Over 200 residents urge town to vote yes on HCA article

Dear Lincoln friends and neighbors:

What vision of Lincoln do we share? Over the past several decades, our town has voted consistently for projects that preserve open space, increase access to housing, and protect our broader environment. With Lincoln Woods and the Ryan Estates, we have welcomed new residents in the village center giving them easy access to shopping, the train, our trails, and the schools.

The proposed zoning changes under the MBTA Communities Housing Choice Act (HCA) that we will vote on at Town Meeting invite us to continue sharing that spirit and vision of Lincoln. Can we trust our talented and proven leaders to balance concerns about the proposed level of development with the values we have consistently expressed? 

We, the undersigned, are confident that we can and that we will benefit by doing so, just as we have for decades. We ask that you join us in voting “yes” for the amendments to our zoning bylaws designed to implement Option C when we gather at Town Meeting on Saturday, March 23.

Briefly, here’s our reasoning:

• Residents have voiced strong support for rezoning near transit – twice: Large majorities both in September (76.4% for Option C at the State of the Town Meeting) and in December 2023 (55% for C; 6.9% for various D options at the Special Town meeting) to concentrate re-zoning at the mall and village center. These decisions were an affirmation that transit-oriented development makes environmental and climate sense and that it is most likely to contribute to housing and a more vibrant and sustainable commercial center at the mall. They also reflect the goals of the town’s 2009 Comprehensive Plan.

• The RLF-owned mall should remain in the HCA zoning plan. HCA-compliant rezoning will help the RLF to reinvest in the mall both to support our commercial center and contribute to transit-oriented housing for the town and the region. “By right” development makes any RLF mall reinvestment project less risky and therefore more attractive to investors.

• Lincoln’s proposed bylaws and design guidelines provide stringent controls on “by right” zoning. The Planning Board has listened to and incorporated many comments provided by opponents and supporters of this bylaw. Margaret Olson, chair of the Planning Board, has stated that the board has taken a conservative approach to the bylaws to address concerns about their impact, while still honoring the larger democratic preference for options that are more likely to create additional housing under the HCA.

• The proposal is ready for voting. Since the law was passed in 2021, an extraordinarily qualified group of Lincoln volunteers and staff have studied, invited active engagement, and listened carefully to comments from the community to bring us a sound proposal that not only complies with the HCA but also respects the values of the town. Community input has led to significant tightening of the bylaws, for example, by reducing the density of housing in the village center, and by imposing more stringent height restrictions and setback requirements.

Some Lincoln residents are asking us to vote down the proposed bylaws with the hope that some alternative, yet-to-be-articulated, consensus plan can be hammered out in the few short months before the looming HCA deadline. Our concern is that we already know what the alternatives are. These options disperse rezoning to parcels in town (Lincoln North, Battle Road Farm) that are likely to result in less housing and could take the RLF mall out of the HCA further restricting housing in that area and delaying revitalization of the mall.

The HCA will bring change. We have an opportunity to respond to these changes with generosity, creativity, and confidence as we have for decades.

Signed,

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