The Lincoln Squirrel – News, features and photos from Lincoln, Mass.

Alice Waugh

My Turn: Next steps on the Hanscom hangars

Editor’s note: The Mass. Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) issued a ruling on June 24 saying that the Draft Environmental Impact Report for the Hanscom Field expansion project “does not adequately and properly comply” with Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act Office (MEPA) regulations. Five Massachusetts state representatives also sent a letter on June 14 criticizing “this profoundly flawed DEIR.” For more coverage of the latest development on this issue, see the June 24 articles in the Bedford Citizen and the Concord Bridge.

By Christopher Eliot

The June 21 MEPA determination that the North Airfield Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) is “not adequate” was very good news but is not the end of the story. Our next step is to write letters by August 13 to dispute the most recent Environmental Status and Planning Report and prevent the introduction of planning assumptions that can be used to justify the next version of the DEIR.

Some background: every five years, Massport publishes an Environmental Status and Planning Report (ESPR) that defines the planning assumptions for a five-year period. The ESPR is distinct from the DEIR, but the two are closely linked. The recently rejected DEIR was based on the 2017 ESPR, but the 2022 Hanscom ESPR has been written and is now open for review. (Writing an ESPR takes two years, so the publication date is two years after the reporting date.)

The 2022 Hanscom ESPR is closely linked with the proposed North Airfield hangar project and will be used in the next version of the DEIR to justify the project. We need to write letters disputing assertions in the ESPR that will be used to justify the future supplemental DEIR. Public comments can make a difference, and you are encouraged to write another letter to MEPA on this subject.

Much of the ESPR provides good factual data, but there are three major problems with the ESPR that need to be corrected:

1. Chapter 3 of the ESPR reports historical and projected airport activity levels through 2040 including a compound grown in business jet operations of 1.2%. This is incompatible with the climate crisis. It may be a valid projection of historical growth rates but we need to reverse the growth of private jet usage. Our local legislators understand this issue and are prepared to help. The ESPR needs to reflect the fact that sane public environmental policy will reverse the growth of private jets use, eliminating the need for new hangars.

Chapter 3 also fails to discuss likely scenarios for the introduction of eVOTL (electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft), eCTOL (electric conventional take-off and landing aircraft), and advanced air mobility aircraft (AAM). These new technologies might be an improvement or might have scary implications for residents near Hanscom airport; I don’t know because Massport has not said anything about their plans. This needs to be fixed. This technology is already being deployed in some parts of the world and should be discussed.

2. Chapter 7 reports on noise issues but fails to account for recent research showing that noise is a public health problem. It has been scientifically demonstrated that noise leads to systemic inflammation and causes increased mortality due to heart disease as well as learning problems and mental illness. The ESPR chapter incorrectly minimizes all of these problems and needs to be fixed.

3. Chapter 8 includes problematic descriptions of improved aviation fuels:

First, the ESPR incorrectly states that unleaded aviation fuel is not yet available. “As of writing, it is still unknown exactly when 100UL [fuel] will become a readily available resource at all airports” (page 8-37). This is not true: the fuel can be sourced from Vitol Corp. I called this company and verified that they are able and willing to deliver this unleaded aviation fuel to Hanscom Field as soon as they get a purchase order.

Second, in section 8.6.5 starting on page 8-38, there is a discussion of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) at Hanscom Field. The discussion regurgitates industry propaganda about SAF that is easily refuted. The Government Accountability Office published a report last year that disputes many of these claims. More recently, Chuck Collins et al published a report titled “Greenwashing the Skies” that provided a detailed explanation of the problems with SAF as a solution to the climate problem of aviation. While industry wants us to believe this is a solution that just needs to be deployed, there are many fundamental issues in the way, and it is very unlikely that the promise of SAF will ever be fulfilled. In the meantime, industry uses the false promise of SAF as an excuse to avoid any meaningful response to their contribution to the climate crisis. There are a number of better proposals to mitigate aviation’s contribution to the climate crisis, so it is important not to allow the industry to pursue the distraction of SAF for the next 10 or 20 years.

The ESPR is extremely important in the debate over the North Airfield project because the ESPR is the planning document used to justify the North Airfield project. We should ask MEPA to require corrections to the ESPR while the comment period is open until August 13, 2024. Changing the ESPR to make more realistic assumptions about how community response can limit the growth of private jet travel will remove the primary justification for the North Airfield project. The developers are now required to write a supplemental DEIR based on the 2022 EPSR as a foundation.

As written, the 2022 ESPR provides a pillar of support for the project; your letters can help convert it into a pit of quicksand.

Comments on the 2022 ESPR should be sent to the same place as comments on the DEIR but should reference “Project 2022 L.G. Hanscom Field Environmental Status and Planning Report (2022 ESPR) (EEA #5484/8696)”:

Secretary Rebecca Tepper
Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs
Attn: MEPA Office
Alex Strysky, EEA No. 5484/8696
100 Cambridge St., Suite 900
Boston, MA 02114

“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.

Eliot is chair and Lincoln’s representative to the Hanscom Field Advisory Commission.

Property sales in November and December 2023

341 South Great Road — Donna E. McKnight-Iwany Trust to Bruce MacDowell for $725,000 (December 28)

223 Aspen Circle — Maurice Eldridge to Lisette Silva-Sanchez and Juan Ugarte for $805,000 (December 21)

5 Brooks Hill — Richard Theriault to Mark and Nidha Lurie Mattapally for $1,540,000 (December 15)

9 Smith Hill — Ali Raja to Kristina and Nathaniel Silver for $2,000,000 (December 8)

90 Lexington Rd. — Susan Richards Hallstein Trust to Susan Richards Hallstein Trust for $505,400 (December 7)

14 Baker Bridge Rd. — Myra Ferguson to Michael and Ashish Larivee for $2,260,000 (December 1)

161 Lincoln Rd. — Doherty’s Garage Inc. to 161 Lincoln Road LLC for $1,600,000 (November 29)

104 Lincoln Rd. — Juan Ugarte to Jason and Deborah Hafner for $1,255,000 (November 28)

27 Laurel Drive — Homer Eckhardt to Michael Cattafe and Diana baker for $1,300,000 (November 17)

My Turn: Sign the National Trust petition to fight Hanscom expansion

By Anne Sobol

On May 1, the National Trust for Historic Preservation designated Minute Man National Park, Walden Pond, and nearby landmarks as one of “America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places” due to plans to expand infrastructure for luxury private jets at Hanscom Field.

National Trust designations of this sort have been remarkably successful over the years in protecting designated landmarks. The Trust urges people to sign their petition to Governor Maura Healey and Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg requesting that they do whatever they can to stop the expansion. The Federal Aviation Administration under Secretary Buttigieg could play an important part in how this turns out.

The developers seek to double hangar space at the field, adding over 500,000 square feet of infrastructure and trucking in between 10,000 and 20,000 gallons of jet fuel every day. Developers acknowledge neither the climate impact of the greenhouse gas emissions from the jets burning massive amounts of jet fuel nor the noise disruption of some of the nation’s most historic sites. Depending on their size, private jets burn between 330 and 550 gallons of jet fuel per hour.

Estimates of the number of jets that will be hangared in the 18 hangars range from 50 to 79. The most recent annual data from Massport states that there were 38,400 jet “operations” (landings and takeoffs) at Hanscom. This figure would only go up because of the private jets in the new hangars. An annual figure of 38,400 translates to more than 100 takeoffs or landings per day. Developers have said without explanation that the daily number will increase by 12 flights or using their figure by around 10 per cent. It could well be more.

The National Trust emphasizes the noise disruption to visitors to the national park and to Walden Pond. Private jets cruising in for a landing or straining to take off will destroy the peace and quiet of visitors walking to the Old North Bridge, walking on the trails in the fields and woods along Route 2A, or enjoying Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge.

Please take the time to sign the National Trust petition on their website at savingplaces.org. Click here for the direct link to the petition.

“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.

News acorns

Select Board continues fight against Hanscom proposal

The Select Board this week approved a detailed letter to the state that takes issue with the Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) on a proposal to significantly expand hangar space and make other changes at Hanscom Field to accommodate private jets.

The DEIR is “deeply troubling for a number of reasons,” including what the letter says are:

  • incomplete treatment of GHG emissions,
  • unsubstantiated analysis of ferry flights (empty flights),
  • inaccurate representation of the role of sustainable aviation fuels, and
  • misleading characterization of commitments to solar installations.

“We are forced to conclude that the proponent’s DEIR is not a serious assessment of the environmental impacts of the proposed project, and that their claims are not backed by adequate analysis or fact. We therefore urge [Secretary Rebecca Tepper, Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs] to instruct the proponent to revise their DEIR to produce a more comprehensive and accurate environmental impact report,” the letter says.

Officials and residents from area towns and all over the country have been protesting the plan. The public has until May 10 to submit comments on the DEIR.

Open Studio reception and exhibit at library

Lincoln Open Studio’s biennial exhibit in the Lincoln Public library is now on display through May 25. There will be an opening reception with the artists on Thursday, May 2 from 4–6 p.m.

Arts and Farmers Market begins this Saturday

Starting on Saturday, May 4, the Lincoln Arts and Farmers Market runs weekly from 9 a.m.–1 p.m. on the green outside the Tack Room (145 Lincoln Rd.). the market will take place each Saturday until the end of October. New vendors from the community are welcome to set up a table to sell garden produce, arts and crafts as well as vintage and collectible items. There is no table fee, but it’s nice to tip the band $5 or more as they attract many patrons. Please bring your own table, tent (optional), etc.; you’re welcome to join as many or few markets as you wish. For more vendor information, email Bill Huss at billhuss53@gmail.com.

Session on parent-child communication

Join Lincoln Nursery School and local child behavior specialist Emily Barker for a conversation and Q&A in Studio Purple on Monday, May 6 at 7 p.m. at LNS at deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum. Her parent-coaching business called Little Love Language uses a holistic approach as well as her signature tools to help parents communicate with and better understand their children.

Get ready for the Great Create

The Lincoln School Foundation invites K-5 students to complete creative challenges in the Great Create at deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum on Sunday, May 19 from 1–3 p.m. (check-in starts at 12:30 p.m.). Working together in small groups, students will use unexpected materials and make connections between art and nature. Join us for a fun afternoon of community and friends while supporting the LSF’s mission to inspire and fund innovative teaching and authentic learning experiences in our schools. Register at www.lincolnschoolfoundation.org.

Battle Road BioBlitz

The Battle Road BioBlitz at Minute Man National Historical Park from Saturday, May 11 to Friday, May 17 will engage scientists, naturalists, and the interested public to survey and document as many species as possible within a designated time period. The 10 free events at various times and locations — including Amphibians and Aquatic Organisms, Battle Road Botanizing, Biodiversity at Dusk, Pollinators and Plants, and Quest for Uncommon Species — take place at various locations and times at the park; sign up for one or several (space is limited). Click here to register or view the entire collection on Eventbrite. 

Co-sponsored by MMNHP and Friends of MMNHP; the towns of Concord, Lexington, and Lincoln; the Concord and Lincoln Land Conservation Trusts; the Brookline Bird Club, and Zoo New England. Questions? Contact Margie Brown at margie_coffin_brown@nps.gov. 

Watering restrictions now in effect

Water use restrictions are automatically implemented from May 1 through September 30 each year, and higher restrictions may be imposed in response to state drought declarations. Lincoln is  now in Stage 2 (one stage higher than state guidelines, per the Lincoln Water Department’s Drought Management Plan), which allows use of sprinklers, drip irrigation and soaker hoses two days a week from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. by house number. See this chart for details on rules for all types of outdoor water use. Customers who are farmers as defined in the Lincoln Right to Farm Bylaw are exempt from these restrictions.

Water Department staff will be monitoring all sprinkler use in town and will stop to remind residents of the new restriction policy. A first offense will result in a $100 fine, and subsequent violations will result in a $200 fine. If any residents have questions, please contact Darin LaFalam, Water Superintendent, at email lafalamd@lincolntown.org or 781-259-2669. For further information on water conservation, visit the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs’ drought page.

Activists continue push to derail Hanscom expansion

Climate activists including a number from Lincoln participated in two recent protests against the proposal to significantly enlarge hangar space for private jets at Hanscom Field.

On April 20, protesters from Extinction Rebellion and other groups stood in front of planes to clock them from taxiways and also blocked the entrances of fixed base operators Signature Aviation, Jet Aviation, and Atlantic Aviation. Twenty of them were arrested, though apparently none from Lincoln. Two days later, activists held a standout at the State House and called on Gov. Maura Healey to denounce the expansion and align her office with the Green New Deal.

The protest at Hanscom, which involved about 40 people from eight towns — included Alex Chatfield and Dilla Tingley of Lincoln (see her “My Turn” piece here). The event drew news media (see reports from WCVB, NBC-Boston, and Boston 25 News) and a heavy police presence. He is one of the organizers behind Stop Private Jet Expansion at Hanscom or Anywhere, a coalition that has grown to include Extinction Rebellion and more than 80 other groups. Lincolnites also participated in an October 2023  State House rally on the same issue.

The protests arose after the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIR — go to this page to download) submitted by the project proponent became public in late March. That statement asserted that the project would not result in a net increase of flights because many of them will allegedly replace “ferry flights” by planes that aren’t based at Hanscom.

The project proponent (North Airfield Ventures and Runway Realty Ventures) want to build 17 new hangars — down from the initial 27, though the total square project is still 495,000 square feet, including about 82,000 square feet of storage space in a refurbished Navy hangar. The project also includes four 20,000-gallon jet fuel tanks and one 5,000-gallon tank for aviation gas.

Letters of protest were also sent to the Mass. Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EOEEA) by Save Our Heritage and the Hanscom Field Advisory Commission, among other organizations. The DEIR is “inconsistent, does not support its claims, contradicts state climate policy, and ignores relevant scientific research,” HFAC chair Chris Eliot of Lincoln wrote in the group’s letter, which asks MEPA to return the DEIR to the proponents and resubmit with more information.

The HFAC letter cites an independent analysis by Industrial Economics, Inc., that disputes the ferry flight calculations and other claims in the EIR. “The proposed project will greatly increase the number of operations at Hanscom Field and the GHG [greenhouse gas] emissions associated with the facility’s flight operations. Due to the very small number of aircraft likely to relocate to Hanscom from other airports, the beneficial effect of avoided ferry flights would be insignificant when compared with the substantial increases in operations and GHG emissions expected from new aircraft based at Hanscom Field,” that report says.

Activists have also noted that the developers are only required to disclose the emissions associated with the proposed hangars and equipment, but not the GHG emissions from the aircraft themselves.

The multiple protests and hundreds of letters probably won’t be able to stop the project, however. EOEEA Secretary Rebecca L. Tepper noted in the document requiring the DEIR that MEPA (the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act overseen by the EOEEA) “is not a permitting process and I do not have the authority to approve or deny a project. The purpose of MEPA is to provide meaningful opportunities for public review of the potential environmental impacts of projects for which agency action is required, and to assist each agency in using… all feasible means to avoid damage to the environment or, to the extent damage to the environment cannot be avoided, to minimize and mitigate damage to the environment to the maximum extent practicable.”

The DEIR and other documents can be found here. The public comment portal is here (project 16654, login/registration required). The deadline for comments on the DEIR has been extended to June 14, 2024.

My Turn: Civil disobedience and Hanscom Field expansion

By Dilla Tingley

(Editor’s note: see “Activists continue push to derail Hanscom expansion” for context.)

I joined Bill McKibben’s Third Act. Wrote my letter and encouraged others to write letters in response to the DEIR on the Hanscom hangar project. Eagerly joined Alex Chatfield’s protest on Saturday April 20.

We were told that Extinction Rebellion [ER] was going to be disrupting flights on the runway. Our plan was to occupy the parking lot and the lounges of Signature Air and Jet Air. Signature Air was referred to as an enabler. They apparently have the contract to run the facilities at the new hangars. They currently provide luxurious amenities to owners and fliers of private jets.

When we arrived, the police presence was already there and handcuffing people in front of the Signature Air facility. Large presence of state, Concord, Bedford, and eventually Lincoln police. We had read our statements in the parking lot and then we stood across the drive from the Signature Air facility where they were arresting folks, and we sang songs and chants with the ER people providing much moral support. Eventually a state policeman dragged over a person in a traffic vest and said he was from Massport. That person demanded that we leave. The policeman gave us the option of crossing the drive and joining “your friends” and being arrested or leaving. We left. I think we were there about an hour.

I was not part of the group that stayed at the intersection of Hanscom Drive and Old Bedford Road. They were interviewed by many members of the press.

I was really happy to play a small part in this action. Private jet travel is anathema to our climate goals and the whole air lobby has way too much power. Jet fuel is not taxed. There is no sales tax if you buy a private jet. The only leverage we have over what happens at Hanscom is to control the building of infrastructure.

“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.

My Turn: Looking at core assumptions around aviation

By Christopher Eliot

The proposed Hanscom airport expansion has catalyzed a long overdue recognition of the climate impact of aviation. While climate change is global, this project is in our backyard. My statements against this project are on record, but it is important to look at the larger context of aviation as a whole.

It is taken for granted that aviation is vital to the modern world. Most people marvel at the technical achievements enabling safe travel anywhere in the world. There is something magical about waking up on a harsh New England Winter day and flying to a tropical island before evening. Aviation has many tangible benefits but in the face of the climate crisis we must look hard at the cost and benefit of every aspect of the modern economy without allowing romantic preconceptions to mislead us. 

During my nine years on the Hanscom Field Advisory Commission I have become aware of often overlooked problems related to aviation. Aviation has substantial and growing impacts on public health, the climate and use of scarce resources that should be widely understood and properly weighed in public discussion. Aviation is one of the top ten sources of climate change and it is widely considered to be the hardest part to fix. 

The aviation industry has a plan to become climate-friendly but I believe it is not a credible plan. The industry assumes it can obtain exclusive control massive amounts of public resources that have value for many other uses. The industry assumes a place of importance that may or may not be consistent with public values.

There needs to be a robust public discussion about the core assumptions of modern aviation. Is aviation really so important that society should devote half of our agricultural land, or half of our electricity capacity to aviation?  Should we just accept the fossil fuel requirements of aviation and look elsewhere to offset these sources of climate change? Should we accept aviation technology that might be less safe but more environmentally friendly? What balance of public and private investment for climate friendly aviation is wise? Should we instead work to reduce the use of aviation? People will have many answers to these questions and they should be widely debated.

These are choices about aviation that must be made. It is important for the public to widely contribute to the decision making process now, because the decisions made today will take decades to be fully deployed. With substantial public input, these choices will be made by a privileged few in the aviation industry, the FAA, and the fuel industry. Construction is already underway to implement plans designed primarily by the aviation industry that have not been widely discussed. Since these choices will deeply effect everyone, everywhere, it is important to broaden the discussion to reflect the shared values of the public at large.

Eliot, a Lincoln resident, is chair of the Hanscom Field Advisory Commission. For updates on the plan to expand hangar space at Hanscom Field, see these stories in the Bedford Citizen. 

“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.

Planning Board splits 3-2 on endorsing zoning amendments

The multifamily and mixed-use overlay zoning map approved by the Planning Board. Click to enlarge.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated with links for the bylaw and accompanying map, and a quote by Trish O’Hagan was removed after she said it was inaccurate.

In a dramatic split echoing the townwide controversy about proposed zoning amendments, the Planning Board voted 3-2 on February 26 to endorse the bylaw they wrote to be presented at the March 23 Annual Town Meeting.

The board’s vote came after members made final tweaks to the bylaw based on Option C, which residents approved at a Special Town Meeting in December 2023. The outline of that option, which has been forwarded to the state for a Housing Choice Act compliance check, would allow multifamily housing clustered in South Lincoln, including over a redeveloped mall. Lincoln Residents for Housing Alternatives formed to oppose that idea, instead seeking to omit the mall from the HCA rezoning package and spreading permitted affordable housing around other parts of town. 

Board Chair Margaret Olson presented a compilation of HCA feedback they’ve received in recent months. Various residents have advocated for and against things like whether a fourth story should be allowed, limiting or increasing allowed parking, how to best preserve commercial activity, and even whether or not to pass over the measure at Town Meeting altogether and work on a new plan.

Given the divisiveness of the issue, “we are quite prepared to be given new direction if that is what the town would like us to do,” Olson said.

During the public comment period, Deb Howe worried that the amended bylaw didn’t address the notion of an underground or above-ground parking structure which might be needed to accommodate new residents as well as businesses. Ben Shiller argued that it would be very difficult to fit the 100 units of multifamily housing that the Rural Land Foundation has said it needs to sustain the mall’s economic viability.

“There seems to be a lack of analysis around implications of rezoning,” said David Cuetos, adding that the town-commissioned feasibility study for allowing more than the state minimum of affordable units was “badly bungled.”

Susan Hall Mygatt, who at last week’s public hearing suggested passing over the measure, said on Monday that while the board is apparently obligated to advance it to Town Meeting, “you’re not required to sell it or recommend we vote for it.” 

It was clear that a unanimous vote wasn’t going to happen when Ephraim Flint read a statement signed by him and fellow member Lynn DeLisi asking their fellow board members to go back to the drawing board and craft a bylaw with more public input and consensus.

While most residents agree that the town should comply with the HCA while also preserving the town’s character, there is “little agreement on how the rezoning should be done,” the statement said. Additionally, some of those who voted for Option C in December “have said they would have voted differently had they better understood the options and their consequences in more detail.” 

Flint and DeLisi suggested removing the mall subdistrict from the amended bylaw and then creating a committee of members “equal in opposing views” to work with the Planning Board on a compromise solution for other areas to rezone, including the mall. If their fellow board members didn’t go along with these suggestions, they asked that it be “formally stated” at Town Meeting that “two of the five Planning Board members were opposed to bringing this entire package to a vote at this time.”

How best to guide redevelopment of the mall has been a bone of contention along with where in town to allow multifamily housing. The board included the mall in the HCA bylaw revision because the state changed its guidelines last summer so towns could count housing in mixed-use subdistricts as part of its required total. “We took that opportunity because it would reduce the amount of units we would have to zone for elsewhere” in town, Olson said. “All along, we have tried to minimize the compliance footprint.”

“What [the RLF] has shown us to date, I would have liked to have seen a year ago,” DeLisi said. 

“You and me both,” Olson replied.

“We’re looking at zoning changes that are going to change our town for generations. We have to be careful and thoughtful about it and not be pushing too fast,” DeLisi said. “It’ll be a slim margin no matter what. Let’s try to get 80% of people at [a later] Town Meeting to say yeah, let’s vote for this compromise.”

But Olson firmly rejected the idea of the Planning Board not endorsing Article 3 on the Town Meeting warrant or passing it over altogether. “To me as a voter, if I voted for something that gave direction for the board and the board did not do that, I would be absolutely outraged,” she said.

Olson indicated that having the bylaw rejected by residents in March would not necessarily be a wholly negative outcome. “People get anxious when things are voted down at Town Meeting. I’m like, ‘That is information. We will take that information and act on it along the lines you are describing’,” she said. “I feel like we should do our duty as Planning Board members and present Option C as we were directed by Town Meeting, and if Town Meeting tells us ‘We have changed our minds,’ that’s fine… People talk about a silent majority — but we have no idea who’s the majority. We’ll hear from the town.”

“Developers are trying to sell a project that people want to live in, “ Nicholson said. “If you put so many restrictions on things, nothing will happen and that’s been the problem over decades. That’s why we are where we are. At some point you do have to take a little bit of risk and accept that it’s not going to please everyone.”

DeLisi and Flint eventually voted “nay” on the motion to endorse the HCA zoning bylaws as amended that evening, with the other three (Olson, Craig Nicholson, and Gary Taylor) voting “aye.”

Hanscom developer offers plan details, answers questions

The Hanscom Field expansion area is outlined in red. Lincoln’s approximate town border to the south is indicated by the green dashed line.

North Airfield Ventures offered details of its plan to greatly enlarge hangar space at Hanscom Field to the Hanscom Field Advisory Commission on February 20. It was the first of several public sessions scheduled before developers file their environmental impact statement next month, according to a February 21 story in the Bedford Citizen.

While the parcel under consideration lies in the town of Bedford, an expansion of the airport’s capacity will increase air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions — an argument cited by opponents including Stop Private Jet Expansion as well as local and state officials including the Lincoln Select Board.

The project’s proponents say that additional hangar space will reduce the need for “ferry flights” to and from full Hanscom hangars to other storage areas, but the idea that “adding 90 football fields worth of space would reduce emissions from aircraft struck me as hard to believe,” Select Board member Jim Hutchinson said in February 2023.

Four 20,000-gallon jet fuel tanks and one 5,000-gallon tank for aviation gas are planned. Fuel deliveries are expected once or twice a day in 10,000-gallon tank trucks, the Bedford Citizen article notes. Although the plan has been scaled down from 27 to 17 hangars, the total size will remain at around 495,000 square feet, the article added.

The environmental review is not a permitting process. Under state law, once the impact report is submitted, there will be a 30-day comment period. If the content is not accepted by the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, the developers must prepare a supplemental report, the Bedford Citizen explained in an earlier article.

When the new site launches (perhaps as soon as this week):

  • The emails alerting you to new stories (sent on most weekdays) will change to include only links to those stories on the website. 
  • I’ll send individual emails explaining how to log in for the first time. You’ll get a temporary password that you can change to something easier to remember if you wish. Also, your login will last for at least a couple of months before you have to do so again, so never fear.
  • As a new subscriber, you’ll get the first month of the Squirrel for free; after that it’s $59.00 a year. At the end of February, I’ll send each of you a reminder email. You can pay any time using one of these methods:
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Alice Waugh
178 Weston Rd.
Lincoln MA 01773

Please let me know if you have any questions at all about the Squirrel or Lincoln in general. I’m always happy to help!

Alice Waugh
Editor, The Lincoln Squirrel
617-710-5542 (m)
lincolnsquirrelnews@gmail.com

https://lincolnsquirrel.com/2024/01/34214/