Lexington Planning Board Approves 130-Unit Hartwell Avenue Apartment Building

LEXINGTON -- April 17, 2025, Lexington Planning Board unanimously approves 130-unit Hartwell Avenue rental building and rejects a novel zoning-freeze subdivision at 329 Massachusetts Avenue. Chair Michael Schaumbacher presided over the April 17 meeting, at which the board granted site plan review and stormwater permit approval for a five-story building by Dinosaur Capital Partners LLC at 7 Hartwell Avenue, clearing three regulatory waivers and a special permit in a string of 5-0 roll-call votes. Peer reviewer Brian Goudreau of Hancock Associates reported all engineering comments resolved as of April 11. The board then turned to 329 Massachusetts Avenue, where attorney Frederick Gilgan and engineer Mike Novak of Patriot Engineering presented a preliminary subdivision plan using a partial cul-de-sac off Fautler Avenue to freeze pre-town-meeting zoning on the 12,600-square-foot lot. Planning Director Abby McCabe said the half-bulb road layout did not meet subdivision safety standards, and Associate Member Michael Leon argued disapproval was the more conservative record to leave, noting an approval "would provide some basis for someone to argue that we did not object to the configuration." The board voted 5-0 to disapprove, and Schaumbacher said the case would prompt the board to tighten its subdivision regulations.