331 Concord Ave

General Info

Letter of Concerns and Questions dated 11/20/2024

To: Members of the Lexington Planning Board,

Planning Staff and

Quinlan Locke/Cabot Cabot & Forbes (CC&F)

From: South Lexington Civic Association Board of Directors

The South Lexington Civic Association (SLCA) would like to make these further comments and pose these further questions regarding the mixed use development planned by CC&F at 329/331 Concord Ave. 

The proposal for this large MBTA development may be one of the first of its kind in Lexington and/or South Lexington.  SLCA and area residents are hoping that the Town of Lexington, CC&F and their subcontractors can try to ensure a positive outcome during all phases of pre-construction through completion of the project. 

1. How will CC&F communicate with residents and/or community organizations like SLCA about different stages of the project (ie. pre-blasting inspections for residents, blasting schedules, construction related traffic detours, etc).

2. What office and/or individual in the Town of Lexington is going to be monitoring the project for noise levels, noise complaints and/or noise violations?

3. How will Lexington's Transportation Office monitor and enforce the vehicle weight limit on Concord Ave as it relates to any/all construction vehicles, workers, suppliers, delivery trucks affiliated with the development? How will CC&F instruct it's drivers/deliveries/construction vehicles to adhere to the traffic and weight guidelines?

4. At a previous Planning Board meeting, the Planning Board requested that CC&F not process rocks/gravel on site.  Will CC&F commit to not processing/crushing rocks into gravel on site during all phases of development of the property? This has been a problem on the Pleasant Street development project in Lexington.

5. Who is the point person at CC&F that residents can contact for the duration of the development if concerns about noise, safety, traffic disruptions, etc arise?  Will CC&F be responsive to concerns as they become a part of our neighborhood? These concerns could come from any/all stakeholders (residents, schools, religious communities and/or area businesses).

6. What is the timeline of this project? When is it likely to break ground, when is it projected to be completed?

Lexington is on the verge of creating a new type of housing in town via MBTA Communities.  If CC&F's application is approved, SLCA would like to work together to grow our housing inventory while at the same time preserving the quality of life of current residents, protecting our roads and infrastructure and respecting wildlife and the natural environment of the town in the process.

SLCA respectfully requests written answers to the questions posed here so that we can help share them with the surrounding community.

Respectfully, 

South Lexington Civic Association Board of Directors

Cindy Arens, President

Jeanne Canale, Vice President

Suzanne Lau, Secretary

Darwin Adams, Treasurer

Josh Apgar

Jeanne Krieger

Rena Maliszewski

Jeanne McDermott

Letha Prestbo

Robert Rotberg

Letter of Concerns and Questions Dated 8/22/2024

To: Members of the Lexington Planning Board,

Planning Staff and

Quinlan Locke/Cabot Cabot & Forbes (CC&F)

From: South Lexington Civic Association Board of Directors

The South Lexington Civic Association (SLCA) would like to offer the following comments and pose the following questions regarding the mixed use development planned by CC&F at 329/331 Concord Ave. 

Necessary Traffic Study

1. Understanding that it is not required by the applicable zoning bylaw, community members and Planning Board members have indicated that a traffic study is necessary for such a large project on an already very congested stretch of Concord Ave. A traffic study must be conducted during the school year over a number of days and include morning and afternoon commuter time. It would be reckless to develop 329/331 Concord Avenue without a full traffic study and long term traffic safety considerations/measures being put into place.  This includes plans for overflow parking.  Also understanding that the Town cannot require CC&F to make offsite traffic improvements, the Town should be prepared to make changes to resolve any issues that a proper traffic study would uncover.  

Inadequate/Useless Commercial Space

2. The developer should consider eliminating the proposed commercial space.  It is too small and is not conforming to the intent of the VO zoning overlay, to be at least 30% of the footprint of the building.  Removing the commercial space will remove the difficulty of finding a commercial user and will decrease the overall height of the building and help to prevent additional customer and delivery traffic coming to and from the site.  The site is within walking distance of a thriving commercial district including restaurants, healthcare offices, hair salons, banks and more.

Provide Different and Improved Views of Proposed Design

3. There have been multiple requests from community members and Planning Board members for quality renderings of the proposed development that include both winter views and shadowing. This is especially important from the perspective of Minuteman Village/April Ln. There should also be street views while traveling westbound and eastbound on Concord Ave that depicts the proposed building on 329/331 Concord Ave and the abutters/residential homes across the street from 329/331 Concord Ave as well as the current homes at 324/330/338 Concord Ave and Minuteman Village that are visible from the street. Additionally, CC&F should provide renderings of sunlight/exterior views from units that have only have windows facing the interior courtyards.

Ledge and Blasting Concerns

4. It is widely known that there is a significant presence of ledge in/on the area of 329/331 Concord Avenue.  Residents must be informed of the following information about blasting/crushing/ledge and rock removal as it relates to the proposal from CC&F:

• How much ledge is present on site?  

• What is the proposed blasting schedule and plan for ledge removal?  

• What steps will be taken to protect abutters and other residents from the daily impact of blasting? 

• What considerations are being made for people who will be working from home during blasting?  

• What considerations will be taken for young children who are learning, resting and playing at the Goddard School during blasting and construction?  

• What considerations will be taken for the impact on religious services and educational programs at Temple Emunah during blasting and construction? 

• How will Town bylaws protect abutters/residents if noise violations occur?  

• Who will be enforcing Town noise bylaws?  We do not want to have the same experience as the abutters and neighbors living near the development project on Pleasant St. 

CC&F should provide a full plan and outline protections that they will put in place to provide protections for nearby residents at upcoming Planning Board hearings.  While the expectation is that noise levels from the site both during construction and operation will continuously comply with all applicable bylaws, the statement that the Town’s Noise Bylaw will be followed is not sufficient.

Protection Against Damage to Abutters During Construction

5. It is critical that CC&F should be required to take out a sizable bond to pay for a third party inspector to inspect, photograph and document the condition of foundations at any/all abutting properties (at the developers expense) to provide record of current condition of any/all abutting properties PRIOR to blasting. This should be the developer's responsibility to communicate, coordinate and provide a schedule for these pre-blasting inspections directly with homeowners at no cost to homeowners. The Town of Lexington/Planning Board should require CC&F to provide an easily accessible and clear appointment system for abutters to sign up for an appointment with an inspector. The developer should also provide the abutters with a copy of the insurance bond and detailed contact information if abutters need to file a claim for any/all damage caused by blasting, excavation and/or construction. In the recent "Neighborhood Meeting Notes" from June 6 2024 that the developer provided to the Planning Board, the notes state: “Request for a third-party pre construction survey of all abutting properties, as well having a bonded GC for any necessary drilling and blasting. Response: CC&F will ensure that the general contractor will be bonded." - this statement does not fully address the concerns of the abutters.

Construction Traffic Plans

6. The developer (and/or Town) should provide the following information to residents concerning the amount and size of construction vehicle traffic entering and exiting the site during the entire construction period: 

• Number of truck trips for the duration of the project through all phases including: 

  • heavy equipment arriving for excavation and/or blasting, 

  • empty trucks arriving to pick up excavated material, 

  • loaded/full trucks leaving with excavated material, 

  • truck trips arriving with construction materials, 

  • truck trips leaving after delivering construction materials, 

  • truck trips arriving with landscaping materials, 

  • truck trips leaving after delivering landscape materials, etc

• How will CC&F and Town manage the effects of this traffic?

• Will abutters be given ample warning of construction disruptions?

• Will there be a police detail to direct traffic?

All construction vehicles leaving the site must turn right out of the site and travel to the intersection of Waltham Street and Concord Avenue. There used to be a sign posted on Concord Ave diagonally across the street from the Concord Ave entrance to Potter Pond that enforced a truck weight limit. That weight limit sign disappeared several years ago and should be replaced with another weight limit sign by the Town. There are often large vehicles and heavy equipment speeding on Concord Ave which creates a safety risk to the many drivers, bicyclists, dog walkers, children at bus stops and residents attempting to enter and/or leave their driveways.

Commitment to True Commuter Transportation

7. The developer should make a long-term commitment to have an independent bus service (similar to the one utilized by Avalon) to provide daily transportation to and from Alewife. This could also ease some of the commuter traffic coming in and out of the site. This commitment should be for a specific number of years and/or indefinitely.

Light Pollution

8. CC&F should publish plans to mitigate light pollution from the project, especially in areas of large grade change, as is the case with Minuteman Village.

Avoiding ‘Big Box’ Design

9. There have been multiple comments from community members and Planning Board members that the appearance and scale of the proposed building is not in keeping with the Concord Ave neighborhood or residential Lexington architecture in general.  CC&F should provide an alternative design that looks less like a large corporate building that belongs on Waltham Street or Hayden Avenue and more like other residences in Lexington.

More Wildlife and Green Space

10. The current proposal requires substantial removal of wildlife habitats that currently support wildlife living on the site and in the area.  The current proposal also does not provide any walking trails and/or substantial green space for residents.  What redesign can the developer propose to help retain green space and support Lexington's environmental commitment? 

SLCA looks forward to these items being addressed in the coming weeks either at future Planning Board Public Hearings or in writing and, very importantly, shared with the public. 

Respectfully, 

South Lexington Civic Association Board of Directors

Cindy Arens, President

Jeanne Canale, Vice President

Suzanne Lau, Secretary

Darwin Adams, Treasurer

Josh Apgar

Jeanne Krieger

Rena Maliszewski

Jeanne McDermott

Letha Prestbo

Robert Rotberg

Other Concerns by Residents

- concerning that the public hearing was closed while there are significant ongoing, unaddressed issues (eg, figuring out line of sight/visiblity from the main driveway to Concord Ave, as written in the PB's approval letter)

- Residents are asking for written responses to questions that they've asked.