HomeMy WebLinkAbout1986center revital comm-bogen rptCenter Revitalization Committee
Center Revitalization Committee (CRC)
CHAIRMAN: Margery
MEMBERS:
Jacquel
Stephen
John C.
Mary M.
M. Battin
ine P. Bateson Laura F. Nichols
B. Cripps Robert F. Sacco
Eddison Joseph Trani
Hastings F. David Wells
LAND USE SUBCOMMITTEE:
Laura F. Nichols, Chairman
Norma Bogen Don H. Olson
Judith L. Newman Jacquelyn R. Smith
PARKING STOCK SUBCOMMITTEE:
Robert F. Sacco, Chairman
Joseph Trani
BEAUTIFICATION SUBCOMMITTEE:
Jacqueline P. Bateson
FORMER COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
Lawrence Chait*
Bernard DeKant*
Thomas K. Dyer*
William Gothorpe*
Frederick B. James*
* Center Revitalization Committee
** Land Use Subcommittee
* ** Beautification Subcommittee
F. David Wells
Henry Patterson **
John A. Powell* * **
Christopher Venier*
Karsten Sorensen* **
REPORT PREPARED BY: Norma Bogen, AICP, Planning Consultant
Acknowledgements
.4 1
This plan is the result of a truly collaborative effort
among town officials, residents and the business
community. It is dedicated to the late Jack Powell,
Chamber of Commerce Vice - President, who served on the.
Committee for two years. He brought us concern,
dedication, wisdom and compromise. He was a vigorous
i spokesman for business interests while unfailingly
understanding and responsive to the needs of abutting
neighbors. He never let us forget the need to preserve
the integrity of the center and to enhance its beauty.
The Committee and the town miss him sorely.
We are deeply indebted to our staff, officials of the Town
of Lexington. The parking and traffic improvements we
initiated were made possible because Walter Tonaszuck,
Director of Public Works, Robert, Bowyer, Director of
Planning, and Captain James Lima and Captain Charles
Withrow of the Police Department helped us identify
problems, devise and implement solutions. They provided
hours of quiet research, lengthy negotiations with
concerned neighbors, policy directives, town meeting
strategies and prompt and effective implementation.
Planning Director Bowyer provided and analyzed the
planning data; he defined the parameters of our study,
initiated and supervised the traffic study and the MAPC
Market Analysis. He kept our focus on policy and
priorities, and drafted many of our initial parking and
land use policy statements.
Our own Land Use Subcommittee, under the able direction of
Chairman Laura Nichols, spent endless hours compiling vast
amounts of data on the center's physical characteristics.
Angela Frick, Lexington's MAPC representative, made
valuable contributions to our deliberations.
John Oberteuffer, Conservation Commission member and
liaison with the Center Revitalization Committee, deserves
much praise for first suggesting the idea of attendant
parking for the Meriam Street lot and then providing much
of the research necessary for its successful adoption.
iii
The survey of residents' attitudes toward the center would
not have -been possible without. the help of Warren Cormier,
Vice President, Decision Research, Inc., Marketing
Division, Temple, Barker & Sloane, who directed the design
of the questionnaire; Bob Sacco, Lexington Press, who
provided printing services; Tom Dyer, President, Thomas K.
Dyer,:Inc., who provided key punching and computer
analysis; Charles Collazzo, Professor of Marketing,
Northeastern University; Leonard Schatz, President, J.L.
Schatz Research, Inc., who contributed suggestions for the
questionnaire; and the Lexington League of Women Voters,
who addressed the questionnaires and made the follow -up
phone calls necessary to ensure an adequate response rate.
We would also like to thank the many businessmen /women in
the Center who provided us with useful data, and in
particular, Dick Michelson and Jeff Lyon: who gave us
information on trends and activities.
Lastly, we are deeply grateful to Norma Bogen, AICP,
Planning Consultant, who synthesized studies, analyzed
data, and prepared the draft of our final report. She
meshed disparate data and sometimes conflicting viewpoints
with skill and tact.
The results of the good faith, hard work and respect we
have had for each other's views - town official,
businessman, abuttor - is consensus on our plan for
managing change, in Lexington Center..
MARGERY M. BATTIN, SELECTMAN
CHAIRMAN, CENTER REVITALIZATION COMMITTEE
iv
11 It ;J
Since its appointment in 1980 by the Board of Selectmen,
the Center Revitalization Committee (CRC) -- comprised of
representatives of the Selectmen, Planning Board, and
Chamber of Commerce -- has been an active working group
concerned with ongoing improvements in the Center as well
as future activities. Its major objective has been to
assure a healthy and diversified Center that serves the
needs of the residents and the business community. Based
on market, economic, land use, and traffic and parking
surveys that it has initiated, the CRC has developed a set
of policies for the Center and a program for future action.
MAJOR FINDINGS OF THE CRC
Lexington Center is changing. It has weathered the
uncertainty of the 170s and is adapting well to the
trends of the 180s. While primarily a local Center
in the past, it now serves a larger market comprised
of residents and non - residents. Some of the alder
businesses are gone, replaced by others that better
reflect the higher income and changes in preferences
and lifestyle of the population. There is more
activity at night. On the whole, the Center is a
thriving, bustling, active place.
The changes in Lexington Center have been stimulated
to a large degree by the growth of employment in
Lexington and nearby communities, resulting in an
increase in the number of non - residents using the
Center, especially at lunchtime. The result has been
the growth of restaurants and specialty shops in
particular, which in turn have attracted residents of
nearby communities for dining, shopping, browsing,
and other activities.
The Chamber of Commerce's strong promotion program
for the Center and its businesses has succeeded in
encouraging greater use and enjoyment of the Center
and strengthening its identity.
There is a good diversity of retail, personal
services, office, and government uses in the Center;
and its compactness permits the consumer to
accomplish a variety of activities on one trip and
within a relatively short period of time. The growth
of restaurants and specialty shops are signs of the
vitality of the Center. The addition of branch
v
establishments and chains as well as offices also
attest to its attractiveness to business. There is
both a strong'retail market and a strong office
market. Theaters, art galleries, eating
establishments, and consumer services add variety and
energy to the mix.
• There appears to be a balance between land uses and
parking for the Center as a whole at the present
time. On a subarea basis, however, this is not
always the case, since demand varies according to the
time of day, season, and type of establishment.
Although there is some traffic congestion, it seldom
results in inordinate delay and is not likely to
worsen substantially unless additional floor space is
added. The new parking program for the Center and
recent parking and traffic improvements have added
parking spaces and facilitated movement within the
Center.
• The new zoning regulations for the Center require
that new construction or expansion or more intensi -ve
use.of existing buildings in the business zone be
accompanied by.adequate parking. Since there is no
vacant land available and the demolition of existing
buildings may be either uneconomic or undesirable for
visual or historic reasons, the key to additional
development /reuse is finding other appropriate ways
to provide additional parking spaces.
The.Center is generally pleasant and includes a
number of older or historic buildings -- particularly
on its edges -- and an attractive promenade along
Massachusetts Avenue. From a design viewpoint,
however, in can be considered undistinguished. Many -
buildings are non- descript, and building and sign.and
awning changes tend to take place on an individual
basis without regard for overall unity or
coordination. Moreover, adequate amenities, such as
seating, bike racks, restrooms, and the like are
lacking. Litter is a problem that needs more
attention.
Competition in the Lexington trade area is intense,
and the Center must continue to strengthen its
advantages in order to have a healthy level of
sales. Superior customer service, unique and well
priced merchandise, convenience, and a special
environment are all necessary to assure the soundness
of the Center.
vi
Managing change in the Center is a continuous process
which has to be shared by the town and the business
community -- since both have a stake in the Center
and both derive benefits when it is a vital and
attractive place. The key to the long term viability
of the Center is a coordinated effort that recognizes
the Center as a dynamic and changing organism and at
the same time respects the Center as a symbol of the
town and its proud history.
RECOMMENDED POLICIES
The CRC has agreed on a set of twenty -four policies that
deal with land use, development, and the role and
character of the Center. These policies view the Center
as. the focal point of the community and a place for
residents to do business and take care of their needs. At
the same time, the necessity of serving non - residents is
recognized as a means of sustaining a large enough market
to provide a variety of goods and services.
CRC policies:
• Encourage a variety of uses in the Center, with
special concern for retail establishments so that
office uses, in particular, do not overwhelm the
Center. A variety of uses reinforce each other by
providing "one -stop" convenience. A variety of
retail uses is especially important to the vitality-
of the Center since they provide visual excitement
and color.
Promote a compact Center with development of a scale
that is compatible with the character of the town and
sympathetic to the quality of the Battle Green area.
• Support the retention of historic buildings and the
"village" characteristics of the Center.
• Encourage improvement in the Center's appearance and
the provision of amenities. Special efforts are
needed to improve facades, signs, backs of buildings,
and parking lots. Amenities and improvements in
maintenance and cleanliness are necessary to enhance
the Center's competitive advantage.
Support protection of adjacent neighborhoods.
vii
fi Suess the importance of a, balance between land uses
and parking, with the highest priority placed on
short term, turnover parking that is supportive of
retail and personal service uses.
• Consider the provision of parking a shared
responsibility of the town and the business community,
with central business district property
owners /developers having the major responsibility for
providing parking for new created floor space and
more intensive use of existing space.
FUTURE PROGRAM: PRINCIPAL ELEMENTS
While Lexington Center is currently flourishing, it must
be watched and nurtured on a.regular basis, since it must
constantly compete with many other commercial locations
and is readily affected by economic conditions as well as
demographic, lifestyle, and market trends. Continuing
improvements are necessary to ensure that it remains a
lively and enjoyable place to shop, browse, dine, and do
business.
Following are the major recommendations of the CRC.
ORGANIZATION
• Reconstitute the CRC as the Lexington Center .
Committee -- comprised of representatives of the
town, business community, and adjacent neighborhoods
-- to continue the process of managing change in the
Center.
ECONOMIC STRUCTURE /LAND USE
• Assist retail businesses to adapt to changing markets.
• Set up clearinghouse to help in the search for
suitable retail .establishments when space becomes
available.
• Update land use and establishment data on a regular
basis.
viii
ACCESS /PARKING
• Explore feasibility and impact of assembling certain
private lots between Waltham and Muzzey Streets and
Muzzey and Clark Streets into common lots to be used
for public parking.
• Continue to investigate changes to improve traffic
flow -- traffic lights, direction of traffic, signs,
etc.
• Continue to explore the.feasibility of a possible .
parking structure as a shared town /business community
responsibility.
DESIGN AND AMENITIES
• Revive the Design Advisory Group (DAG), comprised of
design professionals living in Lexington.
• Develop a Visual Design Plan for the Center -- to
include recommendations for facade changes, building
signs, backs of buildings, street furniture,
improvement of parking lots, etc.
• Hold Competition to redesign Emery'Park as a more
attractive place better suited to its current
activities.
• Revise zoning bylaw to permit projecting signs in the
Central Business zone by right.
• Develop coordinated designs for all public signs in
the Center -- traffic, parking, information, parking
lot entrances and exits, etc.
• Add necessary amenities in the Center (seating, bike
racks, trash receptacles, restrooms, bus stop
shelters, etc.), and improve maintenance.
PROMOTION
• Encourage and support Chamber of Commerce promotional
activities.
i