HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015-08-25-RPC-min
JOINT PLANNING BOARD RESIDENTIAL POLICY COMMITTEE MINUTES
August 25, 2015 MEETING
A joint meeting of the Lexington Planning Board and the Residential Policy Committee was
continued in the Parker Room, Town Offices, after the Housing Tour.
Planning Staff present: Aaron Henry. Planning Board members present: Nancy Corcoran
Ronchetti, Richard Canale, Tim Dunn, Charles Hornig, and Ginna Johnson. RPC members present:
Richard Canale, Jeri Foutter, Tom Harden, Ginna Johnson and Michael Leon (present for Housing
Tour). Members of the public who participated: As per signup sheet
1. Workshop Format:
It was decided that Ms. Corcoran Ronchetti as PB chair would welcome the participants, Ms.
Johnson would review the RPC process to date, and Mr. Henry, Mr. Dunn, Mr. Hornig and Mr.
Leon would summarize Commonwealth and Lexington Zoning. The group discussed the workshop
format and agreed discussion would not be open-ended, but geared toward the specific proposals.
2. Review of Potential Committee Initiatives:
Committee members discussed potential policy initiatives. Mr. Canale suggested that
Neighborhood Conservation Districts go forward, and that RPC would ask the Planning Board to
sponsor the General Bylaw. Mr. Hornig said that the ability of neighbors to organize a NCD and
the ability of residents to opt-in would be favorably received by TM. Mr. harden reviewed
proposals for dimensional controls. Mr. Harden noted that between 70 and 80% of lots in Town
are non-conforming and neighboring Towns had instituted site plan review on tear-downs or large
expansions (50% enlargement or bigger). FAR proposals, and height restrictions were also
discussed. A discussion ensued about who the permit granting authority would be. Mr. Hornig
asked that the use of “Site Plan Review” and “Special Permit” be consistent with their use in Town
by laws. Mr. Hornig also commented that specifics were difficult to pin down for many of these
initiatives. It was decided that sub-groups would continue work on the various initiatives toward
making proposals at the upcoming Planning Board/ RPC meeting September 8, 2015.
Documents Attached:
Housing Tour Itinerary, Sign-in Sheet, Revised Schedule
Ginna Johnson, Scribe
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