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

land use

Outdoor watering now limited to once a week

Residents on town water must now limit non-essential outdoor watering to one day a week because of this summer’s drought conditions, though agricultural watering is exempt from these restrictions.

After above-normal temperatures in July and early August and more than three months of below-normal rainfall, state Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Kathleen Theoharides declared a Level 2 – Significant Drought in all seven regions of the Commonwealth. Lincoln’s Water Commission subsequently voted to move to Stage 3 drought restrictions as specified in the town’s Drought Management Plan.

Lincoln water customers may water established lawns and landscaping on their assigned day using in-ground irrigation systems or hose-mounted sprinklers between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m. Those with even-numbered street addresses may water on Saturdays and odd-numbered addresses on Sundays. Hand-watering using a hose is allowed any day of the week between 6 p.m. and 9 a.m.

Exceptions for new lawns are allowed only during June and September and will be limited to watering during the first 20 days after installation. In addition, swimming pools may be filled no more than three inches per month, and car washing is prohibited.

People with home gardens must follow the residential restrictions for non-essential watering, since hand-watering should be sufficient. Those who officially qualify as farmers, however, are allowed to water as needed. This includes customers who have been approved for agricultural water rates and those whose property meets the definition of “farm” as outlined in the town’s agricultural zoning bylaws.

The Water Department will issue warnings and potentially fines to customers who violate the watering restrictions.

Property sales in June

148 Lincoln Rd. — Jessica Packineau to Ethan and Bridget Healy for $890,000 (June 30)

37 Laurel Drive — Terrence Warzecha to Carlota Vinals y de Basols for $1,505,000 (June 29)

9 Rockwood Lane — Ruth D. Williams Trust to Rosaline Salifu and Andy Alhassan for $605,000 (June 29)

4 Garland Rd. — Sonja Wolfsberg to Kimberly and Gregory Goldmacher for $1,837,500 (June 29)

104 Codman Rd. — Arthur Cotoni to Carl Angiolillo and Shira Horowitz for $1,155,000 (June 26)

11 Linway Rd. — Donald H. Wilson Trust to Jacob Lehrhoff and Philana Gnatowski for $900,000 (June 25)

82 Virginia Rd. #402 — Susan Isbell to Maureen Onigman for $174,505 (June 16)

98 Codman Rd. — Maureen Onigman to David Onigman for $700,000 (June 15)

42 Silver Hill Rd. — Liam Spaeth to Craig Bloem for $1,955,000 (June 12)

23 Conant Rd. — Alexander MacLean to Benjamin Armstrong and Gabrielle Emanuel for $1,319,000 (June 5)

80 Birchwood Lane — Guilbert Winchell to Clark Winchell and Katherine Brustowicz for $1,000,000 (June 1)

16 Pine Ridge Rd. — Lawrence Paige Pagliarani to Robert and Morgan Lyon for $825,000 (June 1)

Property sales in May 2020

40 Huckleberry Hill Rd. — Susan E. Conway to Alexandra Chomut and Christopher E. Brook for $1,800,000 (May 29)

41 Greenridge Lane — Patrick Greene to Christopher McCarty and Nataly Dvash for $550,000 (May 27)

59 Winter St. — Richard Wiggin to Marcus and Nicole Ruopp for $1,420,000 (May 18)

3 Smith Hill Road — Piyush Srinivastava to Brendon and Rachel Reiff for $1,150,000 (May 8)

21 Birchwood Lane — Alan J. Shapiro to Anthony M. Dubon and Kary K. Lee-Dubon for $598,320 (May 8)

54 Conant Rd. — Mary Q. Pope to Meghan K. Lytton for $1,090,000 (May 6)

Sandy Pond Rd. — Joseph Kasputys to [name withheld at editor’s discretion] for $1,078,000 (May 2)

Property sales in March and April 2020

10 Stratford Way — Zovag Guldalian to Hong Tan and Shuihuang Hua for $2,550,000 (April 17)

242 Aspen Circle — Jean P. Gosselin to Laura Sher for $535,000 (April 17)

9 Oakdale Lane — Scott Lovering to Adam Jaskievic and Andrew Morton for $1,340,000 (April 10)

72 Winter St. — Edward Babrich to Harrison R. and Emma S. Shulman for $1,455,000 (April 2)

78 Codman Rd. — James Fleming to Amy B. Finkelstein and John Nolan for $1,320,000 (March 31)

144 Trapelo Rd. — Leonard Darling to Amy B. Naughton Trust for $1,949,000 (March 25)

136 Weston Rd. — Robert H. Mason to Jude T. and Francine McColgan for $1,925,000 (March 25)

38 Old Winter St. — David L. Forbes to Justin and Kristin Hopson for $1,638,000 (March 5)

19 Bedford Rd. — Laura Pontin to Eric and Joseph Webster for $1,787,500 (March 3)

Planning Board candidates reflect on election result

The candidates in the hard-fought Planning Board race had gracious words for each other and said the election was a good experience for the town, even though it became contentious at times.

“I’d like to congratulate Lynn [DeLisi] and Rick [Rundell] for a good campaign that stuck to the issues,” said Bob Domnitz, who will serve his second stint on the board after winning more votes than Rundell in the three-way race for two seats. “I know some of our supporters were overly enthusiastic, but the candidates took the high road and that’s the way it should be. I’m proud of the entire town for coming out and voting in the numbers they did in this pandemic.”

“I’m impressed that over 800 people felt the issues were important enough to take the trouble to vote under complicated circumstances,” Rundell echoed in a letter posted in LincolnTalk. “I do think an enthusiastically contested election benefits the town by surfacing issues we should be talking about.”

DeLisi, who got the most votes of the three, said she was surprised to finish in first place. “Actually, I thought I would lose,” she said, since much of the campaign discussion focused on Domnitz vs. Rundell rather than DeLisi alone.

DeLisi was co-chair of the South Lincoln Planning and Implementation Committee, a large group with several subcommittees, one of which was the Village Planning and Zoning team. That team’s proposal for rezoning part of South Lincoln and changing the project approval process to give the board more latitude provoked much criticism. But the full SLPIC group rarely met, and DeLisi said she was not even aware of what the zoning team was suggesting until the process was well along.

“I thought the zoning subcommittee was working on ways to make it easier for businesses to open in town… and not focusing on regulations to help developers build dense condos as well,” DeLisi said. “I’ve never chaired a committee where I didn’t know what was going on, and I clearly did not know what was going on,” she said.

Her SLIPC co-chair was Gary Taylor, who was the board’s representative on the zoning subcommittee (and ironically, the person who beat out Domnitz in another close election in 2015).

Domnitz and DeLisi want to see any future zoning change proposals come from the full Planning Board, not SLPAC (the successor to SLPIC) or a subcommittee.

One thing all three candidates agreed on: the discussion about South Lincoln isn’t over.

“My position was that the town should have the conversation — not just a matter of one group shouting it down before everybody had the chance to engage in it,” Rundell said.

“We’re going to have to talk about South Lincoln and how to sustain what we have there. Maybe we do have to change the zoning, but not in the way it was proposed,” DeLisi said. “I think we need to be speaking to the people who live around there and involve them in the conversation.”

My Turn: Group of residents endorses Rundell for Planning Board

Dear friends and neighbors,

We have followed with interest the unfolding of this year’s election for Planning Board and appreciate the issues of the South Lincoln neighborhood, of which many of us are a part, and also the town as a whole. Seeking experienced, balanced, and professional representation on the Planning Board, we endorse Rick Rundell for the role and invite you to join us in supporting his candidacy with your vote.

Rick’s statements in the community forum, the views he has shared on LincolnTalk and in the Lincoln Squirrel, his record on the board since 2013, and his global industry engagement all speak to his thoughtfulness, willingness to consider opposing points of view, and balancing individual and neighborhood advocacy with the interests of Lincoln as a whole. This is exactly what we expect from our elected officials. The professionalization which he has contributed to the board’s operation during his tenure also reflects exactly what we all should expect from our town boards.

We agree with Rick that today, more than ever before, it is important for our town to be led by creative, active, and engaged citizens bringing a broad and experienced perspective to our local challenges and opportunities. If you value the 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, please join us in voting for Rick Rundell for Planning Board.

Signed, your neighbors and citizens of Lincoln:

Joan and John Kimball
Dan and Janet Boynton
Mark Goetemann
Rob DeNormandie
Peter von Mertens
Jona Donaldson
Patricia O’Hagan, Alex Chatfield, Lucy Chatfield
Ken and Pam Hurd
Rachel Mason
Joe and Dana Robbat
Patrick and Judith Lawler
Peter and Susan Sugar
Sandra and Josh Grindlay
Sam Newell
John B. and Ellen S. Newell
Jane Cooper
Barbara Slayter
Katherine Mierzwa
Mary Jo Veling
Kathy Nicholson
Alexander and Helgard Houtzeel
Steve Johnson
Christina Rago Brown
Sarah Andrysiak
Dea Angiolillo
Peter and Faye Speert 
Mary Jo Haggerty
Martin Pierce

”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 Rick Rundell and Lynn DeLisi to Planning Board

By Ken Hurd

Although Buzz Constable’s email on LincolnTalk may strike many as a little harsh, he has captured the frustration of many people, including my own at times. My own experience is unique, having served on the Planning Board from 2002 until 2012, and then after my term had ended, having sat across the table as an applicant in front of the Planning Board from 2014 through 2016 as I helped the First Parish Church secure permitting for the Stearns Room addition.

In my opinion, what Ken Bassett and Mary Helen Lorenz describe in their recent letter to the Lincoln Squirrel is accurate. Both projects were significant improvements to their previous iterations despite the objections of a relatively small number of vocal opponents.

To this end, I believe good planning requires vision as well as sensitivity to those affected by change. I also think Allen Vander Meulen in his letter to the Lincoln Squirrel highlighted the key issue at stake; namely “how to resolve the conundrum of approval for large-scale projects in the Lincoln Station area.”

With this in mind, it is my strong opinion that re-electing Rick Rundell and Lynn DeLisi will be in the best overall interests of the town. I would much prefer to have people in public office who are willing to guide and address with an open mind the inevitable changes that Lincoln will continue to face. 

If you haven’t voted yet, I urge you to join me in voting for Rick Rundell and Lynn DeLisi as the best candidates for the job.

Ken Hurd
21 Lexington 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: A time for civil discourse

By Bob Domnitz

In their recent letter to The Squirrel, Ken Bassett and Mary Lorenz have mischaracterized my role in two cases that came before the Planning Board during my previous tenure.

Below, I will provide details that refute their claims. But if you read nothing else, please know this: a Planning Board member must be responsive, fair, and consistent, even when the issues stir emotions. It is regrettable that Ken and Mary’s message does more to divide than unite at a time when we need to build bridges toward a stronger future in Lincoln.

With respect to the mall’s redevelopment 15 years ago, Ken and Mary may be confusing the roles that the ZBA and the Planning Board played in that process. Here is what happened. The ZBA was approached by the Rural Land Foundation (owner of the mall) for relief from the town’s restrictive parking requirement. The ZBA declined to grant that relief. The Planning Board believed that this was an important project for the town and we all wanted the project to go forward. To achieve that goal, I helped draft the South Lincoln Overlay District zoning that enabled the mall redevelopment. The new zoning and the redevelopment proposal were unanimously supported by the Planning Board and overwhelmingly approved by Town Meeting.

With respect to the expansion of the First Parish Church, readers should be aware that all three candidates in this Planning Board election were members of the Planning Board at the time that project was before the board. Our discussions were collegial, and we converged on an approval for the project in a single evening of discussion after a public hearing that extended over several sessions.

The key issue in the First Parish project was the setback to a side lot line that had been created when the Flint family gave land to the church. The church wanted to build to within 7 feet of that lot line. Because of the unusual circumstances that created the lot line, the board was able to find a way to allow a 10-foot setback without creating a worrisome precedent that could be used by other nonprofit institutions elsewhere in town. However, we could not find a rational basis for granting the smaller setback of 7 feet that was desired by the church. The church appealed the Planning Board’s decision to the ZBA and they were granted the additional 3 feet that they needed for their project to proceed as designed.

I believe both the Planning Board and ZBA did a good job fulfilling their roles in this process. The Planning Board deals with zoning that must be applied consistently throughout the Town, and that’s why the Planning Board had to consider the precedential effect of its decision. But zoning can be a blunt instrument, and the ZBA exists to weigh the issues in exceptional cases such as this one.

The entire First Parish experience was extremely emotional for the town. There was tremendous pressure on the members of the board from all sides. It was an unforgettably difficult time for all of us. The fabric of the town was wounded, and it remains wounded to this day. This is clear from Ken and Mary’s attack against me. It is unfortunate that Ken and Mary’s misunderstandings and mischaracterizations only revisit old wounds and do not help us come together to heal.

Bob Domnitz
2 Mill St., 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: Who can best craft a workable plan for South Lincoln?

By Allen Vander Meulen

I admire the experience and track record of all three candidates for the two open Planning Board seats. If electing competent, thoughtful candidates to the Planning Board is the only concern, all have proven themselves worthy.

One major point of contention, and really what (in my mind) should be the single largest differentiating factor between the three, is the issue of how to resolve the conundrum of approval for large-scale projects in the Lincoln Station area — or anywhere in town, for that matter.

The problem is that the mechanism by which the will of the town is made known on such issues — through a Town Meeting vote — is unworkable: the perception potential investors and developers have is that the substantial investment they must make to draft and gain all the necessary approvals before ground is broken on a major project is at great risk by what they perceive as a roll of the dice at a Town Meeting vote. Recent history (in the form of Lincoln’s vote at the 2012 Special Town Meeting to defeat the proposed school project) proves this is a valid concern. No developer has approached the town with a proposal for a major project in the Lincoln Station area for at least 15 years, and that will not change as long as the current mechanism for approval of such projects remains in place, unchanged.

Now, I want to emphasize: I’m talking principle (town and Town Meeting control over the approval process) vs. mechanism (a single final vote at Town Meeting) vs. perception (of potential investors and developers). All three candidates agree the principle will not change. But for potential developers to perceive Lincoln as a viable candidate for such development, the mechanism must change.

Therefore, what sort of changes to our current process must we make to preserve the principle of the town having control over approval of a project while at the same time assuring potential developers that if they adhere to “the rules,” then their significant investment in getting a project approved in Lincoln will not be at risk due to a whim or last-minute controversy? I am not saying we should eliminate the Town Meeting vote or its central role in the process. What I am saying is that how we accomplish this must be rethought.

The SLPIC Lincoln Station zoning proposal was a start at the creation of such a mechanism. However, lack of transparency, an oversized committee, and some major missteps in communication doomed it. It is clear that the Planning Board, which will always be at the heart of this entire discussion, has learned some important lessons from the furor that arose when the proposal was first published and is retooling their approach in light of the lessons learned.

I am very interested to see if any of the three candidates can provide a vision for a path towards a solution that will address this challenge, and if they will be a positive force within the Planning Board as the task of crafting such a solution proceeds.

Based on what I’ve heard and read from Rick Rundell, he understands this challenge quite well and has the vision, political finesse, and skills needed to craft a workable solution (if anyone can). I have not yet heard or seen evidence that either of the other candidates have either a workable proposal in mind to resolve this, or the vision necessary to create one. So, which candidate (if any) I will vote for as my second choice in the coming election is still an open question.

Allen Vander Meulen
Beaver Pond Road, 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: 48 residents endorse Domnitz and DeLisi for Planning Board

Dear friends and neighbors,

Monday’s vote for Planning Board is significant, and we the undersigned, 48 of your Lincoln neighbors, offer the following perspective.

Over the past year, we became aware of a sweeping and profound zoning change taking shape in the Planning Board’s advisory committee (SLPIC). The proposal was designed to smooth the way for developers to move large-scale development projects directly through the Planning Board. We are but a few of the over 200 families who live within what would have been the new “South Lincoln Village Zone,” joined here by impacted neighbors and other allied residents. Our neighborhood is currently a mix of single-family and multi-family homes, condos, and apartments that are both owned and rented, and it’s about five times as dense as the rest of town.

We challenged the proposed zoning bylaw because it permitted four-story buildings with 20 units per acre, built right to their lot lines. The new zone would have covered roughly 30 acres and paved the way for hundreds of new condos and/or apartments to our small, congested neighborhood without requiring project approval by Town Meeting. For example, they modeled a net potential gain of 271 units over only four of the 27 properties within the new zone.

Through organizing, collaborating, raising our voices, and attending many Planning Board and SLPIC meetings, we gained some insight into the three candidates for Planning Board. We invite you to join us in voting for Bob Domnitz and Lynn DeLisi. Lynn is the only current member of the Planning Board who voiced her opposition to this ill-conceived and harmful proposal. Being the lone voice over many months was no doubt tiring and isolating, but Lynn has persisted in elevating our concerns over the impact on our diverse neighborhood.

Bob Domnitz seeks to keep ultimate approval authority for these kinds of major development projects — i.e. a housing development twice as dense as Oriole Landing — with the town, not the Planning Board. He has seen many consequential development projects succeed by working with town boards and then earning town support. He has served on the Planning Board before, and we hope you will join us in bringing his experience and his fresh perspective to the important decisions facing the Planning Board in the coming years.

The Planning Board is reframing SLPIC and revising the zoning proposal. We hope that they will continue to respect the concerns of those members of our community most impacted by major zoning changes in South Lincoln. We all hope for thriving local businesses, community space, optimized commuter rail use, and decreased carbon emissions. Let’s task our Planning Board with also preserving the affordable housing options we currently have and maintaining the appropriately scaled development we treasure.

Signed, your South Lincoln Neighbors who live within the “South Lincoln Village Zone”:

John Dorr
Bayhas Kana and Sara Postlethwait
Yaman Kana
Kim Leigh-Manuell
Mark Levinson
Jason and Jessica Packineau
Veena Ramani and Adam Stark
Mary Rosenfeld
Sarah Schuller
Michael Welch

Signed, families living in close proximity to the proposed “South Lincoln Village Zone”:

Mark Ahern
Diana Bercel
Liz Burton
Vanessa Cartwright
James and Bonnie Echmalian
Denise and Eric Gieseke
Iris Hoxha
Katrin Kriz
Ada Lee and John Po
Isabel Lee
June Matthews
Thomas Moran
Catherine Moritz
Constance and Richard Ohlsten
Lisa Parker
William Schiano
Melissa Shea
Lisa Slater

Signed, Lincoln residents who join with our South Lincoln neighbors on this issue:

Jamie Banks
Pauline Curtiss
Christopher Dale
Erica Gonella and Shakil Aslam
Jane Herlacher
Maria O’Brien Hylton
Liz Lieblich
Julie Lynch
Caroline and Mark Nordstrom
Barbara Peskin
Jeannine Taylor

”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.