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PLANNING BOARD MINUTES
MEETING OF AUGUST 31, 2010
A meeting of the Lexington Planning Board in Room 207, Town Office Building was called to order at
7:40 p.m. by Chairman Greg Zurlo with members Richard Canale, Charles Hornig, Anthony Galaitsis,
Wendy Manz and planning staff Maryann McCall-Taylor and Aaron Henry present. Rick Bryant of Tetra
Tech Rizzo was also in attendance.
*************************HARTWELL AVENUE AREA STUDY***************************
The members of the Board of Selectmen had been invited to the meeting but were temporarily tied up
with an urgent matter so the Planning Board began to discuss section I of the draft Transportation
Management Overlay plan for the Hartwell Avenue area (TMO-1). Section I deals with parking and
transportation demand management. The discussion centered on the Transportation Management
Association (TMA), who should run it and should membership in a specific TMA be required.
At 7:50 the Board of Selectmen joined the meeting. Mr. Zurlo explained how the TMO district came to
be, and the work that had been undertaken by the Planning Board to produce the transportation plan for
the TMO-1. The Board of Selectmen will end up with the implementation responsibility and be the
deciding factor on what funding opportunities to pursue. There are generally four buckets of funding- the
state and federal grants, local taxes, the landowners/developers, and new construction mitigation.
Mr. Bryant said his firm had been charged with figuring out the infrastructure needed to handle the
increased density, as well as to avoid traffic spillover into the Wood Street and Eldred Street
neighborhoods. They were also to encourage other modes of travel – bicycle, pedestrian and transit.
They looked at existing conditions, made infrastructure recommendations, outlined steps to be taken and
sources of funding. This plan addresses the transportation issues of the entire area, rather than band aid
approach under the old traffic bylaw where each developer was responsible for parts. With the TMO-1
plan, those who benefit help pay through an impact fee. The timing of funds versus improvement is
difficult as the town may want the improvements sooner. If so, the town would have to front the money.
Mr. Bryant called attention to on-call consulting services for Mass Highway that might be used to start
putting the design together. Some of the district offices weren’t aware of these services.
The two boards discussed funding options, including the transportation mitigation fee that was being
Page 2 Minutes for the Meeting of August 31, 2010
proposed to be set at $5.00 per square foot. The Planning Board wanted to know the Selectmen’s
thoughts on how funding from the four basic sources should be divided. New development, existing
landowners and the town would have to cover the non-state and federal portion and that would be
expected to be about 20% of the total. The timing of receipts, funding and design were also explored.
There was discussion of the desire for economic development in the area and how the mitigation fee,
along with the split tax rate, might make Lexington less competitive in the regional market. They also did
not want to lose sight of the fact that the rezoning was done to provide residential tax relief
There was general agreement that the plan should be adopted this fall, even if it needed to be revisited at a
later date.
Mr. Bill Levison from the Traffic Advisory Committee (TAC) spoke about their recommendations on
how to get transportation services to the Hartwell area. TAC felt that the Town needed to be the initiator
and to remain a player.
The Board of Selectmen thanked the Planning Board for their work and said they would provide more
input at a later date. They then returned to the Selectmen’s Meeting Room to continue their meeting. On a
motion duly made and seconded, the Planning Board voted to adjourn its meeting at 9:25 p.m.
The following documents used at the meeting can be found on file with the Planning Department:
1. “Article XV. Transportation Management Overlay District Plans” Draft- August 26,2010
2. “Outline of the Statement from the Transportation Advisory Committee to the Planning Board
Concerning the Hartwell Avenue Transportation Management Overlay District” dated August 31,
2010.
The portion of the meeting with the Board of Selectmen present was recorded by Lexmedia.
Anthony Galaitsis, Clerk