Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021-05-12-PB-min PLANNING BOARD MINUTES MEETING OF MAY 12, 2021 Minutes of the Lexington Planning Board Held on May 12th, 2021, Virtual Meeting per Governor Baker’s Order at 7:00 pm Present: Charles Hornig, Chair; Robert Peters, Vice-Chair; Michael Schanbacher, Clerk; Melanie Thompson; Robert Creech, Michael Leon Associate Member. Also present was Amanda Loomis, Planning Director. Ms. Carol Kowalski, Assistant Town Manager for Land Use joined the meeting in progress. Mr. Hornig stated that this remote participation meeting was being held in accordance with Governor Baker’s March 12, 2020 Executive Order suspending certain provisions of the Open Meeting Law to allow remote participation during the State of Emergency due to the outbreak of COVID-19. Mr. Hornig provided instructions to members of the public, who were watching or listening to the meeting via the Zoom application, regarding the process for making a public comment. ******************** DEVELOPMENT ADMINISTRATION************************* 181,191,201 Spring Street (Fullers Hill Subdivision) – Covenant Release: Mr. DeAngelis attorney for the applicant Boston Properties, was present. Mr. DeAngelis provided a brief history of this request for a covenant release for a definitive subdivision plan from 1987. The road work and subdivision was completed in either 1990 or 1991 and the applicant never asked for a covenant release once everything was completed. Planning Board Member Questions:  Mr. Hornig asked for clarification regarding if the release of the covenant was for the road completion? Mr. DeAngelis said yes.  Mr. Schanbacher, Mr. Peters, Ms. Thompson, and Mr. Leon had no questions.  Mr. Creech asked for clarification if this was for a release of money or just a covenant. Mr. De Angelis said just the release of the covenant no money was involved. Robert Peters moved that the Planning Board authorize the Chair to execute a release of the covenant for 181,191,201 Spring Street (Fullers Hill Subdivision) dated October 23 1987. Michael Schanbacher seconded the motion. The Planning Board voted in favor of the motion 5-0-0 (Roll call: Robert Peters – yes; Melanie Thompson – yes; Michael Schanbacher – yes; Charles Hornig – yes; Robert Creech - yes). MOTION PASSED Ms. Kowalski joined the meeting at this time. Page 2 Minutes for the Meeting of May 12, 2021 Continued Public Hearing: 109 Reed Street (Kay Tiffany Way) Waiver Request for Approved Subdivision: The applicant requested that the public hearing be continued to the next meeting so they can complete thin information on the roadway. The Planning Board will continue the public hearing to May 26 without discussion. Mr. Hornig used his power under the COVID-19 proclamation to continue the public hearing to Wednesday, May 26, 2021 at 7:00 p.m. 15 Fair Oaks Drive: Street Adequacy Determination: Ms. Loomis said this was a street determination. The Town Engineer had gone out and looked at the street and would like the northern pothole to be filled in. The applicant was willing to fill in two potholes. Planning Board Member Questions:  Mr. Schanbacher and Mr. Leon had no comments or questions.  Mr. Peters requested clarification was there any downside to the applicant filling two potholes instead of one. Ms. Loomis said they could do both since they were proposing it.  Mr. Creech and Ms. Thompson said it would be better to do both. Robert Peters moved that the Planning Board determine that the road by 15 Fair Oaks Drive is not currently of adequate grade and construction, but will be once the two potholes are filled. Bob Creech seconded the motion. The Planning Board voted in favor of the motion 5-0- 0 (Roll call: Robert Peters – yes; Melanie Thompson – yes; Michael Schanbacher – yes; Charles Hornig – yes; Robert Creech - yes). MOTION PASSED ****************************HOUSING POLICY********************************* Affordable Housing Trusts and Housing Development Corporations: The Select Board requested input from the Planning Board for their discussion on this topic later this month. Ms. Carol Kowalski gave a presentation on Affordable Housing Trusts and Housing Development Corporations as options for Lexington for dealing with affordable housing. Ms. Kowalski discussed how these two concepts would operate, the differences, the benefits of each type. She explained that some municipalities use both types of entities. The Select Board will be meeting with several boards and committees on Monday to discuss and review the best option for Lexington to meet its affordable housing goals. Planning Board Members Comments and Questions:  Mr. Schanbacher asked if Arlington has both of these entities. He asked what other towns that are similar in size with Lexington have done.  Mr. Peters asked for clarification if an affordable housing trust could purchase a deed restriction to produce more affordable units if a developer was willing when doing a multi-unit project. Mr. Peters said having an entity that could purchase additional affordable units would be an advantage.  Mr. Creech asked for confirmation that the surcharges for commercial and residential properties can be put into the affordable housing trust and therefore the Minutes for the Meeting of May 12, 2021 Page 3 trust would not be completely independent of the Town. He asked for clarification if the housing development corporation would be independent of the Town. He also asked for clarification if the affordable housing trust would not have to depend on a developer, but they would need to have a developer that they can rely upon to produce the project since time is of the essence. He was concerned about the housing development corporation since they are working on their own. What would be in it for them to work on behalf of the affordable housing trust given the market situation in Lexington?  Ms. Thompson asked for clarification if the affordable housing trust would be a better option than the housing development corporation that could actually seek the available properties. She asked clarification if either of these entities have to go before Town Meeting. Who would select the members?  Mr. Leon asked if we are setting up an affordable housing trust is there anything that would permit the Town in a disposition of a surplus property to give priority to the trust to acquire property with priority as opposed to a public bid for the surplus property? He also asked what would be the magnitude of development for the number of units you would be able to develop with housing development corporations based on what Concord and Arlington are looking at. He asked for clarification if all these projects are rental projects and can there be a mix of affordable and market units. Is there flexibility on the number of units that can be affordable and market units? Public Comments and Questions:  Belmont has a very active housing trust with the funding they had they contracted with Metro West Collaborative Development to do emergency rental assistance. There are other things affordable housing trusts can do with their funds besides doing affordable housing. The speaker was in favor of both entities since they provide a great amount of flexibility. Planning Board Members Comments and Questions:  Mr. Peters said this was a very helpful presentation and the Town should pursue this further for the Fall Special Town Meeting. There are questions regarding conservation land purchases and adding these entities would give housing more weight to have a seat at the table to create more affordable housing.  Mr. Creech believed this was a positive thing since the current situation does not work.  Ms. Thompson was in favor of the Town pursing these entities.  Mr. Leon agrees about establishing an affordable housing trust, but not sure about how much we will be getting from a housing development corporation.  Mr. Hornig said he believed both entities should be pursued, but we need more information. These were the questions from the Planning Board Members. Ms. Kowalski provided responses and the Planning Board Members deliberated on these options. Page 4 Minutes for the Meeting of May 12, 2021 Status of Efforts: Special Permit Residential (SPRD) (Ad Hoc Committee) update since November 2020: Ms. Kowalski said the consultant for the SPRD presented a complicated bylaw concept to the SPRD Committee and at that time the housing choice bill was changed as well. Mr. Hornig and Ms. Loomis both provided updates on the concepts to the SPRD with examples so the members could get a look and feel of what the projects would be like. This is what the committee has done since November and will be meeting again in a few weeks. CPAC Housing Working Group update: Ms. Kowalski said they are working with consulting team Community Circle and they have started to do community engagement and writing of the plan. Stantec will be doing the maps, graphics, and the website. A public forum will be going out for public input soon. There will be a meeting on June 15. Zoning Proposals: Systemic Racism and full inclusion resolutions: Mr. Hornig presented his changes for a proposed zoning amendment on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. Planning Board Members Comments and Questions:  Mr. Schanbacher asked for clarity on enforcement on rooming units; is it enforced as a restriction to not allow a couple as opposed to a single person rent a room?  Mr. Peters said there was a lot of good things here to get rid of clauses that could be discriminatory.  Mr. Creech asked for clarification on permitted structures for disabled persons anywhere on the lot and who makes the permitting decisions?  Ms. Thompson asked for clarity on the words ‘illegal discrimination’.  Mr. Leon asked for clarity about fair housing on family size and accessibility if someone wanted a new deck with a ramp. How much of that proposal is attributed to accessibility for a new ramp and how much to the new deck structure?  Mr. Creech expressed concern about the possibility of this proposal making it legal to allow someone to buy a house and rent out rooms to allow students to stay for the school year. Mr. Hornig will ask staff to have Town Counsel look at it. Residential Parking Requirements: Mr. Hornig presented his proposal to amend the zoning bylaw to Reduce Residential Parking. Planning Board Members Comments and Questions:  Mr. Schanbacher thinks this proposal is great and in the direction we want to go. Minutes for the Meeting of May 12, 2021 Page 5  Mr. Peters agreed with Mr. Schanbacher, but said we need wait to see what the MBTA routes are once it returns to normal or what the new normal will be before we make any changes to this.  Mr. Creech asked how this would impact a situation that needed additional parking spaces for a new development due to parking restrictions on the streets. He cited 185 Lincoln Street and 18 and 22 Forest Street as just three examples where on street parking would not be possible. He would like more discussion on this.  Ms. Thompson had no comments.  Mr. Leon agreed with Mr. Creech and was concerned about how this would impact over time and would it be adding more parked cars on the street and this is very location specific. The outcome could create more parking challenges and consider a waiver concept for some site specific relief based and possibly creating a chronic parking density problem in the future. Mr. Hornig will continue to work with staff on this proposal: Open Space Residential Developments: Mr. Hornig presented his proposal for the Open Space Residential Development. Planning Board Members Comments and Questions:  Mr. Schanbacher thought this proposal was great, and would create greater diversity and was the best route going forward.  Mr. Peters asked for clarification on the economic feasibility analysis and would you go out to developers to see if it was feasible for them.  Mr. Creech asked for clarification on Liberty Ridge example if they were by right. What would the height limits be? The total land area for Liberty Ridge was 12 acres but the developer only used 6 of those acres with the other 6 acres going to conservation land. He asked if the number of units (86) was based upon the 12 acre number or the 6 acre number. As built, Liberty Ridge is 29 units on 6 acres of land.  Ms. Thompson said she liked the affordability aspect, but the historical preservation was a concern. She also said that 2,100 square feet is a good size, but 1,500 square feet was too compact and this deserved more discussion.  Mr. Leon said he supported the concept, but stated we are not a homogenous community and certain neighborhoods have certain factors that become relevant. The concern of density is not only the size if the units, but also and how many square feet of unit you have and the overall number of units you have. He supported bringing a broader range of houses was important, but are we a Town that needs a one size fits all approach regarding maximizing density. Public Comments:  Some of the changes listed were positive like advantage to include historic preservation, but it was a mistake removing the special permit and allowing by right leaving the barn door open. It does not give the neighbors and residents any negotiating ability with large developments.  A resident was very interested and supportive in getting involved in developments that can increase the affordability in town. Page 6 Minutes for the Meeting of May 12, 2021 Mr. Hornig said he and Ms. Loomis will go over input and will bring this back to the next meeting. Inclusionary Housing Requirements: Mr. Hornig said this was rolled over into the open space residential development proposal. Housing Choice: MBTA Community Requirement: Mr. Hornig said they hoped we would have gotten some guidance from the State on this section, but have not received any yet. Mr. Hornig explained that this is about what Lexington would need to do to create this required district and are waiting for the State to tell us what the criteria are. *************************BOARD ADMINISTRATION**************************** Planning Board Regulations-Solar Energy Systems (SES) Regulations: Ms. Loomis presented the document that would be put in the Planning Board Regulations. It is in response to Town Meeting action at the Fall Special Town Meeting on the Solar Energy Systems Bylaw. We want to make sure we follow through on what was voted on at Town Meeting for SES regulations for large-scale projects to provide the guidance they will need. Planning Board Members Comments and Questions:  Mr. Schanbacher thought it was great and had no questions.  Mr. Peters asked for clarification on what a large-scale project would be based on and will the definition change as technology evolves? Ms. Loomis it was based on square footage and the definition will not change.  Mr. Creech saw no problem with it.  Ms. Thompson had no issue as long as it meets the sustainability issues.  Mr. Leon said there was concern about the issue of decommissioning and disposal of these projects after the permit expires and suggested there be a five year independent review throughout out the duration of the permit to evaluate the cost of decommissioning since it would be difficult to determine the cost 20 years in the future. Mr. Hornig said this was not time critical, but should be done sooner than later since there is a project waiting in the wings and we want these regulations in place when they do bring this forward. Ms. Loomis said we can bring this back on May 26 and Board Members should send their comments to Ms. Loomis prior to that. Staff Updates: Ms. Loomis said staff is moving forward on Lexington Next, had a meeting last night, will have a public engagement session on June 15, and fliers will be going out next week. Board Member Updates: Mr. Schanbacher was at the Lexington School Master Planning Advisory Committee meeting a couple a weeks ago. Monday he sat in on the Turning Mill NCD; there were no new projects to report. Minutes for the Meeting of May 12, 2021 Page 7 Mr. Creech gave an update on last night’s CPAC meeting which was a great meeting. He also gave an update on the Greenways Corridor Committee. Mr. Hornig said the next meeting is May 26, 2021 and will bring back 109 Reed Street, Open Space Residential Developments and possibly other housing items, solar. Our work plan will be in June. June 9 and 23 are the next following Planning Board meetings. Review of Meeting Minutes April 28, 2021: Robert Peters moved that the Planning Board approve the minutes of the April 28, 2021 meetings as distributed. Melanie Thompson seconded the motion. The Planning Board voted in favor of the motion 5-0-0 (Roll call: Robert Peters – yes; Melanie Thompson – yes; Michael Schanbacher – yes; Charles Hornig – yes; Robert Creech - yes). MOTION PASSED Robert Peters moved that the Planning Board adjourn the meeting of May 12, 2021. Bob Creech seconded the motion. The Planning Board voted in favor of the motion 5-0-0 (Roll call: Robert Peters – yes; Melanie Thompson – yes; Michael Schanbacher – yes; Charles Hornig – yes; Robert Creech - yes). MOTION PASSED Meeting adjourned at 9:24 p.m. 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. 15 Fair Oaks Drive:  Form B Application dated October 13, 2021 (5 pages).  Request for Waiver (1 page).  Staff memo dated October 7, 2020 (1 page).  Plat plan showing road improvements dated October 28, 2020 (1 page). Affordable Housing Trusts:  Affordable Housing Trusts, Housing Development Corporations memo dated January 21, 2021 (2 pages).  Slides on Affordable Housing Trusts, Housing Development Corporations options for Lexington (7 pages). Zoning Proposals:  Proposed Bylaw for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion dated May 6, 2021 (3 pages).  Proposed Bylaw to Reduce Residential Parking Requirements dated May 6, 2021 (3 pages). Solar Energy Systems Regulations:  Draft Solar Energy Systems Regulations dated May 11, 2021 (4 pages). Michael Schanbacher, Clerk of the Planning Board