Lexington Select Board Approves Compost Rates, Noise Permit, and Sister City Proclamation

LEXINGTON — April 14, 2025 — Lexington Select Board approves compost rate hike, mural funding, and a three-year Patriots Day noise permit. The board voted unanimously five to zero Monday on a set of items including modest 2025 increases to Hartwell Avenue compost rates — with half-inch screen loam topsoil rising from $24 to $29 due to contractor changes — and a three-year noise bylaw special permit allowing DPW crews to begin Patriots Day street prep at 5 a.m. starting April 15. Assistant Town Engineer Ross Morrow reported the long-delayed Cedar Street sidewalk, redesigned after a right-of-way survey error forced the project to switch sides of the street, will be built by Allied Paving for just under $1 million including granite curbing. The board also received a presentation on a three-mural East Lexington installation funded by $88,000 in ARPA Storeback Improvement funds, with a community paint party set for May 3. On the question of reconsidering Article 30, the inclusionary housing zoning amendment, the board split one in favor of reconsideration, two opposed, and two waiting — with the board confirming the Planning Board voted four to one and the Affordable Housing Trust voted five to zero in support of the underlying amendment.