Bob Creech seeks reelection to the Lexington Planning Board

 

 

 

Bob Creech has announced that he is seeking re-election to his fourth and final 3-year term on the Planning Board.

Bob is running again to add his institutional knowledge to upcoming Planning Board work including multi-family housing via both MBTA Communities and Special Residential Development bylaws. He is also concerned by what he views as a heavy-handed directive from the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (EOHLC) regarding how By Right Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) must be allowed.

Prior to running for the Planning Board, he was a resident participant with the Residential Policy Committee (RPC), the purpose of which was to establish dimensional controls for the new homes that were being built in Lexington. Bob’s contribution included researching and quantifying home reconstruction activity in Lexington. This was a part of what was presented at Town Meeting in a successful effort to gain Town Meeting approval. Bob pointed out that, “several other Town residents made important contributions to the RPC – most notably the Chair, Ginna Johnson, a then member of the Planning Board”.

During the RPC Process, Bob countered claims made in an article to the former Lexington Minuteman regarding negative outcomes from dimensional controls. He submitted a rebuttal saying that the authors represented the view of special interest groups and that, even with the new dimensional controls, new construction homes would still be tall and that they would still be big – and they are.

Some neighbors then asked him to consider running for the Planning Board.

Going forward, he would like a procedural change on the Board:

all zoning changes must begin with a plain English description/specification. This would include wanted outcomes, and it would anticipate outcomes that the Board does not want. The document would be written at the HOW level and not just at the WHAT level. This will give the following advantages that do not exist today:

• Town Counsel will be able to verify that the bylaw text matches the plain English description of the bylaw
• Town Meeting members will understand what the Board proposes at an early stage in the process
• Town Meeting members will be able to vote with confidence on a zoning change
• Residents will understand a proposed zoning change

Bob grew up in Quincy. He and his family moved to Lexington in 1991 following 8 years on assignment in Europe – The Netherlands and France. After attending the French American school in Arlington/Cambridge, both of his children attended the Diamond Middle School and LHS.

Professionally, prior to the existence of enterprise business systems, Bob designed business processes and supporting business systems – followed by development and implementation in both the U.S. and in Europe.

He earned a BA in Mathematics, with honors, from Boston College.

For more about his work during time on the Planning Board and to learn more about his background, please visit CreechforLexington.org