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

conservation

Open Space and Recreation Plan completed

Lincoln’s recently completed 2017 Open Space and Recreation Plan (OSRP) identifies new and ongoing priorities for conservation measures, agriculture, recreation, and potential land acquisitions.

The OSRP Advisory Committee explored ways that key landholders can work together to prioritize shared uses for existing municipal, private, and institutional land. Land across town was prioritized based on a set of criteria for suitability for one or more of these uses. The result of this process is the open space and recreation action plan and accompanying map, which are intended to guide decisions about future land acquisitions and conservation partnerships.

Among the report’s goals for the Conservation Department and Lincoln Land Conservation Trust are to continue and in some cases expand the following efforts:

  • Developing the Baseline Inventory and Monitoring Program for new and existing conservation properties. This includes acquiring legal records validating each property’s conservation status, gathering documentation such as photographs and biological inventories, and establishing a monitoring program for all deeded and CR (conservation restriction) properties.
  • Controlling non-native, invasive species.
  • Engaging in education and outreach efforts within municipal government, local and regional organizations, schools, and the general public.
  • Identifying and protecting critical parcels or corridors that play a key role in fulfilling the goals of the OSRP.
  • Promoting co-sustainable agricultural practices, such as community-supported agriculture and regional land/farmer matching programs, the Pollinator Meadow on the Lincoln School campus, mobile chicken farming at Codman Community Farms, and sustainable crops and livestock farming at Drumlin Farm.
  • Considering licensing some fields that currently lie fallow in the interest in promoting local, sustainable farms and increasing the diversity of farming operations in Lincoln.

One of the top priorities identified during the 10-month planning process is to improve the town’s athletic fields, which are in poor shape due to heavy use and lack of irrigation. Voters at Town Meeting last week approved construction of a new field on the Wang property, but this will reduce usage of the existing fields only moderately. Capital improvements such as increasing access to wells and irrigation should be considered and the upcoming school project should also examine possibilities for adding another additional field, the report says.

Other future recreation facilities that would require more land are a skate park, neighborhood parks, basketball court, and municipal track, the report notes. The newly acquired Wang property doesn’t have the right size or configuration to include a track around the future athletic field.

Specific segments of the OSRP and related documents can be found here:

Roundup of further Town Meeting results

Editor’s note: see these previous Lincoln Squirrel articles for previous Town Meeting coverage:

Voters at Town Meeting approved measures aimed at increasing affordable accessory apartments, allowing the Board of Selectmen to change speed limits under certain conditions, temporarily banning marijuana establishments, and allowing commercial farming on smaller properties—but proposed regulations banning some sales of plastic water bottles and plastic grocery bags were tabled.

Affordable accessory apartments

Approved revisions to the accessory apartment bylaw will now allow affordable accessory apartments to be counted in the town’s Subsidized Housing Inventory (SHI). A second vote (pending legislative approval) authorized a property tax exemption for the portion of a home being rented out as an affordable accessory apartment.

The changes bring the town’s bylaw into line with the state Department of Housing and Community Development’s requirements on pricing, tenant income eligibility, affirmative fair housing marketing and tenant selection plan, and maintenance. Other requirements for qualifying as an affordable accessory apartment include a temporary deed restriction and a prohibition on renting to family members.

Currently, 10.9 percent of Lincoln’s housing units qualify as affordable. If that proportion drops below 10 percent in the 2020 census, developers could be allowed to bypass zoning regulations to build a major housing development that contains affordable units.

A related warrant article to property owners to borrow from Community Preservation Act (CPA) funds to pay for creating or renovate affordable accessory apartments was passed over. Housing Commission Chair Allen Vander Meulen said Monday that the loan program will still be offered, but at least initially, it turned out to be procedurally easier to use money from the Housing Trust rather than the CPA.

At the State of the Town meeting in November, Lincoln Housing Coalition member Pamela Gallup explained that the program was intended as an incentive to property owners. The program would offer a loan of up to $25,000 that would secured by a lien on the property but would not contingent on the homeowner’s income, and it would have to be repaid in full when the house is sold.

There are about 70 permitted accessory apartments with permits in town already, plus an unknown number without permits. Officials hope the tax exemption and loan program will tempt more people to register their existing affordable units and thus boost the town’s inventory.

Speed limits

Residents voted to accept the provisions of a new state statute that would allow the Board of Selectmen to set a 25-mph speed limit on local roads in areas of town designated as“thickly settled or as a business district.

“There are very few if any areas in Lincoln that are currently eligible, but that could change in the future,” said Selectman Peter Braun. “We recommend adding this capacity to the selectmen’s toolbag for future use.”

The original motion asked that the town “accept the provisions of Massachusetts General Law, Chapter 90, Section 17C, in the interests of public safety and without further authority,” to establish the 25-mph speed limit as allowed by that statute. But after some debate about what specific powers the selectmen would have if the motion passed, officials amended the motion to delete everything after the statute citation, and it passed with a handful of nay votes.

Right to Farm bylaw

Owners of property measuring two to five acres may now keep farm animals (except pigs) for commercial agricultural purposes if annual sales are less than $5,000 per acre. Previously, commercial animal farming was permitted only on lots of five acres or more.

There was considerable debate about whether to remove language saying that the $5,000 monetary limit would not apply to off-site sales. Two voice votes on whether to approve the amendment itself were inconclusive, and a count of hands resulted in defeat of the amendment by a margin of 84 to 61. The original motion to change the bylaw passed by the required two-thirds majority with a scattering of nay votes.

Marijuana moratorium

Voters approved a moratorium on using land or structures for recreational marijuana establishments until November 30, 2018 pending new regulations from the Cannabis Control Commission and possible zoning amendments in Lincoln. Recreational marijuana establishments include marijuana cultivators, testing facilities, product manufacturers, or any other type of licensed marijuana-related business.

“This will give us time to work on it and figure out what we want to do,” Selectman Peter Braun said.

“This article is not well advised. Nobody can do it in Lincoln anyway” because of state licensing barriers and the high cost of land, said resident Jean Welsh, who said she takes medicinal marijuana pills to control pain from spinal stenosis. “It’s just not fact-based government. I’m very sensitive to governance based on emotion and not on fact.”

Plastic bottle and bag ban

In the wake of controversy over proposed bans on sales of individual-size plastic water bottles and retail use of disposable plastic grocery bags, officials before the meeting backed off from voting on the two measures. Instead, voters approved substitute motions that expressed support for the concerns raised by the Lincoln-Sudbury Environmental Club (which organized citizens’ petitions for the two measures) and urged the club to “continue to explore options, including the contemplated bylaws, in consultation with key Lincoln stakeholder groups.” Students will report at the State of the Town meeting in fall 2017 with possibility of presenting revised bylaws at the Annual Town Meeting in 2018.

“The route they’ve chosen to take today is exactly what the town clerk and town administrator suggested they consider,” said Selectman Peter Braun, citing ambiguities over how the bans would be enforced, as well as a lack of input from other groups including the Planning Board and the South Lincoln Planning Implementation Committee. “There’s a lot to talk about and think about… there’s room for a lot more of the Lincoln Way to occur.”

Owners of Donelan’s and Lincoln’s two new restaurants had voiced earlier opposition to the measures. “It’s a mistake to demonize bottled water,” which is clean and healthy, said Carol White, so-owner of Lincoln Kitchen and Trail’s End, adding that visitors would have difficulty finding places to refill reusable water bottles.

Residents debated the impact of a water bottle ban on business at Donelan’s. “If it’s make or break based on single-use plastic bottles, that store is in serious trouble,” said Sara Mattes. Others worried that a ban on water bottles will simply push customers to buy sugary drinks instead, with one person suggesting a ban on all plastic drink bottles.

Regarding plastic grocery bags, resident Andrew Young cited studies showing that the life cycle of paper bags actually results in more energy and well as its own form of environmental damage. “If you forget your reusable bags, plastic is actually the better choice,” he said.

Officials and several residents praised the students for their hard work and commitment, and their willingness to change course shortly before Town Meeting.

Town Meeting approves Wang purchase and solar initiatives

The site of the Wang land just south of Bedford Road’s intersection with Route 2 (click to enlarge).

Residents paved the way for a new athletic field, more conservation land, and a municipal solar power installation as well as easing rules on home solar installations with three Town Meeting votes last week.

Amid much clapping and cheering, residents unanimously approved purchase of 12 acres of the Wang property off Bedford Road. The town will purchase the land from the Rural Land Foundation, which (together with the Birches School) bought a 16-acre parcel from the estate of Lorraine Wang. Birches will use four acres including a large house to relocate its school from its current quarters in the Stone Church building. Three of the town’s 12 acres will be used to build a much-needed athletic field while the rest goes into conservation.

The town’s $2 million expenditure—$800,000 for the land plus $1.2 million for athletic field construction—will come from bonding $1.3 million over 15 years, to be repaid with anticipated income from the Community Preservation Act (CPA). Another $500,000 will come from the general balance and $200,000 from Lincoln Youth Soccer (LYS).

CPA funds come from a 3 percent property tax surcharge and a partial match from the state. The fund replenishes annually by about $950,000, so there will still be money left over for other capital projects in coming years.

Cars will access the site only from Bedford Road, though walkers will be able to get there via conservation trails. The town will also get a permanent easement for use of the future Birches School parking lot as well as a bathroom accessible from the field.

LYS and Park and Rec sponsored an engineering study of the town’s athletic fields that confirmed they were in bad shape from overuse and lack of irrigation. “There’s very little topsoil and the field are incredible compacted” to the point that aerators have gotten broken, Parks and Recreation Department Director Dan Pereira said at Town Meeting.

Adding the new field will help somewhat, but the other fields on the school campus will still need help, ideally from installing irrigation. However, given the ongoing drought and other upcoming expenditures, “it’s not a great time to be considering that… we’re under no misconception this is a simple fix,” Pereira said. Park and Rec is working with the Water Commission to investigate solutions such as using reclaimed water, he added.

Solar installation atop landfill

The nine acres of new town conservation land connects two other parcels of existing conservation property but also serves another purpose. It will allow the town to make a “land swap” so some of its transfer station property can be taken out of conservation and turned into a solar photovoltaic facility that could supply as much as half of the town’s publicly used electricity.

The solar installation on 7.1 acres of the capped landfill next to the transfer station could generate 650-980 kilowatts for the town. It’s unclear how much savings that will translate into because the tax credit situation is “in flux right now,” said John Snell, chair of the Green Energy Committee (GEC). Any agreement with a solar installer must be at least revenue neutral for the town, “but we think we can do better than that,” he added.

Although the landfill is “obviously not the crown jewel of Lincoln open space,” said resident Bob Domnitz, “this asset isn’t something we should give away without something coming back to the town… Please make sure the town gets some significant financial benefit from this project.”

The amended bylaw also calls for the town to “devote reasonable efforts” to use the existing driveway from Route 2A rather than a possible new entrance from Mill Street.

Once the town gets formal permission from the state for the land swap, officials will look for a solar developer in the hope of starting construction next year.

Relaxing rules for home solar

Solar installations on private homes will be less restrictive after another Town Meeting bylaw amendment vote. A 2013 change allowed rooftop solar installations but said that they had to have a setback from the roof edges of at least one foot. This requirement made some smaller projects uneconomical by reducing the available roof area “by a fairly significant margin” (44 percent in one case), said GEC member Jim Hutchinson.

The amended bylaw removes that setback requirement and increased the maximum allowed height for ground-mounted solar installation from 10 to 12 feet. The Planning Board may also now grant waivers to the solar installation requirements on a case-by-case basis.

Recap of background stories for Town Meeting

In preparation for the March 25 Town Meeting, the Lincoln Squirrel is publishing an updated and expanded expanded recap of news stories and letters to the editor on some of the issues to be voted on. The full warrant list can be found here.

Wang property acquisition (article 11)

News stories:

Letters to the editor:

Accessory apartments (articles 12-14)

News stories:

Letters to the editor:

School project (articles 33 and 34)

News stories:

Letter to the editor:

Community center feasibility study (article 35)

News stories:

Letter to the editor:

Landfill solar initiative (article 36)

News stories:

Letter to the editor:

Agricultural bylaw amendment (article 38)

News story:

Water bottle/plastic bag ban (articles 41 and 42)

News stories:

Letters to the editor:

Water bottle, plastic bag issues may be tabled at Town Meeting

In the wake of some pushback against proposals to ban some uses of small water bottles and plastic grocery bags, one of the high school students behind the warrant articles wrote on Thursday that at least one of the issues will be withdrawn from a binding vote at Saturday’s Town Meting.

Students in the Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School’s Environmental Club submitted two citizen’s petitions for Town Meeting in both Lincoln and Sudbury. One measure seeks to ban single-use plastic check-out bags at supermarkets and other retail stores. Thin-film plastic bags without handles that are used for meat, produce, newspapers, dry cleaning, etc., would not be affected.

The other measure would ban the retail sale of plastic single-use water bottles in town. Specifically targeted are polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles of 1 liter (34 ounces) or less containing non-carbonated, unflavored drinking water. Bottles could still be given away at any time or distributed in the event of a town-wide water emergency.

But some of the discussion on the town’s LincolnTalk email forum as well as letters to the editor of the Lincoln Squirrel took issue with the proposed bans for various reasons. Objections came from the owners of Donelan’s supermarket and two new restaurants in town, and residents on LincolnTalk urged more study and discussion of both issues before voting.

“We understand that although there are considerable environmental benefits to limiting plastic, there are also drawbacks when it comes to people’s convenience or to businesses that sell the non-reusable plastic bottles, making this subject controversial. For this reason, we are choosing to take a ‘sense of the town’ vote on the plastic bottle bylaw, and possibly also the bag bylaw, and revisit the issue at next year’s meeting in order to give voters a chance to [form] an informed opinion on the matter,” Lucy Bergeron, a junior at L-S, wrote in a post to LincolnTalk on behalf of the Environmental Club Thursday morning. “That said, we hope to get people thinking about this issue and begin the process of educating people.”

A “sense of the town” vote, which the Board of Selectmen had suggested earlier to the students, means that there will still be a presentation, discussion and vote on the warrant article, but the vote is non-binding and intended only to gauge where public opinion stands on the issue.

Letter to the editor: water bottle ban would hurt businesses

letter

To the editor:

I am writing in opposition to Article 41 of the March 25 Town Meeting Warrant, the proposed ban on the sale of water in non-reusable polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles of one liter or less.

I have lived in Lincoln for more than 35 years. My family owns the two new restaurants in town, Trail’s End Café and Lincoln Kitchen. In Concord, we own another restaurant, Trail’s End Café, as well as Concord Convenience, a gas station/convenience store.

Concord’s ban on selling bottled water in such plastic containers of 1 liter or less has affected us negatively in a number of ways, while doing nothing to decrease the consumption of bottled water. Those who formerly bought bottled water from us in Concord include, among others, bikers, landscapers, snow plowers, tradesmen, town of Concord employees, those hosting workshops and meetings, families not wanting their children to drink carbonated and sugared beverages, and people who take medication in the course of the day. People have not stopped buying bottled water, but have gone elsewhere to get it. In addition to water, our customers once bought snacks, breakfast and lunch, gas, and convenience store products. These sales have declined. I expect that businesses in Lincoln, including ours, will suffer a similar decline in sales. This is particularly worrisome in a town that values a vibrant business district, but has a small potential customer base.

It is naïve to expect that customers will continue to do the rest of their shopping in a town that forbids a product they find essential. It is also naïve to expect that those wanting water will search out and use a public drinking fountain. In fact, I find such fountains to be unsanitary and would never allow my children to use them. Carrying around a plastic water bottle and refilling it from a public fountain or public bathroom also holds little appeal.

It is a mistake to demonize bottled water, a clean, healthy, and convenient product. The problem is a larger one, the disposal of recyclable materials into the overall waste stream. And this problem is solvable, without a water ban.

Our family is very mindful of environmental protection and carries our concerns into our business practices. We use biodegradable packaging; publicize, participate, and volunteer in recycling events; and, in Concord, have several recycling dumpsters. While I admire the Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School Environmental Club for its activism, I believe that its energy can be used more productively  in encouraging recycling and making sure that recycling containers are available wherever people congregate, eat, and drink healthy beverages, such as water.

Sincerely,

Carol White
38 Bedford Rd.

Letters to the editor must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to lincolnsquirrelnews@gmail.com. Letters will be edited for punctuation, spelling, style, etc., and will be published at the discretion of the editor. Letters containing personal attacks, errors of fact or other inappropriate material will not be published.

Drumlin Farm prepares to build new Environmental Learning Center

A map of Drumlin Farm showing the education building (circled in red) and the Farm Life Center (circled in green). Click to enlarge.

As part of an ongoing series of upgrades, Drumlin Farm recently got permission to demolish its education building in preparation for erecting a new one.

The new Environmental Learning Center will be the hub for all of Drumlin Farm’s environmental education programming, including the summer camp. The current education building—which was built as an open screened shelter in the 1960s and later expanded, enclosed, and heated—“is in desperate need of replacement to reflect the volume and quality of programs we offer,”said Drumlin Farm Sanctuary Director Renata Pomponi.

Drumlin employs about 15 year-round educators and conducts about 40,000 educational programs (some off-site). Upcoming programs at the farm include Woolapalooza on March 25 and April vacation week activities for kids.

At 3,700 square feet, the Environmental Learning Center, which is being funded as part of Drumlin’s capital campaign, will be almost three times the size of the existing structure. It will be in the same location but turned 90 degrees, and solar panels will supply all of its energy.

In approving the old education building’s demolition in February, the Historical Commission reviewed the plans for the replacement and deemed it “sympathetic to the site, low, and not intrusive,” according to meeting minutes.

Several years ago, Drumlin replaced its Farm Life Center, where most programs that involve cooking take place. That building was recently awarded LEED Gold certification for green design and energy efficiency. Heating, cooling and lighting are powered by a solar array on the nearby sheep and goat barn, and some of the lumber used in construction was milled from trees harvested at Drumlin.

The farm’s New England Wildlife Explorations exhibit opened in November, replacing the old Drumlin Underground exhibit. As before, the facility houses rabbits, insects and other small wild animals, including the popular fox (who has more space than before), and the entire facility is handicapped-accessible. Additionally, the “green barn” was recently renovated to add two classrooms and a root cellar for storing produce year-round to enable Drumlin to expand its winter CSA.

Drumlin Farm hopes to renovate its wildlife care facility and will also continue to enhance its physical and programmatic resources to give people of all ages, abilities, and backgrounds an opportunity to connect meaningfully to nature.

Letter to the editor: proposed bag/bottle ban is ‘an infringement of consumer rights’

letter

(Editor’s note: The warrant articles in question would not ban all types of plastic bags and water bottles—see this February 28 Lincoln Squirrel story.)

To the editor:

There are two articles on the Town Meeting warrant that are of concern to Donelan’s Supermarkets. Article 41 and 42 propose to ban the use of plastic bags and bottled water in the town of Lincoln. Donelan’s shares the concerns of the proponents, the Lincoln Sudbury Environmental Club, regarding waste and its impact on our environment. However, these two articles will affect our business and your shopping trip to Donelan’s. All consumers should have the right to make their own decisions on safe and legal products for themselves and their family. To impose such a ban is an infringement of consumer rights.

Donelan’s spends a lot of time, energy, and resources on recycling. We keep shrinkwrap and corrugated cardboard out of the waste stream by having it compressed and bundled in our stores for recycling. We have an organic recycling program in our stores when perishable food cannot be donated to a local food bank or a local farmer. This program keeps food waste from entering the waste stream and in turn is made into useful compost. Our locations use new energy efficient equipment and lighting, and our Lincoln store was built with many recycled materials.

We also collect and recycle plastic bags, even from our competitors, and plastic wrapping material. Our Lincoln store manager reports that our collection bins are widely used and we are constantly having to empty them. Additionally, we encourage our customers to purchase reusable shopping bags, and we sell them at just about our cost. Donelan’s Supermarkets is a member of the Massachusetts Food Association. The Mass. Food Association and Donelan’s support a statewide recycling program that would include all elements of the waste stream, not just a narrow segment.

Currently, there is proposed state legislation banning plastic bags (editor’s note: see also this May 2016 Boston Globe article). The Mass. Food Association is working with the proponents on legislation that will address the issue statewide. Town-by-town bans create an un level playing field and creates confusion.

The proposed bottled water ban is of concern to Donelan’s and our industry. We understand that plastic bags and water bottles are the most vilified components of the waste stream. However, shouldn’t a solution encompass all items in the waste stream? Bottled water is a safe and legal product. In the case of a local emergency or catastrophe, it is vital.

Lincoln is a small community with a small local business component. The proposed ban on bottled water will hurt small local businesses like Donelan’s, local food shops, pizza shops, and convenience stores. In the case of Donelan’s, we need to be a full-service supermarket in Lincoln in order to compete and survive. Customers who purchase bottled water will not buy their groceries from Donelan’s and then go out of town for their bottled water. They will simply take their entire grocery shopping out of town, along with other potentially local business.

These two issues are more complex than the proponents may imagine and have long-lasting consequences. Individual selectman and town officials have expressed serious reservations, and we agree that more needs to be done before these bans are passed. The issues raised are bigger than us. These issues are state wide, nationwide, and global.

We hope that the dialogue on these important issues in our industry continues. The Mass. Food Association and Donelan’s Supermarkets are committed to working toward a comprehensive state wide recycling program that addresses all waste.

Sincerely,

Jack and Joe Donelan
256 Great Road, Suite 15, Littleton MA 01460

Letters to the editor must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to lincolnsquirrelnews@gmail.com. Letters will be edited for punctuation, spelling, style, etc., and will be published at the discretion of the editor. Letters containing personal attacks, errors of fact or other inappropriate material will not be published.

Letter to the editor: Vote yes on solar array at landfill

letterTo the editor:

Without question, we Lincolnites are dedicated conservationists. Almost 35 percent of the town’s land is protected, giving us five square miles of undeveloped natural habitats for wildlife and plant life, fresh air, clean streams, and long stretches of space to walk and reflect.

It’s perhaps not surprising, then, that we also care about sustainability and the environment. In a recent Green Energy Committee survey, 90 percent of respondents indicated an interest in rooftop solar out of concern for climate change; 65 percent were concerned about the global politics of fossil fuels.

There is a direct connection between climate change and energy consumption. In Massachusetts, state law requires a minimum of 12 percent of its electricity be supplied from renewable sources in 2017, with those minimums increasing at just 1 percent each year. This means that the remainder—up to 88 percent—comes from dirtier or more dangerous sources. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, more than 63 percent of Massachusetts electricity came from burning natural gas, petroleum, and coal in 2016.

Fortunately, Lincoln has alternatives. Many volunteers have worked tirelessly over the past several years to explore supplying a portion of the municipal electricity with locally sourced clean energy. A Selectman-appointed Solar PV Working Group developed a Solar Blueprint, a detailed analysis of 25 municipally owned sites for potential solar arrays. These sites included school buildings and parking lots, public buildings, Codman Farm, and the capped landfill at the transfer station, automatically eliminating options that were located on environmentally sensitive lands, in historic districts, or with too much shade.

Two sites were ultimately selected for near-term solar installations that have the potential to generate up to 50 percent of the municipal electricity supply: a 45kW array on the Public Safety Building along Lincoln Road, and a 600-1,000kW array on the landfill at the transfer station.

Landfills have been natural first choices to host solar arrays in communities throughout the United States. Capping a landfill involves layering over a contaminated trash heap with a plastic-like drainage material, then clay and gravel, topped off with a vegetative layer to prevent soil erosion. In June 2016, Lincoln published a study on the environmental impact of using Lincoln’s capped landfill for a solar array. The study determined that the site provides low-quality habitat for wildlife and native plants.

To install solar PV at the landfill, Lincoln must identify and designate an equivalent amount of non-conservation protected land into conservation protection. The town’s proposed acquisition of An and Lorraine Wang’s property on Bedford Road provides an excellent opportunity for a win-win: using poor-quality land from a capped landfill to host solar electricity generation, and acquiring equivalent or better-quality land to contribute to Lincoln’s current Article 97-protected stock of conservation land. After a thorough review, the Conservation Commission unanimously voted in December to support the project and the removal of the capped landfill property from Article 97.

The proposed landfill solar PV generation system exemplifies Lincoln’s active engagement in and support for environmental conservation and stewardship projects. The landfill solar PV project has benefited from well-developed research, thoughtful consideration, and community engagement process. By continuing to move in the direction of clean, local, and renewable energy supplies, we will leave a more sustainable environment in Lincoln for future generations to come.

We encourage you to vote “yes” on Article 36 at Town Meeting on March 25.

Sincerely,
The Lincoln Solar PV Working Group

(Renel Fredriksen, Board of Selectmen; Tom Gumbart, Jim Henderson, and Peter von Mertens, Conservation Commission; Tim Higgins, Town Administrator; John Snell, Green Energy Committee; and Gary Taylor, Planning Board)

Letters to the editor must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to lincolnsquirrelnews@gmail.com. Letters will be edited for punctuation, spelling, style, etc., and will be published at the discretion of the editor. Letters containing personal attacks, errors of fact or other inappropriate material will not be published.

Video explains financing and plans for Wang land purchase

The site of the Wang land just south of Bedford Road’s intersection with Route 2.

Lincoln residents will be asked at Town Meeting to approve a total of $2 million for land purchase and construction that will yield the town’s first new athletic field in more than 50 years as well as new conservation land. However, because of the type of financing that’s being considered, the expenditure will not result in any additional tax burden.

The Rural Land Foundation (RLF) and the Birches School teamed up to buy the 16-acre Wang property off Bedford and Oak Knoll Roads in November 2016. The Birches School will use four acres (including an existing 12,000-square-foot house at 100 Bedford Rd.) for its new headquarters plus a public parking lot that will also serve the adjacent athletic field. Residents will be asked to approve the purchase of the other 12 acres using Community Preservation Committee (CPC) funds.

CPC funds come from a 3 percent property tax surcharge and a partial match funds from the state (26 percent last year). The fund replenishes annually by about $950,000, and the town proposes to borrow $1.3 million over 15 years against this income. Another $500,000 will come from the general balance. The purchase will have no impact on the town’s bonding ability going forward, according to an informational video about the project distributed by the Parks and Recreation Committee.

Artist’s rendering of the new athletic field.

The total cost of $2 million breaks down to $800,000 for purchase of the land (three acres for the athletic field and nine acres for conservation) and $1.2 million for construction of the field. The town will also get a permanent easement on the parking lot that the Birches School will build—something that will save the town $500,000. Users of the field will also have access to a school bathroom.

Another benefit of the town acquiring the land is that it can be used as a “solar swap.” By adding new acreage to the town’s inventory of conservation land, it can take an equal amount out of conservation for a municipal array at the capped landfill.

The town’s current athletic fields on the school campus are in poor shape due to overuse and lack of irrigation. Assuming all goes as planned, the new field will be built by September 2017 and ready for use in August 2018. Conservation officials also plan to make trail connections from the new conservation land to adjacent parcels.

After the Park and Rec video was released, the committee answered questions posed by residents on LincolnTalk. Those answers are reprinted below.

Would putting synthetic turf in help with heavy field usage? 

Yes, artificial or synthetic turf is much more durable than natural grass fields. Community Preservation Act funds, however, can’t be used to pay for an artificial turf field. There are also a number of growing concerns with artificial turf, including high temperatures for children, off-gassing of the materials as well as the fact that there are still ongoing maintenance costs. While cost savings have been highlighted as among the benefits of an artificial turf field, the life expectancy and costs savings for artificial turf fields are now being questioned.

Has anyone studied the projected traffic onto Bedford Road and Route 2? 

Yes, Birches School and the Rural Land Foundation hired MDM Transportation to perform a traffic study of the area. They found that “the expanded Birches School and adjoining soccer field use will be accommodated along Bedford Road at operating levels that are well below capacity under full enrollment and during soccer field use periods (weeknights and Saturdays).” There will be a number of site improvements made to the area, including improving sight lines and widening the existing driveway to enable two exit lanes and one entry lane.

You mention that the Selectmen, FinComm, CapComm and School Committee are supporting this project. Is the Planning Board in support? 

We specifically approached the Selectmen, the Finance Committee, the Capital Committee and School Committee for their support of the project, but did not ask the Planning Board. We, however, did receive site plan approval for the project.

Has the Chief of Police signed off on this project? 

The police chief is aware of the project and has not expressed concern, although his formal approval was not part of the site plan approval process. The fire chief has signed off on emergency access to the property and our highway superintendent, and the town’s consulting engineer (not the project engineer) have reviewed our traffic study and are informing our site management plans.

Will there be any neighbors to whom the field and parking lot will be visible, who formerly saw only woods?

There is one immediate abutter, and we have worked closely with them to make sure that they are not negatively impacted, using landscape and fencing to ensure privacy. In addition, we met early on with the immediate neighborhood to not only share the initial announcement with them, but also to solicit their questions and concerns. The current site plan reflects their feedback.

The Carroll School on the Wayland/Lincoln border is creating new athletic fields. Is it possible to rent those? 

The Carroll School will not be renting the fields to area towns or schools in response to neighborhood concerns.

Have you looked at any other single-family lots in Lincoln on which to build a field? 

We have been actively looking for the past 15 years at all opportunities; however, for a number of reasons these other lots have not panned out. The Wang property at 100 Bedford Road works for several reasons, including access from Route 2 and the center of town; low impact on neighbors; and the partnership with the Rural Land Foundation, which makes the potential acquisition feasible since they are in essence providing the town with a bridge loan, giving us the time we need to examine the transaction in the Town Meeting framework; and the partnership with Birches School provides a number of cost savings related to the parking lot and restroom facility.

Why can’t the town build an athletic field on the flat lot abutting the school by the Smith building? 

The agricultural field behind the Smith School is privately owned and mostly in conservation. Taking land out of permanent conservation designation is an extremely difficult process. It requires permission of the land owner and then involves finding a lot with comparable conservation value to swap. Approval from the Conservation Commission, Town Meeting and the Commonwealth is also required. In the 15 years that we have been searching, we have not been able to find a lot that would be large enough to accommodate a field of this size with adequate parking, let alone a flat, open parcel.