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PLANNING BOARD MINUTES
MEETING OF MARCH 7, 2012
A regular meeting of the Lexington Planning Board, held in the Selectmen’s Meeting Room, was
called to order at 7:30 p.m. by Chairman Richard Canale with members Wendy Manz, Michelle
Ciccolo, Greg Zurlo, and Charles Hornig and planning staff Maryann McCall-Taylor, and Lori
Kaufman present.
********************************TOWN MEETING*******************************
Joint Meeting with the Center Sub-Committee on Zoning
Article 36, Home Occupations in the CB District:
On a motion duly made and seconded it was voted, 5-0, to recommend to Town Meeting the
motion as written by staff and ask staff to write the report supporting Article 36 for Home
Occupations in the CB District.
Article 35, Residential Use in the CB District:
Mr. Levin of the Center Sub Committee said there was some apprehension in the Center
Committee that allowing residential use on street level by special permit could cause some
concern at Town Meeting so residential use should only be allowed above the first floor.
Board Comments:
Keeping residential use above the first floor is a good idea.
There would be some first floor space devoted to residential access anyway.
Better to keep it simple.
Clear access is permitted since it already exists as access to offices now. In Lexington
Place the lobby is behind the storefronts and there is no need to limit square footage, just
limit ground floor use to residential unit access.
Mr. Brown said that economic conditions would dictate limited use of storefront, but leave some
flexibility for space behind them for residential lobbies.
Economic conditions did not dictate the narrow entrances at Lexington Place, Town
Meeting did.
Mr. Michelson said the Center Committee wants a pedestrian center and wide driveways would
not be appealing to pedestrians.
Entrances could be defined by the state building code to determine what should be
required.
Page 2 Minutes for the Meeting of March 7, 2012
Driveways would need to be considered when parking is addressed.
More curb cuts on Massachusetts Avenue would be disastrous, but the Historic Districts
Commission would have the final word on that.
On a motion duly made and seconded it was voted, 5-0, to recommend to Town Meeting the
motion as written by staff supporting Article 35 with the deletion of line 1.162 and all references
to it.
Article 37, Height and FAR in the CB District:
Board Comments:
The staff memo did not reference cellar uses for storage. The Board needs to state explicitly what
architectural features were desirable. The FAR is a blunt instrument and regulating stories maybe
the way to prevent flat roofs.
Mr. Brown said the Center Committee favored a lower FAR to 2.4 and a building height of 45
feet since half story definitions are confusing.
Audience Comments:
How was the height of Lexington Place measured? It was measured to the highest point
on the roof. It does not include heating vents, elevator overflows, and heating and cooling
systems, which could take up to 25% of the roof coverage.
Board Comments:
Was the Board comfortable with 45 feet?
There was expressed discomfort with using the FAR without the right numbers.
The FAR would give developers more design flexibility.
There would need to be visuals to show what could end up in the Center for the TMMA
meeting on March 22 and for Town Meeting.
On a motion duly made and seconded it was voted, 5-0, to recommend to Town Meeting the
motion as written by staff supporting Article 37 with the change of the FAR to 2.4.
Mr. Zurlo left the meeting.
**********************PLANNING BOARD ORGANIZATION***********************
The Board should look through the warrant and email articles the Planning Board may want to
weigh in on so they could be placed on the agenda for the next meeting.
Minutes for the Meeting of March 7, 2012 Page 3
Ms. Manz said the Wright Farm purchase is still in negotiation and hasn’t yet come to the
Community Preservation Committee for funding. It is represented by two separate placeholder
articles;one from the Conservation Commission and the other from the CPC. The CPC’s policy
is to consider all CPA options before any final decisionj on use is made.
On a motion duly made and seconded, it was voted, 4-0, to recommend to Town Meeting Article
38 to allow the Town to accept a gift of land located at 1377 Massachusetts Avenue (between
Munroe Cemetery and the bike trail.)
There will be a meeting on March 14 with a public hearing on 186-192 Woburn Street for a
definitive site sensitive development plan and an ANR.
On a motion duly made and seconded, it was voted, 4-0, to adjourn at 9:32 p.m.
The meeting was recorded by Lexmedia.
The following documents used at the meeting can be found on file with the Planning Department:
1. Memorandum from staff for Articles 35, 36, and 37, dated February 24, 2012 (7 pages).
Michelle Ciccolo, Clerk