HomeMy WebLinkAbout2019-09-11-PB-min
PLANNING BOARD MINUTES
MEETING OF SEPTEMBER 11, 2019
A meeting of the Lexington Planning Board, held in Selectmen’s Meeting Room, in the Town
Office Building was called to order at 7:01 p.m. by Chair Richard Canale with members Ginna
Johnson, Charles Hornig, Robert Peters, Bob Creech, and planning staff Eve Tapper and Lori
Kaufman present.
**********************DEVELOPMENT ADMINISTRATION***********************
PUBLIC HEARING
Rangeway Extension (Map 87 lot 37), Definitive Subdivision:
Mr. Canale opened the continued public hearing at 7:03 p.m. with 0 people in the audience. Mr.
Peters will be recused from this project. The applicant has requested a continuance to September
25, 2019, and an extension of the action deadline to October 31, 2019, subject to the Board’s
approval.
On a motion of Mr. Hornig, seconded by Ms. Johnson, it was voted, 4-0, to extend the action
deadline to October 31, 2019.
On a motion of Mr. Hornig, seconded by Ms. Johnson, it was voted, 4-0, to continue the public
hearing to September 25, 2019 at 7:00 p.m. in the Selectmen’s Meeting Room.
186 Bedford Street, Planned Development District, review of draft report to Town Meeting:
The Board reviewed the draft report and discussed some minor wordsmithing and substantive
changes to the draft report.
The substantive changes discussed were as follows:
It was questioned how the 80% of existing tree canopy being retained was calculated and
is not a good metric and would rather get the number of tree caliper inches that will be
saved on the site. Ms. Johnson will get the exact number and send it to staff;
There was concern about using the LEED silver standards since the applicant will not
register in the program or do monitoring in the future. It was decided to remove the
words “following LEED Silver standards”;
Since this planned development is adjacent to residential uses concerns were expressed
about lowering the on-site noise level from 10 to 5 dBA above ambient. Since the
proponents of this petition have not yet agreed to this limitation it is recommended the
applicant work with the Board of Selectmen (BOS) to incorporate this into a revised
MOU;
Page 2 Minutes for the Meeting of September 11, 2019
Ms. Johnson will confirm with staff the exact number of mature trees to be removed and
replanted; and
Include in the report the number of correspondence the Planning Office received for and
against the project from the public, but not at the public hearing and captured in the
minutes.
On a motion of Mr. Hornig, seconded by Ms. Johnson, it was voted, 5-0, to adopt the report to
Town Meeting as modified at this meeting with staff to make the changes as indicated.
Mr. Canale will e-mail the BOS about revising the MOU regarding the noise level and follow up
with a call.
7 Hartwell Avenue, Owners Petition, review of draft report to Town Meeting:
The applicant requested the Board review the report at the next meeting September 25 when the
applicant’s attorney could be present. The Board asked staff to add to the draft report bullets to
separate comments of the individual Board Members and add a paragraph discussing why the
Board is now allowing this rezoning to a CSX District when six months ago they did not support
this zoning change. Mr. Canale said he will start to work on that paragraph and give it to staff to
add to the report.
*************************BOARD ADMINISTRATION****************************
Discussion of possible Zoning Amendments to the Central Business District (CB):
Mr. Michelson and Mr. Levin representing the Center Committee requested the Planning Board
bring forward an article to Fall Special Town Meeting banning Automatic Teller Machines
(ATM) in the CB district as a principle use in the Center, but allow it as an accessory use. They
will also add a definition for ATMs.
A Board Member asked if outreach was done for landowners affected to get their feedback. Mr.
Levin responded that they did not have the resources to do that. Some of the Board Members
support this proposed amendment to make a more vibrant town center. There was concern
expressed that the definition of ATMs inside another business should always be considered an
accessory use. It was requested that outreach be done to landowners before the public hearing, but
it was not made clear who would do that.
The public hearing will be October 16, and the legal ad with exact wording is due to the
newspaper on Friday, September 20. The BOS will have a placeholder for this zoning amendment
at the Fall Special Town Meeting.
Minutes for the Meeting of September 11, 2019 Page 3
On a motion of Ms. Johnson, seconded by Mr. Peters, it was voted, 4-1, (Mr. Hornig opposed) to
move forward with this proposed amendment for the Fall Special Town Meeting.
Discussion of possible Zoning Amendments to Site Plan Review (SPR) and Limited Site
Plan Review (LSPR):
The Board needs to decide tonight if they were moving forward with this zoning amendment
since we need time for a public hearing process. Ms. Tapper said there is a lot to digest and the
purpose of what we are trying to capture for SPR and LSPR seems to need more research on what
we want to accomplish and what needs to be done. The Board discussed if this article should go
ahead for Fall Special Town Meeting or have a workshop and make a careful study of this and
continue to move ahead, but do it for the Spring Town Meeting.
The Board discussed possible changes to this proposed zoning amendment and decided to move
this zoning amendment to the 2020 Annual Spring Town Meeting. The Board asked staff if there
should changes to the bylaws or do we need to fix some of the regulations first. The Board
discussed some general concept changes for guidance to staff which were:
To research if a public hearing would be more appropriate or a public meeting process for
LSPR and SPR and figure out who we are protecting;
Clarification for climate mitigation and resiliency;
Ms. Tapper asked for clarity on what the Board is trying to accomplish?
Find the correct balance to have the right impact on the community; and
Minor impacts should probably be done by staff and decide on the lower threshold items
that they can handle.
The Board will continue the discussion and keep this on upcoming agendas.
Review of Board Training:
The Board Members said the session was excellent and extremely helpful and the material could
provide guidance with some of the issues the Board wants to work on. Members would like to
make this an annual retreat. They liked the quick access to information and materials and it was
good team building to jointly ask questions. The training provided clarity on certain things that
were not well-defined before, however, there are still issues that need to be addressed.
There are two upcoming joint meetings in October to address other items with the Board of
Selectmen (BOS) and want input from Planning Board Members on what they feel is important
for staff to put on those agendas. The following were some suggestions:
The Boards need to agree on what goes into the MOU and what goes into the PSDUP
and/or other zoning;
Page 4 Minutes for the Meeting of September 11, 2019
There should be a template for what goes into the MOU eliminating ambiguity for
applicants;
We need a process on how to come up with the guide;
There should be discussion on how the Planning Board is chosen either elected or
appointed and its relationship with the Planning Director;
We should continue with the agenda from the last joint meeting of the Boards;
We should hear more from Mr. Malloy as to how an appointed Board would work
operationally and the pros and cons.
We are waiting for documentation showing what the Planning Board is not doing well
and what can be improved.
Mr. Creech and Mr. Canale will be working with Town Administration and the Chair and Vice
Chair of the BOS on the agendas for those two joint meetings.
Review of Goals and Work Plan:
We are making progress on hiring a planning director and are on the second phase for this
candidate but not sure how long it will take.
The priorities for the work plan at this point are as follows:
The Comprehensive Plan is the priority and is behind schedule and the Comprehensive
Plan Advisory Committee (CPAC) is now meeting twice a month. Right now it is still in
the gathering information stage, but will soon start outreach again;
SPR and LSPR bylaw;
Automatic Teller Machines zoning amendment;
Traffic issues in the Hartwell Avenue area, but we need to wait to meet with the BOS for
the Hartwell Avenue initiative;
We need a wider outreach discussion on land use for large parcels;
East Lexington revitalization, but we need to see if we have enough staff support, and
Short-term rentals.
Should the Board be doing an outreach workshop soon for the community and if so what would
be the topics? The list below are some items the Board Member’s suggested:
1. Look at our commercial districts to modify and simplify and avoid spot zoning;
2. The Hartwell Avenue initiative plan; and/or
3. Outreach for the Comprehensive Plan.
Minutes for the Meeting of September 11, 2019 Page 5
Mr. Canale will speak with Ms. Kowalski and the CPAC to see if there is anything the Board
should be doing to advance their work and should the Board co-sponsor their outreach. At the
next meeting the Board will decide on which topic to do an outreach based on conversations with
administration. This item should be put on the agenda again in two weeks and get feedback from
staff on what their priorities are and how much time is needed for each topic.
Mr. Ted Brovitz, consultant will be before the Board in two weeks to do a presentation on the
Hartwell Avenue Zoning Initiative. Staff will need to get a venue for the Planning Board outreach
on October 23 or November 6. We have asked for the Economic Analysis for Hartwell Avenue
and are waiting for it to be provided.
Discussion of Planning Board Policies:
Mr. Hornig requested putting the reorganization of the Board on the agenda for the next meeting.
He explained that the Planning Board leadership has not been effective in working with the
leadership of the BOS and Town Manager and this change may possibly allow the Board to work
more effectively with them. Mr. Canale agreed to add this item to the agenda for the next
meeting.
Review of the Special Permit Residential Development Ad Hoc Committee Draft Value
Statement:
The whole Board should have input on the concepts included in the value statement. The
following comments were expressed by Board Members:
Site context is important. This type of development should not be “one size fits all.”
The value statement talks about the importance of having a diversity of house options in
Town, but that need must be balanced with other Town goals like increasing open space
or preserving historically and architecturally significant structures. We should not be
sacrificing open space for housing or vice-versa, but must balance several different
objectives and/or conflicting needs and desires of the community.
Sustainable design is important, but planning for a climate-resilient future must be a top
priority as well.
We need to partner with developers to obtain affordable units.
Minutes:
On a motion of, Mr. Hornig, seconded by Mr. Peters, it was voted, 5-0, to approve the minutes of
July 24, 2019 and August 14, 2019 as amended.
On a motion, duly made and seconded, it was voted to adjourn the meeting at 10:40 p.m.
Page 6 Minutes for the Meeting of September 11, 2019
The meeting was recorded by LexMedia.
The following documents used at the meeting can be found on the Planning Board website in
Planning Board packets.
Rangeway Extension:
E-mail from Ed Grant requesting a continuation of the Public Hearing to September 25,
2019 and an extension of the action deadline to October 31, 2019, subject to the Boards
Approval (1 page).
Board Administration:
Current Planning Board Rules (5 pages).
Planning Board report from 2016 zoning amendment regarding Banks in the Center (2
pages).
Draft Value Statement from the SPRD Committee (3 pages).
2020 Goals and Work Plan (1 page).
Zoning Amendments Site Plan Review and Limited Site Plan Review:
Attorney General Approval of Annual Town Meeting 2019 for Limited Site Plan review
(5 pages).
Concord Limited Site Plan Review Zoning (2 pages).
Framingham Limited Site Plan Review (3 pages).
Explanation of proposed Site Plan Review (4 pages).
Proposed Amendment with track changes (3 pages).
186 Bedford Street:
Email from Mr. Grant regarding 186 Bedford Street noise (2 pages).
186 Draft Report (9 pages).
Robert Peters, Clerk