By Laurie Gray
To include the mall or not to include the mall — that is the HCA question.
I am a supporter of Option E, and I want development at the mall. What I would like for the mall is for some number of housing units to go up in the range of 150 units while maintaining the viability of Donelan’s. I would also want to keep a commuter rail lot. For environmental reasons, I want to support people who already use the commuter rail. Keeping a grocery store in the mall also supports the environmental mission of the town — to have more people walk rather than drive to amenities. I would also like to see a large percentage of these units at the mall be affordable. If the mall is rezoned through the HCA, we could only ask developers for 10% of the units to be affordable.
What I have heard is developers do not want to go through Town Meeting. That is the line that has been repeated. I agree that developers would rather not have to negotiate with the town. They would not get as much of what they want, which is profit. People have said that developers won’t go through town meeting, and therefore the only way to get housing at the mall is to push it through the HCA. I am skeptical of this.
First of all, before August, the mall was not even allowed to be included in the HCA because mixed use land (residential + commercial) was not allowed in the proposals. There were other plans to develop the mall outside the HCA. Other projects like Oriole Landing have gone through town meeting successfully. It may take time but I believe it is worth it to have the town center that is best for our residents, current and future. Once we give up our rights to developers, it is gone. This is our prime real estate.
I know there has been chatter about special interests and secrecy in the Option E group. I’m not sure exactly what the special interest would be in this case. However, is it possible there is a special interest tricking people into thinking the best way to get housing at the mall is through the HCA? I am worried that we are being taken advantage of. That our moral principles, which are strong and great, could blind us to what could really be going on. Good, smart people can be misled.
I plan to vote for Option E on Saturday. I would also support slowing down the process. Including the mall in our HCA proposal is a new concept, only introduced around September. Could the town get more information about the plans for the mall before including it in the HCA? I want to trust but verify, because this decision is too important.
“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.
This is an excellent clarification of the goals of Option E. Now that so many in town are engaged with the HCA process, I think it is time to slow it down. While HCAWG did indeed provide good communication outreach, residents were simply not paying attention until the details were presented September 30. Thanks to the forward-thinking strategy of the HCAWG, we have an opportunity to spend more time considering options, especially for the Lincoln Mall.