HomeMy WebLinkAbout2006-06-26-PB-min
MINUTES OF THE PLANNING BOARD JOINT MEETING WITH THE BOARD OF SELECTMEN
MEETING ON JUNE 26, 2006
A meeting of the Lexington Planning Board with the Board of Selectmen, held in the Selectmen's
Meeting Room, Town Office Building, was called to order at 7:40 p.m. by Chairman Manz with members
Galaitsis, Hornig, Canale and planning staff McCall-Taylor present. Mr. Zurlo joined the meeting at 7:50.
Present from the Board of Selectmen were Ms. Krieger, Mr. Cohen, Mr. Kelley, Mr. Manz and Mr.
Pagett.
*********************** LAND DEVELOPMENT REGULATIONS *************************
Floor Area Ratio for Commercial Development - Ms. Krieger thanked the Planning Board for joining
them to discuss Floor Area Ratio (FAR). She said that her hope for this evening would be that they
would outline a process and the questions to ask to be able to go forward with exploring increasing the
FAR allowed for commercial developments.
Ms. Manz cautioned that increasing the FAR is not a magic bullet and, that if increased, it may well raise
other issues such as transportation/traffic. She said that the Planning Board has not looked at changing
the FAR as no initiatives have come forward seeking an increase. She said that recent talks with some
members of the development community have lead her to believe that initiatives have not come forward
because possible proponents are cowed by the negative attitude of the town toward development. With
the exception of the Ledgemont proposal a few years ago, there has been no pressure from owners to
increase the FAR. Ms. Manz suggested that an increase in FAR be tied to provision of green buildings,
sustainable design, transportation improvements, etc.
Ms. Krieger said she would like to see an analysis of what revenue comes from the different commercial
zones as well as what is going on in adjacent communities. She noted that Bedford had recently increased
the allowed FAR in its industrial zone.
Mr. Hornig said that FAR is just a part of the puzzle, which includes traffic rules, impervious surface
ratios, and site coverage. If the desire is to increase the commercial square footage it involves much more
than just increasing the FAR. He pointed out infrastructure improvements that are needed for the Hartwell
Avenue area - the intersections, bike lanes and sidewalks.
Ms. Krieger said that she wanted to take the burden off the residential tax payers by getting more value
from the commercial property and saw sustainable development as an appropriate trade-off for increased
FAR. She noted the interest of the 2020 scoping group in this area. Ms. Manz added that the 2020 group
has given priority to economic development outside of the center.
Mr. Canale asked what was the goal. He said that higher value property doesn’t necessarily require
increased density. He felt that they should be asking what is the best density, and how can the value of
commercial property be increased. Perhaps a master plan for the area would be appropriate. The town
should not just be looking for more development, but better and smarter development. An overlay district
might be an approach.
Mr. Galaitsis said it was important to focus on creating demand if the supply is increased and he
wondered who would do that.
Ms. Manz said she hated to appoint another committee but that might be what is needed here. Ms.
Krieger said that a sub-set of the two boards could decide what data is wanted and who would gather it.
The Selectmen will prioritize this at their goal setting session as well as getting an idea on how much staff
time would be needed.
Minutes for the Meeting of June 26, 2006 2
Mr. Kelley asked if multi-use has been considered for the commercial zones. Ms. Manz said that was
certainly something the Planning Board would be interested in discussing. She mentioned that Mr.
Hornig had talked about exploring a high-density multi-use development as a possible development
scenario.
Mr. Canale asked if there was a preferred residential to commercial development ratio. He also wanted to
know if a master plan is undertaken, should the use of the town-owned land on Hartwell Avenue be
considered for development. Mr. Pagett said that doing a master plan and looking at all the elements
reminded him of ‘50’s style Soviet planning that looked at everything and did nothing. He preferred the
model used in some third world countries of building what was needed and letting the infrastructure
follow. He said he found it depressing that if the FAR were increased other regulations would preclude
increased development and asked if that were true. Mr. Hornig said that under present zoning law, if the
intersection were failing it would have to be fixed before development could take place. Mr. Pagett
commented that if development was allowed and the intersection became totally plugged, the federal
government might then want to fix it. Ms. Manz asked if the money the state had pledged in connection
with Hanscom development was still out there. Ms. Krieger said she thought it was not.
Ms. Krieger said there might be some barriers, but it would be good to lay out the questions and
determine what would be needed to get the answers. Mr. Hornig said that Ledgemont didn’t happen
because of residents’ opposition, and that residents’ concerns about the impact of commercial
development will have to be addressed. Ms. Manz added that the FAR had been lowered with the
expectation that developers would ask for increases, but what had been viewed as a way to control
development might be viewed by Town Meeting as a maximum that could not be exceeded. It would be
important to involve developers and landowners early in the process to get an idea what projects might be
proposed and what contributions they might be willing to make.
Ms. Krieger thanked the Planning Board for coming and beginning to define the issues.
After leaving the Selectmen’s meeting, the Planning Board members continued their meeting in the hall.
They agreed a study of the FAR issues would be considered at their next meeting when they discussed the
work program for the coming year, but it might not be a high priority. They would also want to see where
FAR came out on the Board of Selectmen’s list of priorities for the coming year.
On a motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adjourn the meeting at 8:15 p.m.
Anthony G. Galaitsis, Acting Clerk