Lexington Historical Commission Continues Parker School Hearing Over Notice Dispute

LEXINGTON — May 21, 2026 — Lexington Historical Commission continues Parker School hearing after condo owners say they received no notice. At the May 21 remote meeting, the commission voted 4-0 to postpone its hearing on adding the former Parker School at 314 Bedford Street — now a roughly 28-unit condominium complex — to the town's Comprehensive Cultural Resources Survey, after trustee Russell Tanner contacted Commissioner Susan Bennett to say owners had not been notified. Commission member Marilyn Fenollosa said she had followed town counsel's guidance by notifying the building management company in April, but Bennett argued that a complex with multiple ownership layers — including LexHAB and the Lexington Housing Authority, which together own 11 units — required broader outreach: "This is not like sending a notice to my house." The hearing was continued to June 17, with staff directed to use the assessor's database to notify all individual unit owners. Separately, the commission withdrew nominations for Jonas Clarke Middle School and William Diamond Middle School from the survey at the town's request, and unanimously added demolished Fiske Elementary and Harrington Elementary schools to the inventory for archival purposes. The commission also flagged a proposed 19-unit townhouse development at 114 Wood Street, within the boundaries of Minute Man National Historical Park, as a project on which it has not been formally consulted by the Planning Board.