HomeMy WebLinkAbout2004-04-12-PB-minPLANNING BOARD MINUTES
MEETING OF APRIL 12, 2004
The meeting of the Lexington Planning Board held in Room 227 of the Clarke Middle School, was called
to order at 6:10 p.m. by Chairman Harden with members Davies, Galaitsis, Kastorf and Manz and
planning staff Garber and McCall - Taylor present.
Also present were Loren Wood, Bob Bicknell, Kevin Johnson, Elizabeth Smith, Sally Castleman, Sara
Arnold and Elaine Dratch.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ** ARTICLES FOR 2004 TOWN MEETING * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * **
Article 6 — Open Space — Mr. Galaitsis will do a brief presentation prior to asking for indefinite
postponement of the article. He will explain that the Board is in agreement on a revision of the original
article but that they feel there is not sufficient time for the Town Meeting members to review the article
so it will be brought back to next year's meeting. Mr. Davies had a few suggestions about the wording
that will be incorporated.
Article 11 -- Center Parking — Ms. Manz will do the presentation of the Board's position against adoption
of the article. The Board indicated their appreciation of the efforts of the center committee in addressing
the parking issue and said that they hoped to work with the committee to bring a better solution to Town
Meeting next year.
Article 13 — Metropolitan. Hospital Redevelopment — Mr. Harden gave a brief overview of the latest
version of the mitigations being offered by AvalonBay. Board members had received the document by
email late that afternoon. The major points were as follows:
+ The number of units remains at 387 but the number of one - bedroom units increases by 20 while the
number of two- and three - bedroom units decreases.
+ With the modified unit mix the number of school -aged children is predicted to be 101. This results in
a positive fiscal impact of $20,000.
* The previously offered $200,00 for school transportation and $250,000 for traffic mitigation may be
redistributed as deemed appropriate by the Town to address traffic mitigation and TDM measures.
+ There will be an annual contribution to Lexpress of $35,000 in perpetuity, with an escalator tied to
the CPT. This is in lieu of the upfront money and the two years of fare subsidies previously offered.
• There will be a shuttle to Alewife in perpetuity but with a five year review of its utilization.
• The proposal for the reuse of Kline Hall is similar to early suggestions, although AvalonBay may use
some of the terrace level as well as the upper floor, but not more than 7,000 square feet overall will be for
its exclusive use.
* A five -year education cost guaranty is being offered through DCAM. This will be based on the total
number of school -aged children this current year. It will be in effect if more than 111 or less than 91
school -aged children from the development attend the Lexington schools and if in excess of the current
system wide enrollment.
Mr. Galaitsis said that he felt that the numbers for triggering the guaranty were reasonable. Mr. Harden
asked when the five -year period would start. He felt that it should be tied to some level of occupancy as
had. been the Patriot Partners' TDM measures. Ms. Manz thought that the five years should start after
75% occupancy had been reached. Ms. Smith from AvalonBay was asked what typical full occupancy
rates might be. She said that at the height of the market it might be 97 to 98% but that they usually hope
for something in the mid -90s. Members expressed their comfort with having the five -year guaranty begin
when a 75% occupancy rate had been reached.
There was discussion of the shuttle to Alewife, particularly the provision for a review in five years. Mr.
Galaitsis was concerned about the possible potential to discontinue the shuttle. There could be a vicious
circle where if service is poor, ridership will be low, leading to a discontinuance of the service. Members
of the Transportation Advisory Committee (TAC) were present and had questions. Ms. Castleman said it
Minutes for the Meeting of April 12, 2004 2
was a little hard to tell if AvalonBay was still covering two years of complimentary Lexpress tickets,
which she felt was a very important part of the previous offer, along with the free Alewife shuttle tickets.
Ms. Manz wondered if another $10,000 could be provided to underwrite tickets and thereby encourage
use in the initial two years. Ms. Castleman said Lexpress could cap the cost to AvalonBay at $10,000 a
year for tickets. Mr. Kastorf said that the concession could come from either side; it is not a cash
contribution by Lexpress if there are empty seats on the bus. Mr. Harden suggested that some of the
already proffered $450,000 could be used to provide free or subsidized tickets if that is what the Town
choose to do.
Ms. Castleman said it is really the connection to a transportation hub that matters, not specifically to
Alewife. Mr. Garber suggested that the language could be changed to "Alewife station or other
designated transportation hub." Ms. Dratch wanted to see a commitment to meeting annually with the
transportation coordinator. Mr. Harden said there would be language requiring the development to be
part of the South Lexington Transportation Organization (SLTO) and that would be the mechanism for
coordination.
Mr. Harden said that it was time for the Planning Board to make a decision on the project based on what
was now before them. There will always be some changes being suggested or made but the Board will
need to take a snapshot and use it to make their decision. He felt that areas that might need further
exploration are Kline Hall, the DMH units, the Land Disposition Agreement and recreation uses on the
site.
Mr. Kevin Johnson asked about what he saw as an obligation of the developer to provide recreational
facilities for the residents of Lexington, not just the development, and he wondered how important that
had been in the Task Force's recommendation. Mr. Johnson suggested that AvalonBay might provide a
community tot lot on their property or adjacent DCR land. Mr. Kastorf who is a member of the Task
Force said that he felt the obligation to provide recreational facilities was so the residents of the
development won't impact the scarce recreational facilities available in south Lexington, not to provide
for the larger community directly on site. He also pointed out that the larger site, which is currently
closed to the public, would be opened and available for recreational use. Ms. Manz commented that it
might be nice if there were a softball field available. Mr. Garber said that the MDC, now DCR, had not
been open to active recreation uses in the planning sessions. Ms. McCall - Taylor added that in dividing up
the hospital site, the lot lines for the housing development had been tightly drawn and really wouldn't
allow the siting of athletic fields within the development.
Mr. Harden said that he would favor a lower number of units for DMH clients on -site as that would free
up more affordable units for Lexington residents. Mr. Kastorf said that it was likely that the DMH clients
would also be Lexington residents.
The Board agreed to continue their discussion of the AvalonBay proposal at the next meeting.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ** PLANNING BOARD ORGANIZATION, SCHEDULE * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * **
The Board will meet on Tuesday, April 13 at 7:30 in the planning office to continue deliberations on the
Met State redevelopment, and on Wednesday, April 14 at 7:00, prior to Town Meeting, to review a sketch
plan for a cluster subdivision on Cary Avenue.
On a motion duly made and seconded, the Board voted unanimously , adjou75 p.m.
%John L. Davies, Clerk