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

land use

South Lincoln panel is now a five-member “SLPAC”

The Planning Board voted on June 9 to reorganize and rename the South Lincoln Planning and Implementation Committee (SLPIC), but not until after a lengthy debate about the makeup and responsibilities of panel’s new incarnation.

The board began discussing downsizing SLPIC last week in the wake of opposition to one of its initiatives. With the help of consultants, SLPIC’s Village Planning and Zoning subcommittee drew up proposed regulations that would rezone part of South Lincoln to allow more commercial and housing development and also allow the fate of some projects to be decided by the Planning Board rather than Town Meeting.

Originally the plan was going to be voted on at the Annual Town Meeting in March, but before the Covid-19 pandemic hit, it was delayed until the fall . The plan has now been permanently shelved after numerous residents objected at a forum in February.

Last week, the board acknowledged that the 12-member SLPIC was unwieldy, sometimes failing to achieve a quorum even though it met infrequently. Meanwhile, it was difficult for residents to follow the work of the five-person Village Planning and Zoning subcommittee, whose plan was unveiled at a public forum in May 2019.

“It felt very much to residents that this work was pretty finalized, set in stone, and ready for a vote at March Town Meeting,” said Jessica Packineau, a Lincoln Road resident and an organizer of a coalition protesting the rezoning and approval process proposals.

The board agreed that the next iteration of SLPIC would be more transparent and do a better job of publicizing its meetings and ramping up outreach as the latest School Building Committee did after the failed 2012 Town Meeting vote. 

At this week’s meeting, Planning Board member Lynn DeLisi initially said SLPIC should be disbanded entirely. “I just don’t see the purpose any more — it causes a lot of controversy,” she said. The full Planning Board, not SLPIC or one of its subcommittees, should be in charge of drafting rezoning proposals, she added.

But other board members objected to that idea, saying that it was too much work for the board (which meets every other week) to manage along with its regular duties of deciding on development applications. “We couldn’t have other things on our agenda, and we will all have to be meeting at least once a week and sometimes twice a week to get the work done,” chair Margaret Olson said.

“Devoting 98% of our time devoted to one part of the town doesn’t feel like it’s serving our mandate to address planning across Lincoln generally,” board member Rick Rundell said.

Eventually, members unanimously decided to keep the subcommittee but to rename it the South Lincoln Planning Advisory Committee (SLPAC). Other subcommittees of the former SLPIC can remain as well, depending on the willingness of their members to continue serving. Those teams will probably evolve in name and purview as well.

DeLisi argued that the new SLPAC should have seven or eight members rather than five, and that at least one member should be a resident of the area under rezoning discussion. But this also met with opposition. 

“It’s very dicey trying to pick one person to represent South Lincoln [residents],” said board member Steve Gladstone. For reasons of accountability with voters, all the members should be people who are already elected officials, he added.

“Once you start going down the stakeholder path, you’re on a very slippery slope,” Olson agreed. South Lincoln residents include house and condo owners as well as renters, so “who do you leave out?”

The board last week was moving toward creating a five-person successor to SLPIC consisting of two members from the Planning Board, one from the Housing Commission, one Selectman, and perhaps a fifth member to be decided. 

This week, DeLisi advocated a seven-member SPLAC with representatives from the Board of Health and the Conservation Commission as well as a resident, but the board voted down that idea 4-1. It subsequently voted by the same margin (with DeLisi voting “nay”) to go forward with the five-member plan, with the fifth coming from the Finance Committee.

Before the vote, former Planning Board member Bob Domnitz advocated postponing any decisions until after the June 15 election in which he, DeLisi, and Rundell and vying for two seats. “It would be nice if there was confidence that this [SLPAC reorganization] would still be a workable arrangement next week. I don’t think people necessarily have that confidence at this point,” he said. “Are you really sure you want to do this tonight?”

After the election, the board will write the charge for SLPAC and discuss which specific residents it will comprise.

My Turn: Reelect Lynn DeLisi and Rick Rundell to Planning Board

By Ken Bassett and Mary Helen Lorenz

This delayed Town Meeting [period] includes what I consider two important elections for seats on the Planning Board: a seat held by Lynn DeLisi and one by Rick Rundell. Both Lynn and Rick are running for reelection. Mary Helen and I support their reelection based in no small part on their role in making the business of the board run more smoothly with greater reliance on professional staff, heightened respect for resident’s needs, and efforts to look to future needs of the town.

By contrast, we do not support Bob Dominitz’s run for a Planning Board seat which he lost in 2015 after 12 years on the board. During his tenure, I was before the board on two projects that Bob opposed as having the potential for significant negative impacts — the revitalization of the Mall with its accommodation of the new post office, and the replacement of the Stearns Room at First Parish Church Lincoln. Both projects were ultimately approved, but not without Bob’s numerous claims of potential impacts that in the end were not substantiated. It is Bob’s negative view of planning and problem-solving that, if he is elected, will not serve this town well as we face important challenges in a changing world.

We strongly urge your support for the reelection of Lynn DeLisi and Rick Rundell.

Sincerely,

Kenneth Bassett and Mary Helen Lorenz
37 Page Rd., Lincoln

”My Turn” is a forum for Lincoln residents to offer their 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: Reelect Rundell and DeLisi to Planning Board

By Joe Robbat

This year’s election is important. We need to reelect Rick Rundell and Lynn DeLisi to the Planning Board because, like their current board colleagues, they are committed to town planning — the board’s most important contribution to the town, in my view.

Thoughtful, prescient land use recommendations to town meetings from Planning Boards dating to the 1930s caused many of us to move to Lincoln and raise children in this bucolic landscape. The Planning Board has led the way and now they are leading again as the town envisions and plans. It is only the Planning Board who has the responsibility and tools to do so.

Rick is a proven town leader, having chaired the board in the past, and brings to it important public and private-sector land use skills. He is an architect whose insights are helpful to the boards deliberative process. I know Rick and his wife Virginia (who was on the board of Friends of Modern Architecture). I only know Lynn from being in front of the board as an applicant. I found her gracious, welcoming, and helpful. They are both sensitive to applicants and believe in the benefits of living in community.

Please vote next Monday, June 15.

Joe Robbat
151 Old Concord Rd., Lincoln

”My Turn” is a forum for Lincoln residents to offer their 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: (Re)-elect Domnitz to the Planning Board

By Sara Mattes

I first met Bob Domnitz when I was the Board of Selectmen’s liaison to the Planning Board. I have watched Bob, over his previous tenure, navigate tough issues, come up with innovative solutions, engage with citizens with respect, and sometimes be on the receiving end of blasting critique. All the while, he maintained his droll sense of good humor.

First and foremost, Bob demonstrated over and over his sense of duty to the community as a whole, and the importance that all of us be part of critical decisions about directions for our town through the Town Meeting vote. Bob is “old school” that way — he trusted the messy business of democracy, encouraging debate and discussion, seeking full participation, and weighing all points before declaring his own.

[My role on the Planning Board] was only advisory. While I did not agree with him on all issues, I always respected his commitment to inclusiveness and open debate. He always brought all of us in to make the final decision

In addition to his role as collaborator in chief, I watched him navigate the tricky world of cell towers. His legal and technical expertise was critical for us to bring cell coverage to the town while making every effort to have as little deleterious impact on abutters, and where possible, bring revenues into the town. This was not easy. With the increased use of cell phones, demand for coverage increased, but so did resistance to having a tower looming from a neighbor’s yard.

The town faces many planning challenges ahead, not the least of which is the effort to revitalize South Lincoln and ensure the economic viability of our small retail district. Bob has demonstrated his commitment to bring all stakeholders, especially abutters, to the table, and giving them a voice and a vote. Past practice is proof that he believes that when making major changes to the town, the role of the Planning Board is to bring forward options and create a place to openly and freely debate the pros and cons of each path… and then, let the town decide.

That is why Bob Domnitz has my vote for Planning Board in this election.

Sara Mattes
71 Conant Rd., Lincoln

”My Turn” is a forum for Lincoln residents to offer their 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.

South Lincoln planning group to be downsized

A July 2019 overview of some of SLPIC’s completed and proposed improvements to the Lincoln Station area (click image to enlarge).

The South Lincoln Planning and Implementation Committee will be restructured into a smaller group and will shelve its South Lincoln rezoning proposal, at least for now

SLPIC was created in late 2016 as part of an effort to revitalize the area around the MBTA station and the Lincoln mall by enabling more business development and moderately priced housing while also encouraging pedestrian traffic and train ridership. Its subcommittees fostered projects to create a “pocket park” next and wayfinding signs, draw up a list of improvements for the MBTA station, and study the possibility of relocating the Department of Public Works to a site next to the transfer station to free up land on Lewis Street for other uses — an idea that met with protests from North Lincoln residents.

Last year, SLPIC unveiled a sweeping proposal to rezone parcels of land in South Lincoln to encourage mixed-use development with denser housing that what’s now allowed. It would also have streamlined the permitting process so that some projects could be approved by the Planning Board rather than having to go to Town Meeting. But many residents at two public forums, especially one in February 2020, were not receptive to the idea.

The committee also suffered from being simultaneously too large and too small, Planning Board members said at a May 26 meeting. It was large enough that it sometimes had trouble achieving a quorum for meetings, yet it did not include residents of the areas that would be affected, particularly the condo developments on Ridge Road.

“There was concern that opening that area up to more concentrated redevelopment might actually undercut some of the only middle-range housing in Lincoln,” Planning Board member and SLPIC co-chair Gary Taylor said.

The feedback the board received indicated that “it’s time for a bit of a rethink on how to approach this [and] find a middle ground between getting something done and letting the Planning Board loose to overdevelop the area,” Taylor added. However, because of the economic circumstances of South Lincoln businesses and the town as a whole, “we can’t really sit back and do nothing,” he added. “The problem is getting everyone to yes.”

Board members also recognized that SLIPC’s successor needs to gather more public input as it forms its proposals. “We need to get to a point where that group is meeting with the public and interested parties on some pretty regular, well publicized and well understood cadence,” chair Margaret Olson said.

“It was almost an economic development committee,” SLPIC co-chair Lynn DeLisi said. “It’s time for a change.”

The original plan was to have a vote on the rezoning proposal at a Special Town Meeting in the fall. Now the Planning Board will come up with a charge for the new group and discuss it with the Board of Selectmen before voting on a formal move. Olson proposed a smaller committee consisting of two members from the Planning Board, one from the Board of Selectmen and one from the Housing Commission.

“I am from the bottom of my heart grateful for listening to us in South Lincoln,” resident Jessica Packineau told the board. Packineau was one of the organizers of United Residents for Responsible Redevelopment, a neighborhood coalition that took issue with the rezoning proposal at the February forum.

“You all are going in the right direction,” Greenridge Lane resident June Matthews said. “All I ask for is representation of the constituents in the area.”

My Turn: DeLisi makes her case for reelection to Planning Board

(Editor’s note: DeLisi is one of three residents running for two seats on the Planning Board. The Lincoln Squirrel published statements by all three candidates in March and new statements from Rick Rundell and Bob Domnitz earlier this week. There will be an online forum for the candidates on June 11.)

Dear neighbors,

I am once again reaching out to you to ask for your vote in the upcoming Lincoln election. The fact that a seat on the Planning Board is an elected one is significant. This means that you have a choice to decide who represents you.

My background and training are not as important as what I believe in and whether I will stand up and represent what you believe in. Here is what I am for:

  • Responsible planning by collaboration with neighborhoods
  • Sensitivity to the feelings of abutters, the most affected by change
  • Keeping a DPW Site out of North Lincoln
  • Keeping the South Lincoln commercial district vibrant, but not dense with new housing
  • Keeping North Lincoln residents free from any more adversity
  • Regulations that preserve Lincoln’s unique rural and farm-friendly atmosphere
  • Preserving the historical significance of some of Lincoln’s neighborhoods and the designated historical districts
  • The highest quality education available to our children in safe facilities
  • A community center that serves our residents well
  • Safe and supportive facilities for senior residents
  • Keeping the availability of harmful substances away from our young generation
  • And… keeping Lincoln safe

While a member of the Planning Board, I actively participated in:

  • Several controversial decisions that affected the wellbeing of residents and their neighborhoods, such as whether or not marijuana establishments should be in Lincoln
  • Changing and simplifying some of the complicated process that new homeowners find in dealing with the Planning Board
  • The change of planning directors not long after I began (and drove that process)

I immediately understood the issues raised by McLean Hospital in setting up a residential home in Lincoln and misnaming therapy “education.” And I understood very clearly from my own research studies the effects marijuana establishments would have on our town. I spoke up and was active on all these issues and more. Most importantly, I listened to and consistently was sensitive to the concerns of abutters about change.

Although you may say, “Why does a psychiatrist/neuroscientist who bridges gaps between research and the clinic think she knows enough to be on a town Planning Board?” However, my seven years on the Planning Board have taught me a range of planning and architectural principles, adding up to more years than I actually spent in medical school. Scientific methods need to be applied more in our decisions than would be imagined. My background and experience have certainly helped my decision-making on the Planning Board.

One last word, with specific regard to the South Lincoln Planning and Implementation Committee: I was not happy with the way it was running from almost its beginning, and was the first to advocate that it be radically revised or abolished. It was only last week that other members of the Planning Board all agreed to change it. However, I still am advocating for a member of the committee of five to be someone who represents the residents most affected.

I welcome comments, suggestions, and concerns anytime. You can email me at DeLisi76@aol.com or call me at 516-528-5366.

Sincerely,

Lynn E DeLisi
125 South Great Rd.

”My Turn” is a forum for Lincoln residents to offer their 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: Feinberg endorses Domnitz for Planning Board

Dear Lincolnites,

It’s been a while since you heard from me. Some of you may remember me as the guy who wrote that weekly column in the Lincoln Journal about life and politics in Lincoln. Well, I’m ba-ack! At least for this one time, to wholeheartedly endorse Bob Domnitz for the Planning Board.

Bob is running for re-election because of his concern about the Planning Board’s current efforts to usurp Town Meeting’s role in approving significant development projects within the town. The Planning Board would like to revise the Zoning Bylaw so it alone would become the final arbiter on such projects, rather than Town Meeting.

Lincoln has an almost 300-year time-honored tradition and history of the Town Meeting form of government. Now is not the time to strip Town Meeting of its authority and weaken it. Join me in electing Bob Domnitz to the Planning Board.

Sincerely,

Neil Feinberg
104 Concord Rd., Lincoln

”My Turn” is a forum for Lincoln residents to offer their 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 candidate forum on June 11

Lincoln resident Sharon Antia will host a forum on Zoom with the three Planning Board candidates running for two openings in the June 15 election on Thursday, June 11 at 7 p.m.

If you have a question you’d like to ask one or more of the candidates, please email it to sharon.antia@gmail.com and she will compile and ask as many questions as possible. Alternatively, on the evening of the forum, we will accept questions via the chat function in Zoom as time allows. Questions that have already been suggested include:

  • How will planning in Lincoln be influenced by the new world order? How will Lincoln’s relationship with Massachusetts, the nation at large, and the world influence any planning decisions? Do current events suggest we have any responsibility to think about the world at large when we think about planning in Lincoln?
  • How will the town support our local restaurants through this pandemic?
  • Is there anything the Planning Board can do to support social distancing and community building? 
  • What about housing, the transfer station, the DPW, and South and North Lincoln? What is the Planning Board’s role, and how should they collaborate with other boards and commissions?
  • And what about the school? Some people are worried that the refurbished building may be obsolete in a few years, or are wondering if we should reconsider the tax burden on residents What, if anything, can or should the Planning Board do to review the current school plans and potentially suggest alternatives?

Link to join the candidate’s forum:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86813510489?pwd=akR2WVZKWUY2djE3OFAyTlBCaTExZz09

  • Meeting ID: 868 1351 0489
  • Password: 310709

Click here to learn about early voting and voting by absentee ballot, and to obtain forms for either option. You can also vote in person on June 15 from 12–4 p.m. at Town Hall.

More information:

My Turn: Rundell touts importance and accomplishments of Planning Board

Editor’s note: Rundell previously wrote a letter to the editor in February announcing that he was running for reelection, and he was included in a roundup of Planning Board candidates published on March 5.)

By Rick Rundell

Dear Lincoln neighbors,

I’m running for re-election to the Planning Board, which I have been serving on since 2013. I’m joined for the only contested seats in this year’s election by my friends and colleagues, incumbent Lynn DeLisi and former member Bob Domnitz. I have nothing but admiration and deep respect for each.

The Lincoln Squirrel invited each of us to share some thoughts with their readers before the election was postponed back in March. Since then, a lot of things have changed, and I’d like to introduce my candidacy for the June 15 election now.

As I am the only architecture professional on the board or among the candidates, your vote for me brings a uniquely effective and meaningful voice to the important work of that body.

I have four decades of experience in the building industry. I am a member of the American Institute of Architects and hold credentials from the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB) and the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program of the US Green Building Council. I presently lead innovation programs focused on the architecture, engineering, and construction for a global design software company.

I’m proud of contributing to many important things the Planning Board has accomplished during my tenure. I am most proud, however, of advancing the professionalization of the board and streamlining its operations. Today’s board no longer keeps applicants, abutters and stakeholders into the late hours of the night as we debate minutiae and then ask for return visits to cover simple administrative measures. By empowering our capable professional planning staff, we respect the time and resources of our applicants and the commitment of our volunteer board members. At Town Meeting in 2018, we eliminated the burdensome and procedurally questionable “pre-meeting” requirement which obliged every applicant to attend at least two board meetings and often more before getting anything done.

At that same 2018 Town Meeting, we also limited with a five-year sunset provision the creeping expansion of Site Plan Review. Prior to this, property after property had become permanently encumbered with the obligation to bring even the most trivial improvements before the board. Changes that many residents could make as of right were closed off to properties once they had fallen under Site Plan Review. I am proud to have successfully advocated for the Planning Board to rein back its own authority, which threatened fair processes and a level playing field for citizens of the town.

I am least proud of the number of in-person meetings I had to miss during my last term due to professional obligations. Struggles with attendance are inevitable if the town hopes to attract active, engaged industry professionals to serve on town boards and committees. I am committed to doing a better job of over my next term. Sadly, circumstances related to the pandemic over the coming year will likely make this easier.

These are extraordinary times. We are isolating ourselves and wearing protective gear to engage in the most routine tasks of community life. Our cities are burning with rage and fear. A generation is losing confidence in the shared values on which our democracy has been built. We question what one citizen, one local board, or one small town can do to make a difference.

When we started campaigning in March, the most important question in the world seemed to be what authority our open Town Meeting might be willing to entrust to a group of elected board members. While I do support Town Meeting as a venue for important town planning and development changes, today that seems a discussion for another day. Today the most important questions in the world are overwhelming and seem to change every day. Today, more than ever before, it is important for our town to be led by creative, active, and engaged citizens bringing a broad, professional, and experienced perspective to our local challenges and opportunities.

If you value, as do I, the broad engagement of our citizens and community in public process; objective, respectful and fair treatment of all stakeholders; and the appropriate role of town government in our lives and property, then  I ask for your vote this coming June 15 or whenever you complete your absentee ballot.

With gratitude for your consideration,

Rick Rundell
76 Todd Pond Rd., Lincoln
rick.rundell@gmail.com
rickrundell.com

”My Turn” is a forum for Lincoln residents to offer their 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: Robert Domnitz on why he’s running for Planning Board again

(Editor’s note: Following is a statement submitted to the Lincoln Squirrel by Robert Domnitz, who is running in the only contested race in this year’s local election. He was included in a roundup of Planning Board candidates published on March 5. In 2015, he narrowly lost a race for reelection to Gary Taylor.)

By Robert Domnitz
Why I’m running for Planning Board (again!)

I previously served on the Lincoln Planning Board for 12 years, from 2003–15. I’m hoping to come out of “retirement” because I think our current Planning Board is heading in the wrong direction regarding revitalization of the Lincoln Station area. They are developing a complex revision to the town ‘s zoning bylaw which they believe will foster increased business activity and greater housing density.

Although this goal deserves town-wide consideration and debate, a key feature of their proposal is that they — and they alone — will have authority to approve large-scale development proposals without review by our Town Meeting. This is a dramatic departure from our traditional reliance on Town Meeting for major decisions. It will allow a five member Planning Board to make unreviewable decisions about changes to one of Lincoln’s most important and diverse neighborhoods.

As a member of the Planning Board, I will work to ensure that our Town Meeting continues to play the central role in Lincoln’s decisions about land use. I believe that the Planning Board’s current effort to foster revitalization of Lincoln Station without meaningful participation of Town Meeting is needlessly divisive. Conversely, with Town Meeting’s participation, we have the opportunity to welcome projects that appeal to neighbors, business owners, and the Town at large.

My core values: preserve the town’s character, strengthen our community

Our Zoning Bylaw is an expression of these same core values, allowing us to manage growth and change responsibly while respecting our historic and rural heritage. We benefit in Lincoln from the farsighted, altruistic actions of residents who conserved large tracts of land and adopted strategic preservation-oriented zoning. We are all stewards of this precious legacy.

My background
  • Public sector (municipal): Lincoln Planning Board; Lexington Planning Board; Hanscom Field Advisory Commission; Route 2 Oversight Committee; Battle Road Scenic Byway Committee.
  • Private Sector: president (retired), Technical Collaborative, Inc., an electronics R&D firm.
  • Education: B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. in electrical engineering from MIT,  J.D. from Boston College Law School,
  • Contact: 781 259-1080, electbobpb@outlook.com

”My Turn” is a forum for Lincoln residents to offer their 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.