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PLANNING BOARD MINUTES
MEETING OF FEBRUARY 23, 2011
A regular meeting of the Lexington Planning Board in the Selectmen’s Meeting Room, Town Office
Building was called to order at 7:30 p.m. by Chairman Greg Zurlo with members Richard Canale, Charles
Hornig, Anthony Galaitsis, Wendy Manz and planning staff Maryann McCall-Taylor, Aaron Henry, and
Lori Kaufman present.
The Board thanked Mr. Galaitsis for his years of service. The Board recessed for 8 minutes to allow the
presentation of gifts and a cake.
DEVELOPMENT ADMINISTRATION
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SUBDIVISION PLANS
PUBLIC HEARING
12 -18 Hartwell Avenue, site plan review and special permit:
Mr. Zurlo called the continued public hearing to order at 7:50 p.m. Mr. John Farrington, attorney, Mr.
Adam Colangelo, applicant and Mr. Colin Smith were present. There were approximately five people in
the audience.
Mr. Farrington discussed the following updates since the last hearing:
A letter from the applicant committing to build a sidewalk from 24 Hartwell Avenue and ending
at the Beth Israel Medical Center Hartwell Avenue curb cut;
Language specifying designing guidelines for both buildings;
New parking calculations;
Six loading bays are shown on the plan as required, but dimensional relief is being sought for a
reduction to three, which would be enough to serve the needs of the buildings;
Irrigation to be fitted to planting beds with low pressure drip emitters “smart system”; and
Snow removal provided when the snow banks are over 12 feet high.
Two letters were received, one from a T2 Biosystems in support and one with comments from the public,
which are on file in the Planning Office.
Board Comments:
A reduction in the required dimensions of the loading bays needs the written approval of the
Town Engineer;
Page 2 Minutes for the Meeting of February 23, 2011
A waiver for removal of invasive species was requested, is the scope and size of the project in the
submittal? Mr. Farrington said Boston Survey submitted a letter with all the information; it is
swamp area and the invasive plants will re-occur;
There will be a condition that runs with the special permit that reserves the Board’s right to
require vehicular access connections to adjacent parcels should those parcels redevelop in the
future;
Submission of a Parking and Transportation Demand Management Plan (PTDM) and proof of
membership in a TMA must accompany the Building Permit Application. The PTDM plan must
be accepted by the Planning Board and TMA membership confirmed prior to a building permit
being issued;
Was the goal of the meeting with the Board of Selectmen to discuss sidewalks and other topics
regarding the bus shelter? Mr. Farrington said yes since the sidewalks would be in the right of
way (ROW) and a variance would still be required to build a bus shelter. The funds proposed
were for the cost of the sidewalk in front of the buildings;
Why is the design language for the out building not the same language as the main building? Mr.
Farrington said that the Planning Board is being asked to oversee the design of the buildings, but
the final decision would be the applicant’s;
Regarding flexibility with signage; how much, how big and where? Mr. Smith said most of the
signs were allowed by right; only the projecting signs would require a special permit;
Snow storage is shown where the planters are, what will be in that area?
It would be hard to approve a plan without specific design guidelines; remove the language on
design intent and use drawings as the basis of approval; “what you see is what you get?” The
language for the second building is too obscure. Mr. Farrington said that would be equivalent to
a CD rezoning this is supposed to provide more flexibility. The Board does not want to sign a
blank check and this is not like a CD rezoning since this does not have to go before Town
Meeting.
Audience Comments:
Larry Link from Transportation Advisory Committee said there is interest in development on
Hartwell Avenue and the bus shelter would be critical in reducing single occupancy vehicle
usage.
Minutes for the Meeting of February 23, 2011 Page 3
On a motion duly made and seconded, it was voted, 5-0, to close the public hearing at 9:20 p.m.
Board Conditions:
The project will include onsite pedestrian and bicycle connections from 24 Hartwell Avenue to
482 Bedford Street, which must be shown on the plan. The Board reserves the right to require on-
site vehicular access to these properties should either redevelop in the future;
Submission of a Parking and Transportation Demand Management Plan (PTDM) and proof of
membership in a TMA must accompany the Building Permit Application. The PTDM plan must
be accepted by the Planning Board and TMA membership confirmed prior to a building permit
being issued;
The architectural design of the development, the façade design, height, massing, and materials,
will reflect what is shown in the submitted drawings. In brief, the building must be articulated as
depicted in the plans, elevations, wall sections, and renderings.
The applicant offered and will construct prior to requesting a certificate of occupancy a sidewalk
along the entire frontage of 24 Hartwell Avenue and 12-18 Hartwell Avenue in order to facilitate
connecting the applicant’s properties to an existing bus stop at Bedford Street;
In order to limit the use of potable water for the site’s landscape irrigation the Board’s approval is
based on the use of “smart” watering systems and only for the planters shown on the plan;
Snow removal from the site by the applicant has been offered and accepted by the Board as a
condition, no snow will obstruct parking spaces or the parcel’s site triangles; and,
Should the applicant secure the necessary zoning changes or zoning relief to allow such a site
amenity (bus shelter) to be built in either the transition area or in the front yard setback of the
property a change order should be requested.
On a motion duly made and seconded, it was voted, 4-1, (Mr. Galaitsis opposed), to approve the special
permit with site plan review for 12-18 Hartwell Avenue subject to the conditions discussed.
Journey’s End, request to change form of surety:
The applicant has requested the release of lots for the south side of the development (consisting of two
units) given the substantial progress in construction. The developer is requesting the modification of the
guarantee from a covenant to a cash deposit in the amount of $35,400.00
Page 4 Minutes for the Meeting of February 23, 2011
On a motion duly made and seconded, it was voted, 5-0, to accept financial surety of $35,400 cash in a
form acceptable to the treasurer for the final asphalt top coat, the completion of the as built plans and
landscaping of the south side.
On a motion duly made and seconded, it was voted, 5-0, to release the Town’s interest in the South Side
Covenant.
PLANNING BOARD ORGANIZATION, SCHEDULE
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March 9, 2011 will be the public hearings on the zoning articles for Town Meeting. Staff will do the
presentation at the public hearings. On March 14 the Tree Committee will meet with the Board of
Selectmen and Planning Board in a joint session.
TRANSPORTATION PLANNING
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Mr. Zurlo and Ms McCall-Taylor met with the Economic Development Officer, Town Manager, Chair of
the Board of Selectmen, and Engineering to discuss the projects that were ongoing in the Hayden Avenue
area. It would be up to the Board of Selectmen to determine the designee for transportation studies in the
area. The Planning Board can play an influential role and has been asked to review the RFP scope of
services and make suggestions as to what it should look like. Considering all the departments involved in
the process, perhaps modifying the RFP to have the consultant suggest how to make transportation
planning decisions could be warranted.
Mr. Canale said the RFP looks more like a traffic plan and not a transportation plan. Looking at parallels
for what was done on Hartwell Avenue, the Planning Board wrote the TMOD1 and used the consultant’
study as a reference. It would be better if the RFP has the consultant look not only at corridors, but the
entire impact area. Mr. Zurlo requested that the RFP be sent to the Board as a word document so that
changes could be made in preparation for the meeting with the Board of Selectmen on March 14.
BOARD REPORTS
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Mr. Canale said the Battle Road Scenic Byway Committee four town open house has been changed to
March 31 at the MMNHP.
Minutes for the Meeting of February 23, 2011 Page 5
STAFF REPORTS
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The applicant for 1377 Massachusetts Avenue has requested to go directly to a definitive plan in order to
provide the level of detail that the Board requested. The Board originally recommended that the applicant
come back with a preliminary plan, but agreed that going to a definitive would be acceptable as long as
the details requested were in the plan submitted.
MINUTES
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On a motion duly made and seconded, it was voted, 5-0, to accept the minutes for February 3, 2011.
The meeting was recorded by Lexmedia.
The following documents used at the meeting can be found on file with the Planning Department:
1. Memo from Colin Smith regarding Hartwell Square, dated February 17, 2011 (17 pages).
2. Draft Special Permit with Site Plan Review for 12-18 Hartwell Avenue, from staff dated February
23, 2011 (8 pages).
3. Letter from Lexington Management, Inc. to the Board of Selectmen, dated February 16, 2011(2
pages).
4. Letter from Michelle Ciccolo to Planning Board, dated February 22, 2011 regarding Hartwell
Square (2 pages).
5. Letter from Dominic Rinaldi regarding 12 -18 Hartwell Avenue on conservation issues, dated
February 9, 2011 (1 page).
6. Letter from T2 Biosystems regarding 12-18 Hartwell Avenue, dated February 18, 2011 (1 page).
7. Performance Guarantee modification for Journey’s End, dated February 23, 2011 (5 pages).
On a motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adjourn the meeting at 11:07 p.m.
Anthony Galaitsis, Clerk