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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021-01-20-PB-min PLANNING BOARD MINUTES MEETING OF JANUARY 20, 2021 Minutes of the Lexington Planning Board Held on January 20, 2021, Virtual Meeting per Governor Baker’s Order at 7:01 pm Present: Robert Creech, Chair; Robert Peters, Vice-Chair; Ginna Johnson, Clerk; Richard Canale; and Charles Hornig. Also present was Amanda Loomis, Planning Director and Sheila Page, Assistant Planning Director. Robert Creech, Chair, read the agenda into the record, introduced members of the Planning Board and Planning Department Staff, and called the meeting to order on Wednesday, January 20, 2021. Mr. Creech read the following statement relative to the recent outbreak of COVID-19. Good evening. Consistent with Governor Baker's Executive Order of March 12, 2020, suspending specific provisions of MGL. c. 30A, §18 due to the current State of Emergency in the Commonwealth due to the outbreak of COVID-19, this meeting of the Lexington Planning Board is being conducted remotely. In-person attendance is not permitted at this time. Every effort will be made to ensure that the public can adequately access real-time proceedings via technological means. In the event access cannot be provided, an audio or video recording of this meeting will be available for review on the Town of Lexington website or through LexMedia as soon as possible after the meeting. For this meeting, the Lexington Planning Board is convening by video conference via Zoom. Specific information for remote participation by the public can be found on the Planning Office’s web page. Please note that this meeting is being recorded. At this time, I will provide a brief review of the meeting proceedings. 1. For each public hearing, the Planning Board will request a presentation from the Applicant or petitioner, followed by an opportunity for the Planning Board to ask questions or provide comments. Then the floor will be open for public comments. 2. All comments during public participation need to be limited to 2 minutes or less and must be respectful. 3. When the time comes for public participation, if you are dialing in, you may use *6 to mute or unmute yourself and *9 to raise or lower your hand. 4. If at any time during the meeting you have a question, please use the Q&A feature, and staff will respond. Development Administration a. 5 Meadow Brook Avenue and 77 Wellington Lane Avenue Approval Not Required (ANR) Mr. Creech requested information about the footpath being clear of lot one (1). The applicant Mr. Marino was present and said the path was not on lot one (1). Mr. Hornig had one concern about the omission of the paper street portion of Meadow Brook Avenue to Hanson Avenue and any approval would be subject to updating the plans to reflect that. Charles Hornig moved that the Planning Board endorse the Plan of Land for Page 2 Minutes for the Meeting of January 20, 2021 the ANR application for the property located at 5 Meadow Brook Avenue and 77 Wellington Lane conditioned that the plan be updated showing the paper portion of Meadow Brook Avenue past Blossomcrest Road before being endorsed by the Planning Director. Richard Canale seconded the motion. The Planning Board voted in favor of the motion 5-0-0 (Roll Call: Richard Canale – yes; Ginna Johnson – yes; Charles Hornig – yes; Robert Peters – yes; Robert Creech – yes). MOTION PASSED Town Meeting a. Discussion of 475 Bedford Street and Possible Mixed-Use Transition Zone Mr. Peters recused himself from this discussion. The Chair and staff met today and determined this was not ready for the annual Town Meeting. Mr. Hornig said this proposal could go forward and could be made simple. Ms. Loomis explained this could be made simple to bring forward to Town Meeting. Mr. Canale said this would be totally inappropriate for Spring Town Meeting and the Planning Board did not vote to place it on the warrant. Ms. Johnson agreed with Mr. Canale that this inappropriate and this could cause a problem with traffic concerns and what we want for this location and it takes planning to move forward. Mr. Creech checked with the Town Moderator who said the Board should have voted on it before it was placed on the warrant so the Board would vote on it tonight. Mr. Hornig said this article was placed on the warrant as a place holder like the other articles and none of them were voted on. Ms. Loomis questioned if this should be looked at before the next annual Town Meeting. Mr. Canale said it depends on when staff will look at the residential component for the Hartwell Zoning and this parcel should go hand in hand. Would defer to staff on that. Ms. Johnson said there should be a working group convened by the Planning Board or some other elected Board with members of the community to determine what would be the consensus of the Town for what they would like to see in their community. Ms. Johnson moved that the Planning Board not include the warrant article for 475 Bedford Street rezoning for the 2021 Annual Town Meeting. Richard Canale seconded the motion. The Planning Board voted in favor of the motion 3-1-0 (Roll call: Richard Canale – yes; Ginna Johnson – yes; Charles Hornig - no; Robert Creech - yes). MOTION PASSED. Mr. Peters rejoined the meeting. b. Review of the Proposed Use Table Ms. Loomis presented the proposed updated Table of Uses. The Board discussed the proposed changes to the Table of Uses. Minutes for the Meeting of January 20, 2021 Page 3 Mr. Canale asked about row O.1.08, wireless communication facility. Can a tower be done by right or does it need a site plan review? Mr. Creech and Ms. Johnson wanted site plan review added. Ms. Johnson asked for clarification on L.1.07 for a commercial shared parking lot and whether there should be site plan review required. The Board added that site plan review would be needed. Ms. Johnson questioned if there would be a conflict for a helicopter landing pad with this located in a flight path for Hanscom. The Town would need to get permission from the state for this. Rows P.1.01 and P.1.02 should be changed to special permit. Mr. Peters suggested that L.1.01 for motor vehicles sales should be changed to special permit looking ahead at electric vehicles for the future. Board Members said they could consider it in the future and should leave as is at this time. c. Review and Discussion of Draft Motions for Hartwell Innovation Park (HIP) Innovation Park (HIP); Hartwell Avenue Area TMOD; Floodplain Management; Sheds/Structures in Setbacks; Retaining Walls; Historic Preservation Incentives; Trees; and Stormwater. Historic Preservations Incentives: Mr. Hornig submitted a proposal. Mr. Creech said it looked pretty much the same as before. Mr. Hornig said Zoom dropped him and the Board will come back to this when he returns to the Zoom meeting. Sheds/Structures in Setbacks: Ms. Loomis presented the proposed bylaw. Mr. Hornig rejoined the Zoom Meeting. Mr. Canale asked for clarification regarding up to two additional accessory structures. Ms. Johnson expressed concerns that this would be further eroding the setbacks and eating up open space between properties. Ms. Loomis requested that Ms. Gingras and Mr. Kelly meet with the Planning Board to address this. Ms. Johnson suggested a brochure be created to educate the public when people make inquiries. Mr. Canale suggested name change to Accessory Structures in Setbacks. Mr. Peters expressed concerns about inconsistencies since solar installations were not allowed in the setbacks at a previous a previous Town Meeting, but would now allow these structures in the setbacks. Mr. Creech expressed concerns about the structures 12 feet high being allowed 5 feet from lot line. Mr. Creech said this would need more work. Mr. Canale requested clarification on if these structures would be allowed by right. The Board discussed if this proposed article should be brought forward. The Board decided to hear from the Building Commissioner and Zoning Administrator for clarification before they would decide whether or not to go forward with this zoning proposal and add Mr. Canale’s proposed change. Page 4 Minutes for the Meeting of January 20, 2021 The Board will bring this to a public hearing. Historic Preservations Incentives: continued from before. Mr. Hornig was asked to point out the important changes that would accomplish the objectives. Mr. Hornig explained that this was just opening up the number of situations in which you would be allowed to apply for the special permit for Historic Structures. He presented a comparison of the old bylaw to the new bylaw. Ms. Johnson was confused and had a concern that would allow historic buildings to be moved to clear a valuable site. Mr. Canale asked if the chair of the Historical Commission and the Commission had been consulted and do we have any input from them? They have not met, but he would consult with the chair of the Historical Commission. Mr. Hornig will do the presentation for the public hearing. The Board agreed to bring this to a public hearing. Floodplain Management: Ms. Loomis said this was to have a Floodplain Administrator and a deputy Floodplain Administrator designated by the Town Manager for the Town of Lexington. Staff will discuss the details further with Town Counsel. The Board agreed to bring this to a public hearing. Retaining Walls: Ms. Loomis presented this proposed bylaw that never made it to Town Meeting last time. Ms. Johnson said that we do need to address setbacks and add back the six feet from the lot line for the construction of the walls and discuss walls adjacent to one another to avoid the creation of a terrace effect. The Board discussed the proposed six feet from the lot line and what setback should be considered. Ms. Loomis suggested that they have the building commissioner come in to address this setback distance. The Board will bring them in to discuss further. Proposed Amendments to the Article for the Hartwell Innovation Park: Ms. Loomis and Ms. Page presented to the Board the proposed changes edited by the Board that were discussed last week and to be presented at the time of the public hearing. Mr. Canale stated as the liaison to the Lexington Bicycle Committee that the committee requested clarification on the fact that the Hartwell TMOD has a different bicycle parking capacity as in §135-5.1 and if we are trying to increase walking, biking and transit should we increase the bicycle parking capacity that was from 10 years ago? They discussed a having a flat maximum parking based on building size and the applicant can request a waiver if they need it at the time of construction to encourage lab space over office space. Mr. Canale agreed §135-5.1 should reflect the stricter parking standards in the TMOD for now. Mr. Hornig said that down the road we should overhaul §135-5.1 town wide, but this is not the right time to do it. These legal ads have been published, but the Board can make modifications at the public hearings. Minutes for the Meeting of January 20, 2021 Page 5 Ms. Johnson expressed concerns that §135-7.4.1 Purpose and Intent was aspirational and wanted more concrete characteristics for future Planning Board Members to be able to reference for design review. Design Mixture for Diversity needs consistency to unify various approaches. The outdoor amenities paragraph doesn’t have enough teeth to get what we would want since this would be having the developer do what they want and the Board would need more control to achieve the desired goal. LEED should be the Gold standard. Roof top terraces should be removed from the outdoor amenities. They should be for everyone to access not just penthouse tenants. Review of Uses concerned that everything was too fluid and it should have a Table of Uses for what would be allowed. Ms. Johnson shared what Review standards for Site Plan Review and suggested the bylaws have additional lines added so future Planning Boards could grasp the vision that was intended. Ms. Johnson would email her changes to staff. Tree Bylaw: Ms. Loomis recommended the Board not move forward with this for the entire Town at this time, but instead think about this incrementally. The Board discussed since the Tree Committee is bringing forward three (3) items perhaps the Board should hold back on our amendment for now, it could be controversial. The Board will get a copy of the Tree Committee’s proposed articles and cover letter from Mr. Paul and decide at the next meeting whether or not to bring this forward. Mr. Hornig expressed the following issues with the HIP zoning regarding the pedestrian amenity, the LEED requirement, the landscaping sections should not be in zoning, street trees, trees on private property and 7.4.4.7c Utility areas for electricity, and the whole transportation plan should be in the TMO1 District Plan. Board Administration a. Staff Updates Ms. Loomis said tomorrow night is the HIP discussion of the draft proposal. b. Board Member Updates Mr. Hornig said Mr. Morse-Fortier has been having difficulty participating and perhaps we could allow the candidates to participate more at meetings. Mr. Canale said there would be a CPAC advisory meeting next Tuesday evening and asked if they were still looking for candidates. Ms. Loomis said yes, they were still looking for a candidate experienced with pedestrian, bicycles and transportation. Mr. Peters said the next meeting of LexHab for Vine Street is next Wednesday, January 27, 2021. c. Review of Meeting Minutes for January 6, 2021. Richard Canale moved that the Planning Board vote to approve the minutes of the January 6, meeting minutes as distributed. Robert Peters seconded the motion. The Planning Board voted in favor of the motion 5-0-0 (Roll call: Robert Peters – yes; Richard Canale – yes; Ginna Johnson – yes; Charles Hornig – yes; Robert Creech - yes). MOTION PASSED For a future meeting staff will ask Mr. Paul, Ms. Gingras and Mr. Kelly to attend a meeting to help the Board get clarity on retaining walls and trees before Town Page 6 Minutes for the Meeting of January 20, 2021 Meeting. Mr. Hornig said he had another meeting on Wednesday, February 3, 2021 and cannot attend the Planning Board Meeting. It was suggested that the applicant for Keeler Farm Way be advised that one member will not be there and see if they want to be put off. Mr. Leon could be asked to attend that night as well. There will be a meeting on February 17, 2021. Adjournment Robert Peters moved that the Planning Board adjourn the meeting of January 20, 2021. Richard Canale seconded the motion. The Planning Board voted in favor of the motion 5-0-0 (Roll call: Robert Peters – yes; Richard Canale – yes; Ginna Johnson – yes; Charles Hornig – yes; Robert Creech - yes). MOTION PASSED Meeting adjourned at 10:40 p.m. The following documents used at the meeting can be found on the Planning Board website in Planning Board packets. 5 Meadow Brook Avenue and 77 Wellington Lane Avenue:  Plan of Land dated January 5, 2021 (1 page).  ANR Application dated January 6, 2021 (7 pages).  Registered Plan dated November 21, 1913 (1 page)  Property Record card (3 pages).  Plan of Land dated March 3, 1964 (1 page). Town Meeting Items:  Draft proposed Table of Uses dated January 8, 2021 (9 pages).  Proposed Warrant dated January 19, 2021 (3 pages).  Historic Preservation Language dated December 2, 2020 (5 pages).  Draft Article 39 Historic Preservation Incentives dated January 19, 2021 (2 pages).  Draft Article 41 Structures in setbacks and sheds dated January 19, 2021 (1 page).  Draft Article 42 Flood Plain Administrator dated January 20, 2021 (1 page).  Draft Article 40 Retaining Walls dated January 19, 2021 (1 page).  Draft Hartwell Innovative Guidelines dated January14, 2021 (21 pages).  Draft Article 45 Hartwell Innovative Zoning and General Amendments dated January 21, 2021 (9 pages). Ginna Johnson, Clerk of the Planning Board