 a.m. Having a
transformer so close to my house with young children is a concern. Parking is also a
concern.
A direct abutter will deal with the most impacts from parking, water runoff, and
landscaping. He wants sound barriers. The applicant should plant trees on their own
property. The project should be peer reviewed and he will then have his own expert
review the document.
The abutter wants a peer review to look at parking. There may be an issue if all the front
spaces are for compact cars and they should be made full size spaces.
On a motion of Mr. Canale, seconded by Mr. Hornig, it was voted, 4-0-1, (Mr. Peters abstained)
to close the public hearing at 9:15 p.m.
Individual Board Comments:
This project does not need peer review. There are too many unknowns. We should not
allow the additional six spaces. As long as we have control over uses the number of
spaces should be ok. Taking out the landscape transition spaces is an issue. This project
should be referred back to the Planning Board. This project is not ready for Town
Meeting. The hope is for further dialog and get a plan set that is agreeable to all.
There is a good distance between the abutters. The half story should be removed to
reduce the height and mass of the building. The dumpsters are an issue. More time would
be helpful.
Page 4 Minutes for the Meeting of March 20, 2019
This is an appropriate project for the site and especially compared to what could be built
by right. The project is more valuable as housing and retail then other by right uses.
There has not been time to review the MOU. All the changes at the last minute is similar
to what happened last fall. There needs to be changes to the process. A vote shouldn’t
happen without a review of the MOU.
On a motion of Mr. Canale, seconded by Mr. Creech, it was voted, 3-1-1 (Mr. Hornig opposed,
Mr. Peters abstained), to recommend the proposed article be referred to the Planning Board for
consideration at a Fall Special Town Meeting.
Discussion on Report for Article 38 for Town Meeting:
The Board discussed the draft report from staff with Mr. Canale’s changes. The Board discussed
various wordsmithing throughout the Planning Board report. The Board directed Mr. Canale to
work with staff on the final report to Town Meeting
241 Grove Street, Approval Not Required (ANR):
On a motion of Mr. Hornig, seconded by Mr. Peters, it was voted 5-0, to endorse the 241 Grove
Street ANR plan as not requiring approval under the Subdivision Control Law.
On a motion of Mr. Hornig, seconded by Mr. Peters, it was voted, 5-0, to authorize the Planning
Director to endorse the ANR plan for the property at 241 Grove Street on behalf of the Board.
*************************BOARD ADMINISTRATION****************************
Review Annual Town Meeting Warrant Articles:
Article 2, Planning Board Report:
Discuss at the next meeting.
Article 16, Capital Projects:
Discuss at the next meeting.
Minutes:
On a motion of Ms. Johnson, seconded by Mr. Peters, it was voted, 5-0, to accept the minutes for
February 27, 2019 as amended.
On a motion of Ms. Johnson, seconded by Mr. Peters, it was voted, 5-0, to accept the minutes for
March 6, 2019 as submitted.
On a motion, duly made and seconded, it was voted to adjourn the meeting at 10:44 p.m.
The meeting was recorded by LexMedia.
Minutes for the Meeting of March 20, 2019 Page 5
The following documents used at the meeting can be found on the Planning Board website in
Planning Board packets.
186 Bedford Street:
Cover Letter and Commitment Letter, dated March 13, 2019 (3 pages).
Proposed Zoning Amendment, dated March 15, 2019 (16 pages).
Regulatory Plans, dated March 13, 2019 (13 pages).
Parking and Transportation Demand Plan, dated March 13, 2019 (5 pages).
Grading and drainage, dated March 13, 2019 (1 page).
2019 Annual Town Meeting:
Annual Town meeting 2019 Article List (2 pages).
Article 16 motion (3 pages).
Article 38 Draft report with Mr. Canale changes (5 pages).
Robert Peters, Clerk