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Letter to the editor: vote “yes” on leaf blower bylaw

To the editor:

The leaf blower bylaw being proposed at Town Meeting by the Conservation Commission represents the culmination of six years of work involving research, education, events, and public forums. Its final form incorporates input from commercial landscapers and residents gathered during public meetings.

It allows the use of gas-powered equipment in the fall and spring seasons when more power may be needed for major cleanups while encouraging use of non-fossil fuel alternatives like electric tools, which are allowed year-round without restriction. Exclusions can be sought for public safety and emergency situations.

New models of electric blowers are much quieter than gas blowers. Their noise dissipates more readily and does not easily penetrate walls and windows compared with gas blowers. Toxic/carcinogenic exhaust is eliminated and greenhouse gas emissions reduced.

Passage of the proposed bylaw will help Lincoln preserve and protect the health and well-being of residents, protect our environment from excessive and harmful levels of noise and pollution, and take a modest step towards helping Massachusetts reach its greenhouse gas reduction targets. Importantly, it also contributes to Lincoln’s reputation in environmental stewardship. In passing the bylaw, Lincoln will join with nearly 100 communities in the US and worldwide who have taken similar actions around this particular lawn and garden tool.

Below are some statements extracted from our research findings on leaf blowers and health:  

  • Children’s Environmental Health Network – Noise from sources such as lawn mowers and leaf blowers can result in hearing loss, stress, high blood pressure, headaches, sleep disturbance, reduced productivity, mental health problems, and reduced quality of life.
  • Harvard Medical School – The noise that causes sensorineural hearing loss is usually not one deafening bang but decades’ worth of exposure to the high decibel accessories of daily life: leaf blowers, car horns, traffic, movie theater sounds, and so on.
  • Massachusetts Medical Society – Gasoline-powered leaf blowers pose health risks to both workers and the general public.
  • Medical Society of the State of New York – Recommends guidelines that would dramatically reduce the toxic emissions and noise level of gas leaf blowers for reasons of health.
  • Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit, Mount Sinai Hospital, NYC – Leaf blowers create large volumes of airborne particulates, many of which are respirable. Inhalation of these small airborne particles can provoke asthma and other respiratory diseases in children and can increase the severity of chronic lung disease in our elderly. Some of the other potential pollutants from leaf blowers and internal combustion power tools are carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, hydrocarbons, and, even, ozone formed from some of these other pollutants. Even lower-level exposures have been associated with respiratory and central nervous system effects.
  • The intense, high-frequency noise that [gas] leaf blowers generate can cause loss of hearing in the workers who operate these machines and can also affect hearing in children and other persons
  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – Being around too much loud noise — like using a leaf blower or going to loud concerts — can cause permanent hearing loss.

A copy of the bylaw proposal, an FAQ sheet, and supporting resources are on the Leaf Blower Study Committee’s web page.

Sincerely,

Jamie Banks (chair of the Leaf Blower Study Committee)

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.
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Election ballot includes marijuana question

For the first time in recent memory, the March 25 town election does not feature any contested races—but there’s a ballot question that will decide whether marijuana retail establishments will be allowed in town.

Because Lincoln residents voted in favor of legalizing recreational marijuana in the 2016 state election, a ban on retail establishments in town requires two things: a two-thirds majority at Town Meeting, and a simple majority at the ballot box. The ban passed by a vote of 73–27% (140–53) at a Special Town Meeting in October 2018. Monday’s election is the second step needed to enact the ban. A “yes” vote will affirm the ban that was approved in October.

The regulatory path for banning marijuana businesses is a one-way street; a ban can always be reversed in the future, but once legalized, they can’t be prohibited later. A retail ban would not affect the statewide legalization of possession (in limited quantities) and private use of marijuana for medical and recreational purposes.

Click here to see a previously published list of residents running for town office. A sample ballot appears below; click on the image to see larger versions.

Water Dept. needs to borrow more than $1 million

New state requirements and deferred maintenance mean that the Lincoln Water Department is asking to borrow just over $1 million.

Of the $1.01 million to be requested via bonding at the March 23 Annual Town Meeting, $817,000 is earmarked for regulatory compliance items required by the state Department of Environmental Protection’s 2018 Sanitary Survey of the Lincoln system. Another $128,000 will pay for for overdue maintenance and replacement of failed equipment (curb boxes, gate valves and hydrants), and $60,000 for a standby generator for the Tower Road well.

The department also plans to transfer another $155,000 from its retained earnings fund to pay for other overdue maintenance items including a truck, repairs to the pump station, office furniture, communications upgrades, and paving work after last year’s Bedford Road water main break, bringing the total planned capital investment to $1.165 million. (See page 46 of the Town Meeting Financial Section and Warrant for details.)

The bond will be repaid entirely from user fees and the Water Department’s retained revenue. The department operates as an enterprise fund, meaning that revenues are expected to meet or exceed expenditures on a year-to-year basis and its budget is separate from the rest of the town’s. In January, the Water Commissioners approved a rate hike (the first since 2015) and a three-tiered system of charges to encourage water conservation.

As required by the Safe Drinking Water Act, DEP surveys are done every three years to inspect surface water system’s facilities, operations, and record keeping. “This year they recorded a lot of violations,” said Water Commissioner Packy Lawler. “I can’t explain why in 2015 none of these things showed up… if [the items] had been demanded at that time, we would have known about it.”

Lawler said he couldn’t comment on whether previous Water Department Director Greg Woods was remiss in being unaware of the problems or failing to address them. Woods was succeeded by current director MaryBeth Wise in March 2018.

The two recent water main breaks (the Bedford Road incident in August 2018 and another along Route 2A between Hanscom Drive and Bedford Road last month) don’t mean that the system as a whole is about to fail, despite the age of its pipes, Lawler said. Officials hope in the future to proactively replace the mains a bit at a time, but a study done several years ago indicated that the cost would be prohibitive at $1 million per mile (Lincoln’s 55 miles of water mains).

Newer technology to reline pipes from the inside without digging up the roads is coming along, Lawler said. “I’m keeping my fingers crossed that that cost will come down to the point where we could begin to proactively repair the mains in place.”

Changes to town bylaws are up for votes at Town Meeting

(Editor’s note: mousing over phrases in italics show where the specified language can be found in the Zoning Bylaw, General Bylaws, and Historic District Bylaw.)

Residents will be asked to approval several changes to town rules on zoning and historic districts at next Saturday’s Annual Town Meeting.

Solar energy

In Article 28, the Planning Board is seeking to change the zoning bylaw on [simple_tooltip content=’page 53 of the Lincoln Zoning Bylaw‘]solar energy systems[/simple_tooltip] in three ways. The most important change would allow the sale of energy to the grid or another third party — a necessity for the school project’s solar energy plans.

The change would mean that property owners (whether private or public, as in the case of the Lincoln School and the mall in South Lincoln) can enter into a Power Purchase Agreement (meaning they don’t have to front the cost for designing and installing the solar array) and can sell any excess electricity they generate.

If approved, the amendment would also add requirements for stand-alone canopy/carport structures, and for surety for abandonment and removal of commercial solar systems.

Zoning

The amendment to Article 29 concerns property that’s taken by [simple_tooltip content=’page 2 of the Lincoln Zoning Bylaw‘]eminent domain[/simple_tooltip]. The current law says that when nonconforming lots are decreased in size, they lose their nonconforming protection. The proposed change would allow an exception for property that’s gotten smaller as a result of a taking, acquisition by, or donation to the town or other governmental entity for a public purpose — such as for the recent Route 2 project. Without this amendment, those property owners wouldn’t be eligible for a special permit to make changes but would instead have to get a Zoning Board of Appeals variance, “which is a much bigger lift,” noted Planning Board Chair Margaret Olson.

Article 30 on the warrant is being passed over, but that amendment would have established a Parking Benefit District affecting usage of fees collected from nonresidents at the commuter lot. The change would mean that a portion of parking fees for parking lot maintenance, beautification, lighting and roadway, public realm, and biking and walking improvements.

However, a recent grant is enabling a study of the town’s commercial parking lots and commuter lots to determine opportunities for shared parking and commuter lot capacity. “We want to study it a bit further and take advantage of that grant and come back with a better proposal,” Olson said.

Historic properties

Article 31, proposed by the Historic District Commission and Friends of Modern Architecture, would add two properties (8 and 18 Moccasin Hill Rd.) to the [simple_tooltip content=’page 60 in the Historic District Bylaw‘]Brown’s Wood Historic District.[/simple_tooltip] Being part of a Historic District provides some measure of protection for the essential character of the exterior appearance of the house that might otherwise involve creating an expensive deed restriction.

Definition of demolition

The proposed amendment to Article 32 aims to clarify that encasing a substantial portion of a roof or building within another building or structure is an effective demolition under the [simple_tooltip content=’page 46 in the General Bylaws‘]demolition bylaw.[/simple_tooltip] “The question has arisen from time to time particularly from homeowners who are interested in building an entirely new roof structure over an existing roof structure,” said Lincoln Historical Commission Andrew Glass. “At the same time, the commission wanted to clarify for homeowners that routine repairs such as replacing siding or roof shingles are not subject to the demolition bylaw.”

Town seeks about $2 million for capital, community preservation items

A new roof for the Hartwell building and an irrigation system for the playing field next to the Codman Pool make up about half of the dollars requested from the Capital Planning Committee (CapComm) and the Community Preservation Committee (CPC). The items will be put to a vote in three warrant articles at Town Meeting on March 23.

A new roof for the Hartwell building will cost $600,000, comprising the lion’s share of the $875,898 requested by CapComm (see full list below). The CPC is seeking $826,306 for a list of items for recreation, housing, and historic preservation purposes (see below), plus another appropriation of up to $400,000 for the irrigation system. Because that item is large and requires more explanation, it’s been put into a separate warrant article, Parks and Recreation Department Dan Pereira said.

The town eventually plans to install irrigation systems in all of its athletic fields, but it’s starting with Codman field because it’ll be the only one available on campus during the upcoming school renovation project and will thus be very heavily used, Pereira noted. (The central ballfield will be occupied by temporary classrooms, while the field behind Smith will be a construction zone.)

Parks and Rec is asking for up to $400,000, but the actual cost next year may be significantly less than that — it all depends on the water supply that’s found. Engineers have identified several sites on the campus that look promising, but the exact yield of water won’t be known until well-drilling starts.

If a well site close to the Codman field yields enough water for that field and no more, the immediate cost might be only $200,000, Pereira said. If the well doesn’t produce enough water to irrigate on demand, there would be an added cost of about $100,000 for an underground holding tank where water can accumulate.

On the other hand, engineers might locate a single well site that could supply enough water for all the fields. In that case, a larger underground tank would be needed at an additional cost of about $200,000 — but there would be no further costs down the road for digging a second well.

“We would only spend that $400,000 if we got a  great opportunity to save a ton of money later,” Pereira said.

Officials considered using town water but rejected the idea because of cost. The Water Department charges a fee for providing water that’s treated to make it safe for drinking — an unnecessary expense for irrigation water. “If we were paying annual water bills, our budget would be destroyed,” Pereira said. Drilling a well is a one-time expense, and Parks and Rec would pay only for electricity and occasional maintenance in the future.

The department uses town water to moisten the clay tennis courts on the south side of the campus so they don’t dry and dissolve, “but a ballfield needs an inch a week — that’s a mammoth amount of water” in comparison, he said.

After the new Wang field opens this spring and the school project is finished, the town will have enough fields to be able to take one out of service each year to let it rest and let the annual application of grass seed take hold. Having the fields irrigated will also greatly improve the quality of the grass.

To avoid wasting water, moisture sensors in the soil will trigger the irrigation system so the fields get water only when needed, and not in the heat of the day, Pereira said.

Capital Planning Committee requests

Capital itemCost
ANew pickup truck for the Department of Public Works$42,000
BReplacing outdated mobile radios for the Fire Department$14,000
CUpdating the Council on Aging phone system$6,500
DFacilities condition assessment at the library$30,000
ENew Kubota tractor for Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School$6,897
FReplacing marked police cruiser #1$37,063
GReplacing marked police cruiser #2$41,938
HPhase 1 of the public safety radio communications project$37,500
IReplacing the roof on the Hartwell building$660,000
TOTAL:$875,898

Community Preservation Committee requests

(click here for a detailed explanation of each item)

CPA projectCategoryCost
ADebt service payment for the town offices renovation projectHistoric preservation$386,275
BReplacing the Codman Farm Barn B, C, and office roofsHistoric preservation$110,000
CRental assistance program for residents at riskCommunity housing$30,000
DPreservation of First Book of Records 1754-1806Historic preservation$20,825
ERepair the headwall over the culvert on the Pierce House propertyHistoric preservation$6,000
FA new water chemistry controller system for the Codman PoolRecreation$42,500
GDebt service payments due on permanent borrowing for previously voted CPA projects—$127,550
HCommunity Preservation Committee administrative expenses—$3,000
SUBTOTAL:$726,150
IHousing reserve$100,158
GRAND TOTAL:$826,308

Town holds forum on actions regarding climate change

There will be a community forum on “Preparing for Climate Change in Lincoln” on Monday, April 1 from 7–8:30 p.m. in the Town Office Building.

The forum will present the results of a Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness workshop that was held on February 25 by the town of Lincoln with the assistance of the Metropolitan Area Planning Council. The workshop brought together town board and committee members, municipal staff, local businesses, and nonprofit organizations to identify how Lincoln may be vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, as well as the town’s strengths and actions it could take to increase its resilience.

Residents, businesses, and civic organizations are invited to attend and provide their input as part of this ongoing effort to plan for Lincoln’s future. For more information contact Jennifer Burney, Director of Planning and Land Use at 781-259-2610 ext. 8124 or burneyj@lincolntown.org.

News acorns

Learn first-hand about ranked-choice voting

Learn how ranked-choice voting could improve the fairness and effectiveness of elections when Jim Henderson, a board member of Voter Choice Massachusetts, leads a session on Sunday, March 10 at 3 p.m. in Bemis Hall (rescheduled from January 20). Coffee and tea will be served starting at 2:45. The presentation will include a simulation using the growing array of hopefuls for the Democratic presidential nomination for 2020.  

Update on deCordova/TTOR integration

There will be a public forum on the deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum/The Trustees of Reservations integration plan on Wednesday, March 13 from 7–9 p.m. in the Town Office Building. Representatives of the town, deCordova, and the Trustees will offer a status report, including a preview of the bylaw amendments that will be voted on at the Annual Town Meeting on March 23.

Book talk with Amy Bass benefits Birches School

Amy Bass, author of One Goal: A Coach, A Team, and the Game That Brought a Divided Town Together, will give a talk and book-signing on Tuesday, March 19 from 7–8:30 p.n. on Brooks auditorium. The book tells the story of how the Lewiston, Maine community and its newly arrived Somali immigrants came together on the soccer field to capture the first state soccer championship in city history.

Click here for more information about this event, which is presented by the Birches School in sponsorship with the Lincoln Land Conservation Trust, the Parks & Recreation Department, and Lincoln Youth Soccer. Proceeds will benefit the financial aid fund at the Birches School.The event is free and open to all, but a $15 donation is suggested to go toward Birches School financial aid fund. Copies of the book are $10 when purchased online until March 18 at www.birchesschool.org and will be sold for $15 at the event.

Seniors invited to enjoy music with Magic Garden’s youngest

The Magic Garden Children’s Center invites Lincoln seniors to volunteer in their new Music Together classes with infants and toddlers aged 2 months to almost 3 years old on Tuesday mornings from 9:30–10:30 a.m. in the Stone Church. Volunteers will assist the children as they enjoy the music and activities. Please contact Lori at Magic Garden at 781-259-8161 for more information, or call the Council on Aging at 781-259-8811 to volunteer.

 

Residents debate pros and cons of leaf blower restrictions

Following suggestions at a February 28 public forum, the Leaf Blower Study Committee has drafted amendments to its proposed bylaw such as expanded fall and spring periods when gas-powered machines can be used.

The group this week presented a revised draft to the Board of Selectmen that would add a couple of weeks in March and December, would also allow electric and battery-powered leaf blowers to be used year-round and would grant a grace period in the fall before the bylaw is enforced. “Additional changes are under consideration as well,” said committee chair Jamie Banks.

Under the original bylaw proposal, leaf blowers of any kind could not be used from December 16 through April 14. All types would be permitted during certain hours of the day in the fall and spring (October 1 through December 15, and April 15 through May 31). From June 1 to September 30, one electric or battery-powered leaf blower per lot could be used at a time.

The committee first proposed rules limiting leaf blower use in 2014 but “got shot down pretty substantially” after a public forum (the measure was ultimately passed over at Town Meeting that year), so “we went back to the drawing board” in terms of education around the issue, committee vice chair John Koenig said.

Over the past five years, the Rural Land Foundation (RLF), which owns the Lincoln Mall property, no longer allows its landscaping contractors to use gas-powered leaf blowers except during fall and spring cleanup, which is more or less in keeping with what the bylaw proposes. The same is true for workers on town-owned properties including cemeteries, roadsides, Bemis Hall, the library, the Lincoln School, and Pierce Park, said Dan Pereira, who handles the town mowing and maintenance contract in his capacity as director of the Parks and Recreation Department.

Some were skeptical when the change was first proposed, “but we really never looked back,” he said.

Under the bylaw, gas-powered machines could be used even at normally prohibited times for special events and circumstances with permission of the building inspector, committee members emphasized. Such situations could include clearing lawn debris after the recent wind storm, before a wedding on a resident’s property, or at the start of the academic year on the Lincoln School campus.

But some residents at the forum bristled at the idea of any limits on using their gas-powered leaf blowers. “A lot of people are trying to do the right thing” by buying hybrid vehicles and installing solar panels, “but instead you feel somehow compelled to take the extra step and ban it,” said Mark Deck. He suggested first instituting voluntary guidelines without penalties.

“I really believe you would make more headway with a carrot than a stick. I fear if you take the stick to Town Meeting, you’ll just get shot down again,” he said.

Committee chair Jamie Banks replied that the group, working with the Board of Health, sent letters with guidelines for responsible gas-powered leaf blower use, especially on paved surfaces in South Lincoln, “but it hasn’t worked” with property owners and managers except the RLF.

Part of the problem town-wide is that property owners often aren’t home when their lawn maintenance crews appear during the day with their machines. “People go to work and their contractors come in, so they’re not victimized by the noise they way their neighbors might be,” Banks said. “It’s very hard to build consensus on a problem that a lot of people aren’t exposed to.”

Lincoln’s rural character makes the bylaw impractical, said resident Cricket Kerrebrock. “The towns that have approved this are high-density towns, not two-acre zoning. It’s a density than virtually doesn’t exist in this town except around the mall.”

Resident Len Darling noted that he and others use their gas-powered leaf blowers in the summer to blow grass clippings off his patio, which would not be allowed under the proposed bylaw.

“What you’re saying is ‘go buy an electric one’,” Deck said.

Improved technology

However, electric and battery-powered leaf blowers have improved dramatically in recent years in terms of power, battery life and price, and are quite adequate for that sort of light-duty work, said George Carrette, owner of EcoQuiet Lawn Care in Concord, which uses only electric and manual tools to clear debris. The Conservation Commission also now uses only battery-powered chainsaws for trail maintenance, ConComm chair Peter von Mertens noted.

Electric leaf blowers have other advantages over the gas-powered versions: they last longer, require little or no maintenance, don’t require gasoline and oil, can use the same batteries as other machines such as chainsaws, and are easier to start, noted resident Alex Chatfield.

Restricting use of gas-powered leaf blowers to certain times of year for the sake of public health is comparable to restrictions on outdoor fires, he added. “Libertarian arguments have been around for decades to object to environmental laws. It would be great to live in a world where everyone is sensitive to the environment and impacts on their neighbors and don’t do stuff that’s harmful.”

“There are a lot of people who would like to see no leaf blowers ever, and at the other extreme, no regulation at all,” said committee member Robin Wilkerson. “Over five years we’ve tried to hammer something together that accommodates as many people as possible. We feel like this is a very liberal interpretation of what people can do.”

Town gets good news on school borrowing costs

The stack of bonds awaiting selectmen’s signatures at their meeting on Monday.

The impact on property taxes from the school project won’t be quite as bad as many had feared. The interest rate for the lion’s share of the bonds that the town will issue to fund the project is 3.379%, compared to the 4% and 5% projections outlined by the Finance Committee in November.

The town received eight competitive bids and a glowing bond-rating report, Town Administrator Tim Huggins reported to the Board of Selectmen on Monday night. The town will also retain its AAA bond rating, which he added is unusual for a town taking on this level of debt.

“The property tax impact will be significantly lower than the most conservative of our forecasts were showing,” Higgins said. Officials had been predicting a tax hike of 18–20%, but it now looks like it will be more in the 14–16% range, depending on the interest rate for a second, relatively small “cleanup” bond that will be issued towards the end of construction once the exact final costs are known.

Voters in December approved borrowing a total of $88.5 million for the school project, which will cost a total of $93.9 million. The initial bond is for $80 million; the rest of the funding includes $4.4 million from the town’s debt stabilization fund and $1 million from free cash.

A back-of-the-envelope calculation by Selectman Jonathan Dwyer indicated that the 3.379% interest rate could save the town half a million dollars a year compared to the higher rates that were projected earlier.

The favorable interest rate is largely due to the prudent financial management and planning efforts of current and former town officials, selectmen agreed. “We know [the debt is] going to be burden that all of us have to take on, but it could have been a whole lot more painful. Kudos to all those before us who paved the way,” Selectman James Craig said.

The Finance Committee will present revised tax-impact figures at the School Building Committee meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 27 at 7 p.m. in the Hartwell multipurpose room.  

Letter to the editor: response to leaf-blower proposal critique

To the editor:

As a member of the Leaf Blower Study Committee, I thank Mr. Deck for his thoughtful critique of our initiative (Lincoln Squirrel, February 20, 2019). In truth, I find more common ground than I might have expected, and have only two points of disagreement.

(1) Mr. Deck says his own leaf blower use has no impact on his neighbors. I wonder if that is truly the case — I know from my own neighborhood experience that the sound of gas-powered leaf blowers several properties down from my home carries way farther, and is significantly more intrusive, than the users perhaps know.

(2) The civil disobedience Mr. Deck proposes to practice should the leaf blower by-law pass is a seriously slippery slope. By this same logic, perhaps we could dispense with those annoying stop signs by the library, for example. Reasonable courteous Lincolnites would simply defer to each other voluntarily at that corner. Maybe — but not likely. As a community, we recognize the need to balance individual rights against larger common interests. We believe the proposed leaf blower by-law does that, and we invite Mr. Deck to throw in with us.

Sincerely,

Robin Wilkerson
31 Old Winter St., Lincoln

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.