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

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Property sales in December 2022

(Editor’s note: This was originally posted on February 6 but disappeared due a server hiccup.)

140 Lincoln Rd., Unit 11 — Catherine Dyl to Dilla Tingley for $485,000 (December 28)

2 Bedford Rd. — Geraldine H. Lattimore Trust to Ariane Liazos Revocable Trust for $955,000 (December 18)

11 Oak Meadow — Mark Hurrie to john and Mary Wakeman for $1,475,000 (December 15)

259 Old Concord Rd. — Sandra N. Bradlee Trust to Lakeside Trust for $3,000,000 (December 15)

133 Lincoln Rd. — Martin J. Powers Trust to Thomas Bray and Linda Micu for $700,000 (December 15)

29 Birchwood Lane — Karen M. Moss to Lloyd and Ann Rapoport for $855,000 (December 8)

167 Lexington Rd. — Constitution Properties LLC to Joseph and Meghan Sullivan for $1,200,000 (December 5)

124 Lexington Rd. — James F. Cunningham trust to Lachezar Ranchev and Maya Gotova for $900,000 (December 5)

0 Cambridge Turnpike and 3 Red Maple Lane — Brian P. Cassidy Trust to Vladimir Trostteanetchi and Liubov Nedzelscaia for a total of $495,000 (December 1)

Battle Road Farm owners face hefty assessment

Some of the Battle Road Farm condominiums near Hanscom Field.

The owners of the Battle Road Farm condos are facing a big financial hit to repair or replace  its septic treatment plant this summer. The cost to replace the facility, which is more than 30 years old, and will be spread across the 120 units (48 of which are affordable), is estimated at $1.6–$2.1 million, according to Debra Daugherty of the development’s Board of Trustees.

The formula to determine each unit’s share of the cost is the same for all units based mostly on their “beneficial interest in the condo property,” which relates mainly to the size of the unit, according to Marcia Good, senior property manager at First Realty Management, which manages the development. 

“Battle Road Farm’s on-site septic treatment facility is considered failing and the Mass. Department of Environmental Protection has ordered it repaired or replaced as soon as possible,” Good said. A bank loan for either $1 million or $1.1 million will cover the cost, and “the Board of Trustees will make a decision on the project scope soon,” Good said. “Battle Road Farm has maintained a significant reserve fund; however, it is not unusual for condo communities to make special assessments to cover major capital projects as properties age.”

All owners were first told that they would have to come up with an initial payment of $4,500 by March 1, but faced with the resulting outcry, the Board of Trustees approved a new plan offered by the management company. Owners may now choose to make a lump-sum interest-free payment of approximately $20,000 on that day, or pay in monthly installments (including interest) over 11 years starting on July 1. The specific loan payment amounts are not yet finalized, she said. Those who opt for the installment plan will receive a revised payment schedule in years nine, 10, and 11 because the last three years of loan are variable interest rates.

The project is creating a crisis for owners of affordable units. Many of them bought their homes decades ago and are now retired and living on fixed incomes, but property taxes and regular condo fees keep rising. And because those units have deed restrictions, any owner who wants to sell or mortgage their property must do so in cooperation with the state Department of Housing and Community Development, which determines the asking price.

“A lot of us can’t do that. I can’t do that,” said condo owner Leslie Kilgore, 75, a retired teacher in the Arlington schools who bought her unit in 1999. “I might have to go back to [substitute teaching]. I’m basically hanging on and hoping that something will come through.”

The Lincoln Foundation has already awarded grants to 17 owners of affordable units and is conducting a fundraising campaign (its first since 2009) to help others both this year and into the future. Battle Road Farm residents have also approached the Council on Aging and Human Development and the St. Vincent de Paul Society of Lincoln and Weston for help.

The Lincoln Foundation is a private nonprofit 501(c)(3) entity that was created in 1968 to help preserve a diverse stock of housing in town. It partnered with the Massachusetts Housing Finance Authority in 1973 to develop Lincoln Woods and with a private developer to create the homeownership program at Battle Road Farm starting in 1990. More recently, the foundation has facilitated the resale of affordable deed restricted homes, and it’s also made a handful of home improvement grants to affordable housing owners at Battle Road Farm and Minuteman Commons.

After a flyer was recently mailed to all Lincoln residents about the issue, several donations have already come in, “and that’s encouraging,” said Terri Morgan, the organization’s president. To learn more and donate to the “Bridge the Gap” campaign, click here.

First Realty Management, which has managed Battle Road Farm since 2004, “has worked diligently and collaboratively with the Board of Trustees on the project plans and financial options for the septic treatment system” Good said. “Our property management team is cognizant of the financial impact such projects have on condominium owners and has worked to minimize the impact wherever possible in our advisory role with the board.”

 

Property sales in November 2022

241 Aspen Circle — Maureen Harmonay to Vitaly Huruev for $795,000 (November 30)

68 Winter St. — Mary Lou P. Gauvin Trust to Yi Luo and Qing Gao for $1,220,000 (November 28)

8 Linway Rd. — Christopher Fasciano to Corey and Nicole Ciullo for $1,475,000 (November 18)

319 South Great Rd. — Jeanne Benton to William and Audrey O’Shaughnessy for $1,415,000 (November 8)

 

Property sales in October 2022

166 Tower Rd. — Richard J. Gregory Trust to [names withheld at editor’s discretion] for $2,265,000 (October 31)

35 North Great Rd. — Rosalind Brooks Stowe to the Maharishi Foundation for $2,000,000 (October 28)

34 Laurel Drive — Sophie Freud to Andrew and Alexandra Reiter for $1,570,000 (October 7)

7 Oakdale Lane — William D. Lewis to [names withheld at editor’s discretion] for $1,695,000 (October 6)

Proposed zoning changes will come up for votes in March

Lincolnites will have a chance to vote on two bylaw changes — one to South Lincoln commercial zoning and the other to accessory apartment rules — at the annual Town Meeting in March. The Planning Board presented the proposals on the second night of Lincoln’s State of the Town meeting on November 15. 

Surveys have shown “overwhelming support for enhancing commercial viability” in the South Lincoln village area, and the 2009 long-range plan called for a “vibrant” village center, “but we don’t think anyone would use the word vibrant to describe the area,” Planning Board Chair Robert Domnitz said. The Housing Choice Act will also require the town to allow denser housing within half a mile of the train station. And while residents and the board support mixed-use development, the current zoning rules make that difficult. Developers have been “discouraged by the complex procedures laid out in our zoning bylaw,” he said.

The village area currently includes two business zones: B1 (the mall plus a few properties south of Lincoln Road) and B2 (an area west of the tracks stretching from Doherty’s Garage to the Department of Public Works), but they have different emphases. B1 allows retail and professional business by right, but not residences. B2 allows single-family and limited multifamily housing by right, but most new business uses require a special permit from the Planning Board and a variance from the Zoning Board of Appeals. Even then, the permit must be renewed periodically and can’t be transferred to a new owner when the property is sold.

The Planning Board is considering two options: dropping the special permit requirement for uses in the B2 zone that are allowed by right in B1, or somehow merging the two zones  to “create a more holistic vision of a village center,” Domnitz said. The overarching goal is to encourage mixed use with a higher residential density while preserving the character of the village center area.

A broader proposal to rezone the village area stirred up strong opposition in 2019, especially from residents living in condos and apartments on Ridge Road. In contrast this time, zoning in all the nearby residential areas “are outside the scope of our effort,” Domnitz said.

Accessory apartments

The second proposed zoning change would encourage more accessory apartments by streamlining the need for property owners to get approval from both the Planning Board of the ZBA if the proposed accessory apartment is part of the main dwelling. The building inspector would be empowered to approve any construction after ensuring plans conform to the existing rules on proportional size of the apartment, having a separate entrance and dedicated parking space, etc.

If the apartment is to be a separate building on the property, the applicant would still have to get a permit from the ZBA but can bypass the Planning Board. Owners could charge rent but could not “condo-ize” the accessory apartment; it would have to remain legally part of the primary residence.

Voters approved a previous set of changes to accessory apartment rules by razor-thin margins in 2021.

The goal for both measures is to “streamline regulations and procedures that provide no benefit to the town and needlessly burden property owners, Domnitz said.

Property sales in August 2022

248 Lincoln Rd. — Badri Raghavan Trust to Adam McDermott and Melissa Deck for $1,450,000 (August 25)

167 Lexington Rd. — Sylvia A. Lafauci Trust to Constitution Properties LLC for $975,000 (August 10)

281 South Great Rd. — Elizabeth Cherniack to Savanna Brewer and Rishi Paramar for $685,000 (August 8)

7 Oak Meadow Rd. — Maria Ansin to Vandana Palreddy for $1,697,000 (August 5)

54 Bedford Rd. — Rand Alexander to Jeanna Simeone and Heather Quadir for $2,160,000 (August 3)

140 Lincoln Rd. — Frances Doyle to Judith Curtin for $480,000 (August 3)

8-3 Ridge Rd. — Julianne Etcheverry to Daniel Abate for $455,000 (August 1)

State of the Town meetings look to the future

There will be a two-night State of the Town meeting via Zoom in mid-November with an overarching theme: “What should Lincoln be like in 2050?”

“Lincoln’s boards and committees are focused on work that will have long-term implications for and impacts on our town. There are conversations about housing, education, human services, multi-modal transportation, diversity and equity, land use, and climate change (to name but a few),” the Select Board said in their most recent newsletter. “Many topics are interrelated and require us to think about our values, envision the future, and weigh (sometimes difficult) tradeoffs. We need your ideas, insights, questions, and dreams to guide our work as we draft the plans, policy proposals, and budgets that you will vote on at subsequent Town Meetings.”

Residents are invited to read and respond to a “Letter to Our Grandchildren” by the 1971 Planning Board excerpted in the Select Board newsletter that outlined issues of the day including zoning, housing prices, roadside paths, and even trash (“We wonder whether you will have solved the problem of solid waste? Maybe our best hope is that you will be wise enough to produce less of it…”).

Discussion questions for today include:

  • How would you describe Lincoln in 2022? (housing, transportation, human services, education, diversity & equity, town governance, land use practices, energy consumption, etc.)
  • What is your vision for 2050?
  • What would you include in a new “letter to our grandchildren”? What actions do we need to take to fulfill your vision? What are your top priorities?

Send a few words, a few paragraphs, photos, poetry or whatever conveys your ideas using this form. The deadline is Tuesday, Nov. 1.

The State of the Town schedule and topics of discussion are listed below. The links can also be found on the town’s SOTT web page.

Monday, Nov. 14 at 7 p.m. — Night 1 (Zoom event — register here)

  • Community Center Building Committee
  • Council on Aging & Human Services
  • Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, & Anti-Racism (IDEA) Committee

Tuesday, Nov. 15 at 7 p.m. — Night 2 (Zoom event — register here)

  • Planning Board
  • Conservation, Rural Land Foundation/Lincoln Land Conservation Trust
  • Green Energy/Climate Action
  • Bicycle & Pedestrian Advisory Committee

Officials mull revised Housing Choice Act guidelines

Lincoln now has a clearer idea of what it will have to do if it wants to comply with a state law that requires towns with public transportation stops to allow a significant amount of multifamily housing.

Lincoln was one of dozens of Massachusetts towns designated by the ​​Housing Choice Act (HCA) as an “MBTA community” by virtue of its commuter rail stop. The draft guidelines released earlier this year by the Department of Housing and Community Development would have required Lincoln to allow 750 units of multifamily housing within half a mile of the train station (15 units per acre over 50 acres) without requiring a special permit or zoning variance or amendment. Site plan review based on general design guidelines, traffic circulation, and screening would be allowed as long as those conditions do not make it “infeasible or impractical to proceed.”

As hoped, the revised guidelines allow some flexibility for towns that don’t have 50 acres of buildable land within the prescribed radius because of wetlands, obstructing physical features, or issues with water supply or Title V septic regulations. Based on that, Lincoln now has 42 or 43 acres of land that are subject to the rules, Paula Vaughn-MacKenzie said in a presentation to the Select Board and Planning Board last week.

A somewhat complicated formula under the new guidelines indicates that Lincoln would be required to allow either 692 or 563 units in one or more multifamily zones, depending on whether or not the Hanscom housing units are counted (an as-yet-unanswered question). The state is allowing MBTA communities to split the multifamily zone into two parcels, so part of the district could be in another part of town such as North Lincoln which already has denser housing (though at least 20% of the acreage must be within the half-mile MBTA radius). 

Other details:

  • A municipality may establish sub-districts with different density requirements and limitations provided the district as a whole meets the requirement.
  • Any development must comply with Title V septic and the state Wetlands Protection Act even if compliance means the development will be less dense than 15 units per acre.
  • Developers must provide water and septic treatment for any approved units. 
  • There may not be any age restrictions or limitations on the size of units, the number and size of bedrooms, or the number of occupants in a unit.

If the town eventually does not comply with the HCA, it will lose eligibility for three categories of state grant programs including MassWorks, a major infrastructure program that has provided million of dollars  to other area towns in recent years. Lincoln has never applied for money from this program, “but it is an amazing source of funding,” Vaughn-MacKenzie said. “That is something to be taken pretty seriously.” Among the possible future Lincoln targets for MassWords grants: stormwater improvements, Ballfield Road septic improvements (if needed) in support of a community center, water main replacements, and MBTA station upgrades.

More ominously, a town’s compliance with the HCA may “inform funding decisions” for other state sources, she added. Lincoln received about $570,000 in various types of state funding in 2021. The law will “have a significant impact on the town, whether we choose to comply or not,” Planning Board member Margaret Olson noted last winter.

The town must submit an action plan and timelines by Jan. 31, 2023 and be ready to apply for final compliance (e.g., with new zoning rules drawn up and ready for a town vote) by Dec. 31, 2024. A working group with members from relevant boards will be created to meet the first deadline and chart the process going forward.

Lincoln has already had many discussions about allowing dense housing and mixed-use development in South Lincoln, “and this is looking not inconsistent with what the town has already talked about,” Olson said last week. “It isn’t as onerous as it sounds. We don’t have to produce housing, just zoning.”

The town won’t need to rezone single-family neighborhoods to do this, but instead focus on areas that already have multifamily zoning, she added. “I don’t think we need to panic. I don’t know exactly what it is yet, but there is a path.”

Property sales in August 2022

7 Todd Pond Rd. — Carolyn Birmingham Trust to Nora Iluri for $1,752,00 (July 27)

46D Indian Camp Lane — Benjamin Herzig to Sungil Jung and and Yurim Yi for $322,295 (July 20)

143 Chestnut Circle — Donald Kennedy to Gloria Dimambro for $760,000 (July 15)

338 South Great Rd. — Stephen Amelia to Wajdi and Polina Kanj for $1,950,000 (July 13)

48 Conant Rd. — Meghan K. Lytton Trust to Jonathan Sheffi and Judyta Frodyma for $2,650,000 (July 12)

54 Conant Rd. — Meghan K. Lytton to Marit van Buuren and Willem Ruben for $1,625,000 (July 8)

23D South Commons — Philip Loheed to Rudolph Huspas for $678,910 (July 7)

0 Conant Rd. — Martha Davis Trust to Jame and Camilla Ross for $1,300,000 (July 1)

Property sales in June 2022

75 Todd Pond Rd. — Samuel Newell to Yuval Kohavi and Elise Goldman for $2,518,000 (June 1)

247 Lincoln Rd. — Bruce MacNeil to Sean Armstrong and Leslie Hill for $1,496,000 (June 1)

16 Minebrook Rd. — Sungik  Paik to Filip Zembowicz and Helen Havlak for $1,836,000 (June 3)

39 Weston Rd. — Maxwell Semler to Gail O’Keefe and Samuel Melton for $1,800,000 (June 7)

91 Tower Rd. — John V. Kania Trust to Shergul Arshad and Sophie Dixon for $1,516,900 (June 13)

0 Tower Rd. — John V. Kania to Shergul Arshad and Sophie Dixon for $95,000 (June 13)

23 Sandy Pond Rd. — Thomas G. Murdough III to Sycamore Rows LLC for $2,000,000 (June 15)

191 Concord Rd. — Douglas Stinson to Jason and Tessa McLure for $1,437,000 (June 15)

58 Trapelo Rd. — Diamond Capital Inc. to Reese and Reagan Mozer for $2,300,000 (June 21)

33 Page Rd. — Ronald Marcks to Kevin Guarnotta and Laura Cuozzo-Guarnotta for $1,850,000 (June 22)

1 Forester Rd. — Christopher Mano to Lawrence and Amanda Leef for $1,810,000 (June 22)

21 Oak Meadow Rd. — Mark Hochman to Matthew and Asli Grace for $1,075,000 (June 28)

241 Aspen Circle — Robert A. Lemire Trust for Maureen Harmonay for $750,000 (June 30)

245 Lincoln Rd. — Kennie Huber to John and Victoria Cooper for $1,000,000 (June 30)

22 Warbler Springs Rd. — Mahmood Ghaffari to Eight Lakes LLC for $3,150,000 (June 30)