The Town of Lincoln, MA - Planning Board Minutes

Mr. Whitehead distributed copies of a revised draft of the Land Use Permitting Guide. He explained that the main aim is to alert potential applicants to the range of permitting requirements that exist, and to encourage them to discuss their proposals with relevant staff (and with Mr. Whitehead in the case of proposals that may involve multiple boards).

The section on “Questions to ask yourself” was discussed. Some members felt that it could offer more guidance on how to find out the answers (e.g. where to find the list of scenic roads, the zoning bylaw and the boundaries of historic districts). It was suggested that a discussion of signs be added to this section. Mrs. Wolf suggested that, in the introduction, applicants who will need to come before multiple boards should be alerted to the need to plan their scheduling.

8:00PM EXECUTIVE SESSION: DISCUSSION OF RURAL LAND FOUNDATION’S APPEAL OF MAY 23 DECISION ON SPECIAL PERMIT, 145 Lincoln Road, Map 95/ Lot 38, renovation of Mall and new Post Office/ Café complex under Section 12.7

A MOTION was proposed by Mrs. Wolf and seconded by Mr. Flint, to go into Executive Session to discuss the pending litigation.

Mr. Whitehead distributed copies of a memorandum from the RLF to the Town Administrator requesting the Town’s sign-off for the redesign of the entrance to the commuter parking lot, in accordance with the design reviewed by the Board for the special permit. The Town Administrator wished to know if any parking policy changes under discussion were likely to affect this construction work. The Board did not think so.

The Chairman signed a letter conveying the Board’s decision to approve amendments to the site plan to the Building Inspector.

Mr. Whitehead reported that he has had discussions with Nathalie Rice about measures that the RLF is proposing to alleviate storm water problems at the Tower Field Lane subdivision. An underground overflow holding system within the conservation restricted land is being suggested. Mr. Whitehead expressed the opinion that this will need an amendment to the subdivision plan, and the terms of the conservation restriction will also need to be checked.

Mr. Whitehead ran through the items currently before other boards. The first unit at Minuteman Commons is being issued a Certificate of Occupancy.

Dooley’s have filed a lawsuit against the Conservation Commission concerning a lot at 31 Old Concord Road that is constrained by wetlands.

The Board of Health staff is not currently attending the Land Use Group meetings due to a staff vacancy. This has led to a communication issue, which is being addressed.

Mr. Whitehead reported that he has met with Christy Foote-Smith, Director of Drumlin Farm, about the Society’s proposed use of a house on its property as a daycare facility. The house is on a large lot. The proposal appears to fall within the category of institutional uses that have certain exemptions from zoning, and it may not trigger site plan review under Section 19.1 (e). It may require scenic road approval if the vehicular access needs to be altered.

The Board considered that the main practical issue likely to be raised by the proposal is the need for adequate provision for vehicles picking children up. The Board felt it would be beneficial for it to review the proposal, if Mass Audubon was willing to come in, even if this is not formally required. Mrs. Wolf agreed to extend an invitation.

Mr. Whitehead reported that he had attended a meeting on the management plan for the National Park. Improvements to the historic Battle Road (Route 2A), under its scenic road designation, are being discussed.

Public notice has been given for a potential hearing on an amendment to the Mall special permit on August 15. Likely agenda items for September include: a new application from the Brooks for a house at 39 North Great Road; an application by Rowin/Rigotti for a house at 254 Concord Road that has had a preliminary discussion; and an application by Soucup for a house.

The Board briefly discussed the idea of designating an area around the Battle Road for some kind of design control. Mr. Whitehead suggested that this should await further work by Lincoln on the Comprehensive Long Range Plan and by MNHP on its management plan. The end of 2008 may be an appropriate time to consider it. Mr. Hurd agreed to investigate whether work can be done on inventorying the area through the CLRP sub–committees.

There are currently references to lighting in Section 13.5 (under general rules) and Section 17 (site plans). The Board was in agreement that more specific rules merit consideration. Mr. Hurd offered to lead work on this topic.

Mrs. Wolf suggested that signs in business districts should not require a special permit but should instead have a permit procedure similar to those fence permits that require Planning Board approval. This would be less onerous as it would avoid the need for recording at the Land Registry and the 20 day appeal period. The Board supported this suggestion.

Mr. Whitehead reported that he has had a few inquiries by residents about how the zoning bylaw treats small-scale wind turbines for domestic use. The zoning bylaw has no specific references to this type of development. Rooftop turbines may be allowable as analogous to chimneys etc. that are excluded from height calculations (this is not clear). Elsewhere, the 36ft height limit would be a constraint.

Mr. Snell stated that wind patterns are not favorable in this area, but that the state is doing some work on model bylaws. Mr. Domnitz said he would be interested in knowing more about the potential scale of electricity generation so that the benefits could be weighed against the likely impacts of visual intrusion, noise, any associated tree cutting and possible effects on birds. Mr. Snell agreed to investigate the matter further and possibly raise it with the Green Technology Committee.

The Board discussed an issue that affects a large number of lots in town that are under-sized in relation to current zoning: the differing treatment of old established undeveloped lots and vacant lots resulting from teardowns. In the latter case, applicants wishing to build a new house have to reuse a portion of the old foundation in order to keep the benefit of the old zoning setbacks. This does not always lead to the best site planning solution. However the Board recognized that historic and legal factors have led to this situation.

The Board discussed whether this concept, used in consideration of ZBA special permits under Section 4.4, could be better defined or better aligned with similar concepts used in site plan review. In most cases, the Board had not experienced conflicts of approach. The issue of size was discussed; it was noted that any review of the approach to size of houses would need to have regard to MGL Ch 40A.

The difficulty of keeping a range of house prices in town, in the face of high land values and construction of larger homes was discussed.

The Board considered that the Comprehensive Long Range Plan may provide a suitable forum for discussion of the last three issues.