To the editor:
I write to urge Lincoln citizens to attend Town Meeting and vote for the zoning changes required for the Oriole Landing housing development.
In the interest of full disclosure, I am a member of the Planning Board, which has recommended passage of the proposed zoning amendments, but this is a personal plea from me simply as a private citizen who has been deeply involved in housing matters in Lincoln. In 2000 I joined the Housing Commission and since then have had a hand in most if not all of the affordable housing units added to Lincoln’s inventory. I chaired the Affordable Housing Trust and helped draft the town’s first Housing Development Plan and our Inclusionary Zoning bylaw. When Lincoln’s affordable housing stock briefly fell below 10 percent, I assisted in a challenge at the state level that thankfully deflected a 40B application for a 30-unit development on a one-acre lot on Route 117.
My experience gives me some perspective on the merits of the Oriole Landing proposal, and on the merits, I hope it will be approved. There are many reasons why, but there are a few key points.
First, the project offers housing in a range sorely missing in Lincoln. This isn’t just the units that qualify as affordable, but also the market-rate units that open opportunities for seniors to downsize and young people to live in Lincoln.
Second, 40B development is a real threat. Without additions to our affordable housing, Lincoln will fall below the 10 percent requirement in 2020, and with our high real estate values, developing units that qualify for the Subsidized Housing Inventory (SHI) is very difficult. Critics of the Civico proposal have argued that we should pursue other options, but other available options have been pursued vigorously without success. The housing groups in Lincoln have not been sitting idly by while the clock ticks.
Finally, collaborative developers like Civico are rare. Other developers that checked out the six-acre parcel where Oriole Landing would be located were contemplating 150 or more units. In response to citizen concerns, Civico reduced the number of proposed units from 72 to 60, increased the share of affordable units from 15 to 25 percent (thus qualifying all 60 units for the SHI), committed to preserving the historic farmhouse located on the property, and agreed to measures to mitigate community impacts. If the parcel goes back on the market, there is nothing to prevent its falling into the hands of someone far less accommodating.
Having mentioned community impacts, it must be noted that projects that serve the greater public good often have differential effects, and that is the case here. Consequently, care must be taken to understand such impacts and to mitigate them to the degree possible. The Selectmen (who control roadways and traffic regulation) and Planning Board (which must consider abutter impacts in site plan review) are charged with and committed to doing so.
And to those who suggest that by “checking the 40B box” pursuit of housing diversity in Lincoln will wane, let me assure you that is not the case. The South Lincoln Planning and Implementation Committee (a subcommittee of the Planning Board) has been and will continue to investigate and pursue increased housing diversity as an element in revitalizing the Lincoln Station area. More to come on that in future Town Meetings!
Sincerely,
Gary Taylor
2 Beaver Pond Rd.
Letters to the editor must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to lincolnsquirrelnews@gmail.com. Letters will be edited for punctuation, spelling, style, etc., and will be published at the discretion of the editor. Letters containing personal attacks, errors of fact or other inappropriate material will not be published.
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