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Home My WebLink About2001-02-13-PB-minPLANNING BOARD MINUTES MEETING OF FEBRUARY 13, 2001 The Comprehensive Plan Workshop hosted by the Lexington Planning Board, held in the Selectmen's Room, Town Office Building, began shortly after 7:00 p.m. with Chairman Colman, members Bridge - Denzak, Chase, Davies, Planning Director Garber, and Assistant Planner McCall- Taylor present. Mr. Galaitsis was absent. Philip Herr and Sarah James, of Herr and James and Associates, planning consultants, were also present and co -led the evening's discussions. Members of the Comprehensive Plan Advisory Committee - Larry Belvin, Tom DeNoto, Elaine Dratch, Marilyn Fenollosa, Tom Harden, Karl Kastorf, Jeanne Krieger, Joe Marino, Jerry Moloney, and Lee Sinai, and other interested residents also took part. COMPREHENSIVE PLANNING WORKSHOP: CLARIFYING STRATEGIC STEPS FOR THE TOWN 7 AXTTl TTCR Land Use — Lexington Center - Should the Center be more oriented to serve nearby residents? • Yes, be more community based. • Yes, many would like to go back to "old days." • Maybe: more convenience orientation desirable but may be infeasible. • No, build on stores that are here — understanding their needs better. • No, Center is transforming itself well, so support that, including evening leisure uses. • No, market is defining the center as regional leisure center, so put efforts there. • No, more day use, achieved through links to Hayden/Hartwell employment nodes. • No, "Village" is no longer viable: Center can't much serve residents. • No, tourism should be built upon. • No, promote tourism. • No, but can we really lure more tourists? -Other Suggestions regarding Center Land Use: • Residential uses could make community businesses feasible. • Right, include housing and affordable housing. • Right, promote housing. • No, residential is not a good idea. • Too many banks, coffee houses, utility and communication uses • Too few or no attractions in center, Farmers markets - Possible actions • Target specific businesses. — Focus on land changes that are do -able by government. Subsidize rents for some businesses. Chamber of Commerce should be more unified, proactive. • Accommodate tour buses. -Other Observations re Lexington Center. • Business circumstances — Center is healthy. — Center is very pleasant for outsiders. — Locally owned businesses turn over a lot. Minutes for the Meeting of February 13, 2001 — Small businesses need expert assistance. — Vacancies don't really mean decline. • Infrastructure Congestion is increasing. Parking is a big issue. • Other — Center is diverse. --- Concord center provides a good model. — Narrower street scale of Concord helps. Land Use — Really Large Houses — This discussion asked what should the Town do about Really Big Houses if lawyers allowed. There were more questions than confident answers. What follows are the summary responses to options given: Have none at all ............ ............................... Only in certain contexts ............................... Only if skillfully sited and designed ............ Limited number per year ............................ Only if not depleting modest homes .......... Leave it to the market .. ............................... No apparent support Recognition of salience of context, and some interest in context - sensitive controls Sure but what does that mean, and how do you do it? No apparent support. Concern, but skepticism re use of affordability loss as a regulatory basis. Supported by some, with resignation. 2 Other Really Big House observations focused on the thought that maybe this is a passing phenomenon. The economy is cyclical and change comes rapidly. This may be a "Generational" issue. Other questions raised were — When people decry teardowns of existing, more modest homes, is it due to depletion of the more affordable stock, or is it really concern in regard to visual impact/scale issues? — How do you get to what "modest scale" means? — Why are Big Houses coming to Lexington? — How do we manage expansion by addition? Suggestion: promote affordability directly, rather than by blocking change. Land Use — "Whole Community" Neighborhood Centers - Should the Town explore multi -use neighborhood centers mixing residence and leisure, shopping and work? A general observation was that "mixed use" is a widely supported concept, but this formulation of it raised more questioning than support for applicability other than in Lexington Center. • Hartwell Avenue — A hotel would make sense. Why aren't there more restaurants? • Maybe put commercial in residential? • Mixed uses at, say, Countryside doesn't make sense. • We don't have large tracts of land. HOT TSTNC Minutes for the Meeting of February 13, 2001 3 Commitment to Diversity - What is the Town willing to "trade" to gain housing diversity? Those attending generally were skeptical of the depth of support (other than among those in the room) for housing affordability, so the implicit answer became "very little ". • Problems: — "Not in my backyard" syndrome. Density is a real obstacle. • Answers: People might object less to affordable housing in isolated or high traffic locations. Affordable housing could correlate with "whole community" concept. Make accessory apartments easier to do. • Questions: What is affordable? • Who is shut out by impediments to diversity? Our kids Town employees Elderly when they sell their old house. WORKSHOP KEY ISSUES SUMMARY • Higher density as a tool for promoting economic diversity • Accessory apartments need revisiting • Really big houses — when skillfully sited and designed • Concern over loss of modest houses • Concern over town character • Lexington center: — Use non -local "market" to enrich local shopping and service opportunities — How do we increase usage without proportional vehicular use? The meeting was adjourned at 10:00 p.m. A Stacey Bridg -Denzak, Clerk