89 Bedford St

General Info

5/24/24 Residents Letter

Dear Members of the Lexington Planning Board:

We are Lexington residents and/or property owners who are expressing our concerns and requests regarding the 32-unit condominium development being proposed for 89 Bedford Street. While we support increasing housing along public transportation routes in principle, we believe that the planned building overwhelms and is out of character with the surrounding neighborhoods; the project comprises almost the entire lot, extending to the very limits of the legally allowed size and placement.

Please consider the following comments and concerns:

•  32 units on 1.65 acres seems incredibly dense. Does the MBTA Overlay District mandate require a project of this size? If not, we propose reducing the building by 10 units.

•  Entering Bedford Street from Lois Lane is already dangerous due to poor visibility. We are concerned that additional traffic entering Bedford Street from the proposed driveway will exacerbate the problem. We are also aware of three additional projects being proposed for nearby (behind the movie theater, near Custance Place, and near Bedford St. and the bike trail). Has the impact on traffic been considered for all four projects cumulatively? We are requesting that Lexington conducts an independent study to determine the traffic impact of all active and proposed projects.

•  The plan seems to allow parking for 1.5 cars per unit. It is likely that buyers who can afford the market price for these units will have more than one car, and we anticipate they will resort to parking on Lois and Carol Lanes, and on Shirley and Tewksbury Streets. This will make entering Bedford Street even more dangerous. Furthermore, it seems highly unlikely that this demographic will ride the bus, which is one of the core priorities of the MBTA Communities Law. It is more likely that the residents will be families with school age children drawn to Lexington’s excellent school system – this is what drives the housing market in Lexington and causes the shortage. And they will be driving their multiple cars to work and their children to their activities.

•  We’ve reviewed the water report from the developer’s engineering firm. However, as some Lois Lane properties have ongoing water issues, we request that the Town hire an independent firm to double-check the original firm’s work.

•  The main building will be right up against the 15’ allowance on the Carol Lane side and very visible. A plan we saw indicates that there will be some plantings to provide a screen. We are requesting additional, reasonably sized evergreens to fill in the gaps.

•  This lot is mostly wooded and home to a diversity of plants and animals including red-tailed hawks, flickers, bats, and woodpeckers. We are concerned that the scale of this project will displace this wildlife. Has there been a study to understand the impact?

•  Considering the goal of providing more affordable housing, the plan to offer only 4 affordable units out of 32 seems inadequate. We understand that this addresses the letter of the law, but there doesn’t seem to be any good faith beyond that. If we are to absorb the burden of a massive building in our neighborhood, more “good” should come from it.

•  In line with the Town’s goal of utilizing more sustainable energy sources, we, along with Lexington’s Sustainability Officer, encourage the installation of solar panels on the main building. Respectfully submitted,

Carol Lane, Lois Lane, Taylor Lane, and Bedford Street residents and other Lexington residents.

Residents' Concerns

- Some abutters did not know about the rezoning. They learned of it from a developer's letter.

- The planned building overwhelms and is out of character with the surrounding neighborhoods; the project comprises almost the entire lot, extending to the very limits of the legally allowed size and placement.

- Entering Bedford St from Lois Lane is already dangerous due to poor visibility. Additional traffic from the proposed driveway will make the issue worse. 

- Has the cumulative traffic impact from the multiple Bedford St area projects been considered?

- This neighborhood was previously completely residential. Why did the town not directly consult with impacted residents and put in place limits (eg, setbacks, shadow studies, screening) that would have helped maintain some privacy and serenity for residents, in addition to increasing the housing supply? Allowing 60 foot with commercial on the bottom without full involvement of abutting/neighboring residents is deeply concerning.

- Neighborhood asked many questions, but answers were not given.