Lincolnites will have a chance to vote on two bylaw changes — one to South Lincoln commercial zoning and the other to accessory apartment rules — at the annual Town Meeting in March. The Planning Board presented the proposals on the second night of Lincoln’s State of the Town meeting on November 15.
Surveys have shown “overwhelming support for enhancing commercial viability” in the South Lincoln village area, and the 2009 long-range plan called for a “vibrant” village center, “but we don’t think anyone would use the word vibrant to describe the area,” Planning Board Chair Robert Domnitz said. The Housing Choice Act will also require the town to allow denser housing within half a mile of the train station. And while residents and the board support mixed-use development, the current zoning rules make that difficult. Developers have been “discouraged by the complex procedures laid out in our zoning bylaw,” he said.
The village area currently includes two business zones: B1 (the mall plus a few properties south of Lincoln Road) and B2 (an area west of the tracks stretching from Doherty’s Garage to the Department of Public Works), but they have different emphases. B1 allows retail and professional business by right, but not residences. B2 allows single-family and limited multifamily housing by right, but most new business uses require a special permit from the Planning Board and a variance from the Zoning Board of Appeals. Even then, the permit must be renewed periodically and can’t be transferred to a new owner when the property is sold.
The Planning Board is considering two options: dropping the special permit requirement for uses in the B2 zone that are allowed by right in B1, or somehow merging the two zones to “create a more holistic vision of a village center,” Domnitz said. The overarching goal is to encourage mixed use with a higher residential density while preserving the character of the village center area.
A broader proposal to rezone the village area stirred up strong opposition in 2019, especially from residents living in condos and apartments on Ridge Road. In contrast this time, zoning in all the nearby residential areas “are outside the scope of our effort,” Domnitz said.
Accessory apartments
The second proposed zoning change would encourage more accessory apartments by streamlining the need for property owners to get approval from both the Planning Board of the ZBA if the proposed accessory apartment is part of the main dwelling. The building inspector would be empowered to approve any construction after ensuring plans conform to the existing rules on proportional size of the apartment, having a separate entrance and dedicated parking space, etc.
If the apartment is to be a separate building on the property, the applicant would still have to get a permit from the ZBA but can bypass the Planning Board. Owners could charge rent but could not “condo-ize” the accessory apartment; it would have to remain legally part of the primary residence.
Voters approved a previous set of changes to accessory apartment rules by razor-thin margins in 2021.
The goal for both measures is to “streamline regulations and procedures that provide no benefit to the town and needlessly burden property owners, Domnitz said.