HomeMy WebLinkAbout2003-11-05-PB-minPLANNING BOARD MINUTES
MEETING OF NOVEMBER 5, 2003
The meeting of the Lexington Planning Board held in the Selectmen's Room, Town Office Building, was
called to order at 7:30 p.m. by Chairman Harden with members Chase, Davies, Galaitsis, Kastorf and
planning staff Garber, McCall- Taylor, and Tap present.
****** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ** MINUTES ******* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * **
Review of Minutes The Board reviewed and corrected the minutes for the meeting of October 8, 2003.
On a motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to approve the minutes as amended.
**********************ARTICLES FOR SPECIAL TOWN MEETING * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * **
Hartwell Avenue JOSCO Realty Trust Steven Colangelo Rezone CD -6 to CRO Public Hearin : Mr.
Harden opened the hearing at 7:45 p.m. There were 6 people in the audience. Mr. Steven Colangelo,
applicant, and Mr. John Farrington, attorney, were present for this item. Mr. Farrington explained that Mr.
Colangelo's property at 12 -18 Hartwell Avenue was rezoned by the 1988Annual Town Meeting from
CRO, Regional Office, to CD -6, a planned commercial district for a specific development proposal - a
hotel facility.
After the site was rezoned, Hilton Hotels decided not to go forward with construction because their whole
concept for hotels was changing and it now considered the building size approved by Town Meeting too
small to be economically viable. As well, the banking and real estate industries experienced a negative
trend.
The site owner has concluded that the building approved in 1988 will never be built and any development
proposal outside of what is allowed currently in the CRO zone would be a new CD proposal, which
would not necessarily be a hotel facility. The non - conforming status of the current building on the site
creates issues and extra legal work each time the financing for this building, and other buildings owned by
the owner, is restructured. Therefore, the owner submits that the site should again be zoned as all the
other buildings are in this section of Hartwell Avenue, which is a CRO district so there is conformity
within the zoning district, a stated objective of both the State and the Town of Lexington Zoning Bylaw.
Questions and Comments: In response to a question from Mr. Sandy about the rezoning reverting to the
previous zone, Ms. McCall - Taylor noted that case law indicates that it requires town meeting to change
the zoning of land, even if a parcel is reverting to its original zoning district. Mr. Farrington concurred.
Other questions raised included the following: Q. Is there a specific new plan for the site? A. No. Q.
Why go down to a zone that allows less square feet of building? A. Financially, it makes life easier. Q.
How much of the site is under wetlands restrictions? A. About an acre. Q. Would a substantial increase in
the allowed floor area ratio help? A. Probably not. Mr. Colaneglo added that there is just no demand for
the type of facility that had been planned when the parcel was rezoned. Board members agreed that this
sounds like a reasonable action for the owner to take.
Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to recommend to Town Meeting that it approve the
requested rezoning of 12 -18 Hartwell Avenue, as it returns the present use to its preexisting zoning.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ** AFFORDABLE HOUSING * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * **
LexHAB Ms. McCall - Taylor reported on a variety of subjects having to do with affordable housing.
Consultant Jean Van Orman has used a town -owned parcel on North Street for a theoretical project in a
class she teaches at the Boston Architectural Center. The class envisions a development with 15 units. In
response to Ms. Chase's question about Katandin Woods, Mr. Garber said that LexHAB has not yet
Minutes for the Meeting of November 5, 2003
acquired any units there. It is not clear if LexHAB could use funds gained through a HOME Consortium
process to buy the units.
The Board reviewed a memo from Mr. Philip Herr, consultant for implementing the housing element of
the comprehensive plan. The memo details the Board's current housing implementation initiatives. The
Board discussed what changes to current zoning bylaws might facilitate the production of affordable
housing, e.g., the height limit in the central business district, and adaptive reuse of existing buildings (the
Lexington Press building, the Fletcher Avenue factory and the former Christian Science church) in
residential zones. Requiring a defined share of affordable units in all RD Planned Residential
Developments instead of negotiating project -by- project was suggested. Requiring affordable units in all
regular subdivisions was thought to have limited impact in terms of fulfilling the state's goal of 10%
affordable units.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ** REGIONAL, INTERTOWN ISSUES * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * **
Met State_ Hospital Development Avalgp3ay Ms. McCall - Taylor reported that the Met State Task Force
is seeking ideas for the reuse of Kline Hall at the Met State Hospital site. The COA, the Arts Council, the
Munroe Center for the Arts have been asked if they might be interested in the use of the building. The
relative isolation of the site is problematic for many uses. Mr. Kastorf commented that Town Meeting
might be asked to accept an ongoing process for the use of the hall.
ZONING WORKSHOP
Workshop II, Home Occupations The Board reviewed a draft of the potential amendment to the Zoning
Bylaw that would update the allowed home businesses in Lexington, as home occupations have more
relevance in today's society, reflecting economic trends. They also can serve as traffic mitigation,
reducing the number of trips to work and back.
The Board agreed that rather than to define all of the possible home occupations, it would take an
approach that uses performance standards, such as number of employees, deliveries, noise, parking and
other measurable criteria to determine appropriateness for a home occupation.. Further discussion was
planned for a future meeting.
REPORTS
Planning Board: Mr. Kastorf reported that the patched openings made in Bedford Street in connection
with the Johnson's Farm subdivision, have sunk, leaving the road in bad condition. A manhole was badly
done as well. The Board authorized staff to write a strongly worded letter to the developer telling him to
fix the problems.
On a motion duly made and seconded, the Board voted unanimously t dj ourn at .m.
r
r� z9
John L. Davies, Clerk