My Turn: In support of Option C

By Ken Hurd

At one of the recent forums hosted by the HCAWG (Housing Choice Act Working Group), one particularly insightful resident posed a poignant question to the proponents of an alternative Option E. She asked, “What is it you stand for?”

Although there was no immediate response, we now know the answer, according to the mailing most residents recently received about a meeting planned by proponents of Option E. You can find it on the back of the flyer under the label “Our Guiding Principles,” and I would like to highlight what I see as some inconsistencies.

Create more affordable housing

Many proponents of an alternative Option E express concern that the HCA limits the percentage of affordable housing to 10%. Because Lincoln normally requires 15% affordable units in any multi-family development, the delta of their concern is 5%. In Lincoln’s case, the HCA requires zoning that will allow 635 units, and 5% of that would be 32 units. As a reminder, the HCAWG responded early on to the residents of the Ridge Court Condominium property, a.k.a. the “flying nun” apartments. Despite the fact that this property is one of the most logical to include in the rezoning, they asked to be excluded in order to preserve the 36 units of relatively affordable apartments that already exist. The HCAWG agreed, and the delta of this exclusion represents more than the 5% about which the alternative proponents are so concerned.

Protect commercial retail in our village center

To anyone who has paid any attention to the state of retail services in Lincoln Station over the last ten years, they might have noticed a decline or turnover in establishments and an increase in vacancies. This is occurring not just at the mall but in the entire Lincoln Station area. As noted in the 2010 Comprehensive Long Range Plan, “the town needs to be receptive to more housing near the train station,” and as was predicted in 2010, “small businesses currently operating around the train station may find it very difficult to survive in the future unless the area includes more housing and, ironically, more businesses.” Absent more housing, existing retail will most likely continue to wither away.

Safeguard Lincoln’s wetlands protection bylaw

As noted multiple times by the HCAWG, all underlying regulations required by the bylaws of Lincoln will continue in effect, and that includes all wetland protections currently in place.  

Focus on locations with existing infrastructure while minimizing the need for greenfield construction

If this means rezoning Battle Road Farm, it would appear that this is no more than a tactic to subvert the intent of the Housing Choice Act since condominium regulations make it nearly impossible to create new housing in that location.

Preserve historically significant properties

A worthy goal, but with the few significant properties that exist in the Lincoln Station area, this could most likely be accommodated by any of the options with a minor adjustment.

Honor the legacy of past generations’s work to create a variety of housing choices and multi-family housing

Most Lincolnites, particularly those who know the town’s history, will agree with this statement. Time and again, previous generations have stepped up to do more than Lincoln’s fair share in preserving open space while also increasing our housing stock to accommodate a variety of needs. In my opinion, it would be a slap in their ancestral faces to shirk our responsibility to the region by raising the drawbridge and rezoning for the least amount of new housing possible while claiming compliance.

Save our key in-town parcels from HCA’s 90% market-rate zoning mandate, allowing funds from Lincoln’s limited Affordable Housing Trust to be more wisely spent for much-needed low- and moderate-income housing units in Lincoln

To me, there is no correlation between saving in-town parcels and using AHT funds for needed housing. This “principle” advocates for nothing more than kicking the can down the road toward inaction. 

Finally, I think we can all agree that the Housing Choice Act is forcing our hand no less than in many of the surrounding communities. I hope that we can rise to meet this challenge as past Lincoln residents have done so many times before. There is no question in my mind that we can be as creative as our forbears and find solutions that will maintain the town’s character that we all cherish. I sincerely believe that this will be best achieved by voting for Option C.  

So please, join me in supporting Option C as the best way to revive the Lincoln Station area as well as to meet our responsibility to the region by creating more actual housing consistent with our town vision statement, namely:

“Fostering economic, racial, ethnic, and age diversity among its citizenry through its educational, housing and other public policy.”

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“My Turn” is a forum for readers to offer their letters to the editor or views on any subject of interest to other Lincolnites. Submissions must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to lincolnsquirrelnews@gmail.com. Items will be edited for punctuation, spelling, style, etc., and will be published at the discretion of the editor. Submissions containing personal attacks, errors of fact, or other inappropriate material will not be published.