• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to secondary sidebar

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

  • Home
  • About/Contact
  • Advertise
  • Legal Notices
    • Submitting legal notices
  • Lincoln Resources
    • Coming Up in Lincoln
    • Municipal Calendar
    • Lincoln Links
  • Merchandise
  • Subscriptions
    • My Account
    • Log In
    • Log Out
  • Lincoln Review
    • About the Lincoln Review
    • Issues
    • Submit your work

land use

My Turn: Climate bill gives hope to opponents of Hanscom expansion

November 21, 2024

By Alex Chatfield, Trish O’Hagan, Lara Sullivan, and Kati Winchell

The climate bill just signed by Gov. Healey contains a provision that was not noted in the official summary but is profoundly important — an update to the Massport charter. From now on, Massport will be required to promote “environmental protection and resilience, reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, and environmental justice principles” in its decisions regarding its responsibilities and the entities with which it does business. Massport’s responsibilities, currently limited to the narrow roles of promoting commerce and economic growth, will therefore expand to include climate priorities. 

This update is encouraging to advocates across Massachusetts who oppose the proposed expansion of private jet infrastructure at Massport-owned Hanscom Field (separate from Hanscom Air Force Base). Massport is currently working with private developers to build a 522,380-square-foot expansion in hangar space for private jets — the largest such expansion in Hanscom’s history. An October 2023 study documented that at least half the private jet flights out of Hanscom go to vacation destinations like Martha’s Vineyard or the Super Bowl. They are airborne yachts for the ultra-wealthy.

Massport’s and Runway Realty Venture Inc.’s proposal for expansion has generated a storm of controversy. Opposition has been led by Stop Private Jet Expansion at Hanscom or Anywhere (SPJE). SPJE observes, based on an April independent analysis, that the proposed private jet hangar development at Hanscom alone could result in as many as 6,000 additional private jet flights annually, producing about 150,000 tons of carbon equivalent emissions every single year. If the expansion goes forward, private jet emissions from Hanscom alone could cancel nearly 70% of the environmental benefits of all the solar PV ever installed in Massachusetts and would offset the investment and hard work of many towns and cities to help the state meet the goals of its ambitious climate plans.

The legislation updating Massport’s charter follows EEA Secretary Tepper’s rejection of the developers’ draft environmental impact report (DEIR) in June. More than 1,500 public comments and over 13,500 petition signatures critical of the developers’ plans were submitted to MEPA (Mass. Office of Environmental Policy Act). Based in part on the volume of public response, as well as on independent analyses that were submitted, Tepper criticized the developers’ argument that the massive hangar expansion would decrease operations and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, calling it unsupported. She found that the report did not meet the requirements of Massachusetts law and directed the developers to produce a Supplemental DEIR that would address the many questions that the initial draft failed to consider adequately.

This was the context in which state Sen. Mike Barrett and Reps. Simon Cataldo, Michelle Ciccolo, Carmine Gentile, Ken Gordon, and Alice Peisch introduced language into the Mass. Climate Bill that would update Massport’s charter to prioritize reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. The Senate passed the bill on October 24 with a vote of 38-2, followed by a House vote of 128-17 on November 14. And on November 20, Gov. Healey signed it.

Sen. Barrett left no doubt that he expected the new language to prompt Massport to reconsider the project. “We live in an age where rampant economic growth is no longer sufficient as a raison d’etre for public agencies,” he said. “The governor has said that an all-government approach to climate change is needed, so now we ask of every single organization — Massport included — ‘What’s your role in fighting the existential crisis of our time?’” 

This is a pivotal moment. The legislature’s overwhelming support for a change in Massport’s charter sends a powerful message that the agency needs to align its own approach to climate change with the approach taken by the rest of the state. Massport’s first chance to show that it understands this new environment will be its stance toward the proposed Hanscom expansion. It’s already clear that that expansion is completely inconsistent with state climate change policy. It’s time for Massport to just say no.


“My Turn” is a forum for readers to offer their letters to the editor or 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.

Category: Hanscom Air Field, land use, My Turn

Town to relax some rules for accessory apartments

November 20, 2024

The state recently relaxed some of its rules on building accessory dwelling units (ADUs, or accessory apartments), and Lincoln residents will be asked at Town Meeting in March to amend the town’s zoning bylaw to match.

The state law, which was enacted in August and goes into effect on Feb. 2, 2025, allows ADUs smaller than 900 square feet to be built as of right in single family residential districts. Updating Lincoln’s rules “is technically not necessary as state law trumps our bylaw, but it removes potential confusion,” Planning Board Chair Margaret Olson said.

Lincoln allows ADUs of up to 1,200 square feet. For ADUs to which the new state law doesn’t apply (those measuring 900–1,200 square feet), the town will still require owner occupancy and also a special permit if the unit is in a separate building.

Previous changes to the town’s ADU rules in town were made in 2023, when ADUs were permitted in a home’s main dwelling by right (as long as applicants followed the rest of the bylaw’s rules), and in 2021, when Town Meeting approved language on ADU leases and the total number of ADUs allowed.

Olson didn’t immediately know how many ADUs currently exist in town but said most of them are family-related — usually occupied by older residents whose adult children move into the main house.

Category: land use

Property sales in September 2024

November 13, 2024

3A South Commons — Brian Hurley to Roberto Mercado Jr. and Kalsey Mercado for $590,000 (September 30)

133 Bedford Rd. — Dorothy Taylor Trust to Kelsey Flynn and Justin Saglio for $1,130,000 (September 30)

41 Todd Pond Rd. — Susan Peacock to Greg Salomon for $604,500 (September 26)

16A North Commons — Marissa Lisec to Rezarta Memelli for $270,000 (September 24)

36 Old Sudbury Rd. — Karl Zuelke to Karl L. Zuelke Trust and Marichu Zuekle Trust for $600,000 (September 20)

41 Stony Brook Rd. — Lochiel Crafter to Rastislav Vazny for $3,750,000 (September 10)

24 Sandy Pond Rd. — Douglas A. Melton Trust to Timothy P. von Hermann Trust and Susan M. von Hermann Trust for $2,050,000 (September 4)

Category: land use

Property sales in August 2024

November 5, 2024

15 Greenridge Lane — Lisa Patterson to Apurv Gupta and Celia Chang for $705,000 (August 29)

15 Orchard Lane — Augustine Lin Trust to Marchese Development LLC for $775,000 (August 29)

43 Deerhaven Rd. — Chauncy C. Chu Trust to the Fatmata Osesina Trust and the Olukayode Isaac Osesina Trust for $1,150,000 (August 28)

90 Winter St. — Elisa Soykan to Evan and Christy Cull for $2,290,000 (August 27)

22 Juniper Ridge Rd. — Jinquan Liu to Douglas and Shahinaz Carson for $45,000 (sic) (August 15)

17 Bedford Lane — Deborah Dorsey to HSBC Bank USA c/o Nationstar Mortgage LLC for $890,514 (August 8)

95 Tower Rd.— Sherine Freeth to David and Sarah DeBlasio for $1,387,000 (August 8)

105 Tower Rd. — Shawn Lyons to Sian and Philip McGurk for $1,750,000 (August 1)

Category: land use

With HCA-compliant rezoning, town now qualifies for new state grants

October 8, 2024

A podium at an October 1 ceremony recognizing the 33 cities and towns that are now eligible for HCA-related state grants.

Lincoln is one of 33 towns that are now eligible for a new state grant program by virtue of having its rezoning approved by the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities.

The rezoning measure to allow more multifamily housing was required to comply with the Housing Choice Act. It was mired in controversy last winter in Lincoln but ultimately passed in March. More than 70 cities and towns have passed HCA zoning, with many more expected at Town Meetings this fall.

Earlier this year, the Healey-Driscoll Administration created the $15 million MBTA Communities Catalyst Fund, a capital grant program that recognizes that promoting housing growth in communities requires additional resources and makes available funding to support activities related to housing creation, infrastructure projects associated with housing, and acquisition of property to promote housing.

Funding for the Catalyst program is available for fiscal 2025, fiscal 2026 and fiscal 2027.  Awards will typically fund projects with grant requests between $250,000 and $1 million, according to the EOHLC. Conversely, the state has said that cities and towns that don’t approve HCA-friendly doing by their given deadline will become ineligible for several existing grant programs.

The Catalyst program allows towns to partner with private companies in enabling multifamily housing projects, Tim Higgins noted at the October 7 Select Board meeting. Upgrading the South Lincoln wastewater treatment plant, among other Lincoln-specific ideas, would seem to qualify.

“That gets my wheels spinning,” Select Board member Jim Hutchinson said.

Category: land use

The Commons presents details on plan; hopes to break ground in winter

September 12, 2024

Green numbers show where parking will be added. New surface spaces are shown in purple (click to enlarge). Existing tree are shown as circles with dotted lines.

At the first session this week of a public hearing on the site plan for expanding The Commons in Lincoln, presenters outlined some minor changes from the plan that was first aired almost a year ago. The Planning Board’s September 10 hearing will be continued to October 2 at 7:05 p.m.

At a Special Town Meeting in December 2023, residents approved rezoning the parcel, a first step in a process that also requires additional approvals from the Planning Board and others, including environmental officials.

As before, the plan calls for 28 new independent living units (14 two-bedroom units in the Flint building, six one-bedroom units in the Russell building, and eight new cottages). The Flint units will be in a separate structure connected to the main building with a sky bridge on the second and third floors.

The net addition of 52 parking spaces on the campus and more connecting sidewalks also hasn’t changed. However, the surface parking will be slightly rearranged so they’re located where they’re most needed on a campus where parking is tight for aides and visitors.

New trees to be planted are indicated in green (click to enlarge).

“The issue wasn’t the quantity of spaces but the location,” said Chris Fee of landscape architecture firm Stantec. “We tried to locate the new parking at three locations where we have problems, in addition to spots for [residents of] new buildings, so this should go a long way to help solve the parking problem.”

Another landscaping change from the previous plan: the existing community garden will be relocated, but a new bocce court and two additional smaller gardens are being deferred. Some trees that weren’t specified at the public hearing will be removed, but several dozen new ones will be planted, along with native plants are also being chosen in coordination with a resident group.

If all goes as planned, construction will begin in the first quarter of 2025 and will take a total of almost two years, though the cottages will be treated as separate construction sites and built on their own timeframe.

Category: land use, seniors

Property sales in May and June 2024

August 14, 2024

113 Tower Rd. — David K. Bruenner Trust to Boris Nicolas and Elisha Saad for $1,923,750 (June 27)

8 Upland Field Rd. — Britta Das to David and Phyllis Clark for $1,735,000 (June 27)

30 Beaver Pond Rd. — Petticoat Pastures Realty Trust to Samuel Newell Trust and Teresa Victoria Trust for $4,530,000 (June 25)

3 South Brook Rd. — David Levy to Paul and Karen Neurath for $2,131,000 (June 20)

8 Todd Pond Rd. — John Robinson to Benjamin Schrieheim and Emma Nathanson for $1,715,000 (June 18)

169 Lexington Rd. — Yunfei Cao to Andrew and Karina Collins for $1,275,000 (June 14)

58 Todd Pond Rd. — Jane L. Barter Trust to Naila Karamally for $653,300 (June 14)

64 Trapelo Rd. — Mark Hewitt to Vijay Gadepally and Shruthi Bharadwaj for $1,075,000 (June 14)

4 Deerhaven Rd. — Joseph Fiscale to Devin Morris and Anna Baglan for $975,000 (June 7)

311 Hemlock Circle — Michael Trembicki to Phoebe Haberkorn for $750,000 (May 31)

24 Greenridge Lane #7 — Zhou Jiang to Glenn Camilien for $685,000 (May 30)

13R South Commons — Susan Wolff to Matthew and Valerie Finnemeyer for $778,000 (May 30)

176 Bedford Rd. — Geoffrey P. Moore Trust to Erica Zheng and James Stropoli for $1,302,000 (May 22)

127 Bedford Rd. — William Sahlein to Srinivas Anantha and Bolla Saritha for $850,000 (May 18)

2 Huckleberry Hill — Kevin J. Maroni Trust to Dean Elwell for $1,927,500 (May 16)

72 Winter St. — Harrison Shulman to William Settel for $2,106,000 (May 3)

12 Old Winter St. — George Thomas Jr. to Maura Kelly for $1,050,000 (May 1)

Category: land use

Property sales in March and April 2024

August 7, 2024

140 Lincoln Rd. #311 — Diana Cowles to Margaretha Eckhardt for $575,000 (April 29) 

0 Old Winter Street and 0 Silver Hill Rd. — Thomas DeNormandie to Timothy and Madeleine Plaut (three parcels) for $2,000,000 (April 9)

38 Windingwood Lane — Tamar March Trust to Susan Law and 38 Windingwood Lane Trust for $895,000 (March 28)

26C Indian Camp Lane — Modena Inc. to Justin Baker for $460,000 (March 25)

324 Hemlock Circle — J. Arthur Gleiner Trust to David Stroh and Jane Von Maltzahn for $800,000 (March 15)

146A Lincoln Rd. — Lincoln Bay LLC to Jonathan Solomon for $480,000 (March 15)

25 Greenridge Lane — Zhao Yuan to Kyle Kastner and Johanna Hansen for $646,000 (March 1)

Category: land use, news

Tree-cutting for gas pipeline work in Lincoln draws protesters

July 25, 2024

Unnamed observers at the Enbridge work site in Lincoln. Route 2 is in the background. (Photo by Protect the Lincoln Forest) 

Protests against tree-cutting to allow a gas pipeline equipment next to Route 2 in Lincoln have resulted in at least four arrests.

On Tuesday, July at 11:16 a.m., Lincoln police arrested two people (a 57-year-old from Newton and a 17-year-old from Somerville) for trespassing on the site. Their names were not released because their arraignment has been delayed until January 2025, and the charges will probably be dropped if they aren’t arrested again. The following day, Massachusetts State Police arrested two other people whose names were also not immediately available, but who are not from Lincoln.

A number of environmental activists gathered off Route 2 just east of Bedford Road to protest the tree-cutting that is necessary for a crane to access the site. The crane will be needed for work there to upgrade Algonquin Gas Transmission Pipeline equipment owned by Enbridge. The work is related to a larger project to expand the capacity of the entire pipeline called Project Maple.

The land is owned by the City of Cambridge, which rejected Enbridge’s original plan to pay the city $10,000 in compensation for clear-cutting about 50 mature trees. Enbridge sued, threatening to take the land by temporary eminent domain as permitted by federal law, but later settled on a scaled-back proposal for removing half as many trees. Because the parcel is in Lincoln and has a conservation restriction, Lincoln officials were also involved in the discussions.

The activists on site included a “tree-sitter” who hauled himself high into a tree and lived on a platform there for several days. Videos taken by hum and others in a group called Protect the Lincoln Forest were posted on X on a page called Protect the Lincoln Forest. The tree was not among those slated to be cut down, but in adjacent area of trees in a designated “effort to save” area. The two groups of trees together cover about 9,000 square feet.

Once word got out that the project was about to start, Lincoln’s Conservation Department was flooded with calls and emails protesting the move and the fact that a routine pre-construction site walk before work began was not open to the public. “Most of the calls I’ve received have not been from Lincoln residents,” said Conservation Director Michele Grzenda.

The site walk was undertaken to ensure that proper erosion controls were installed and that the approved limit of work was demarcated correctly in the field, Grzenda said, adding that such walks are not public meetings.

Lincoln police offices on private detail as well as state police have been on site during the protest and tree-cutting activities. Officers working regular shifts have responded when needed, including two well-being checks on the tree-sitter during the week.

Enbridge says that piping more natural gas into the region will help stabilize energy prices, make the electric grid more reliable, and help states meet their climate goals by burning less oil on cold days, according to a January 25 WBUR article. But groups opposing the project including the Sierra Club and the Conservation Law Foundation disagree. The issue has also been covered by Universal Hub (see stories on May 8, May 27, and June 13).

The work in Lincoln is “a maintenance project through which we’re rebuilding an existing meter station to help support the ongoing safe operation of Algonquin gas transmission to continue meeting everyday energy needs in Massachusetts. The Lincoln Meter Station rebuild project will not increase the certificated capacity of the Algonquin gas transmission system,” Enbridge spokesman Max Bergeron said in an email to the Lincoln Squirrel. “As part of this project, we’re installing newer technology at the Lincoln Meter Station that will bolster safety and efficiency to continue to reliably meet local energy needs.”

Under terms of the settlement, Enbridge must plant replacement trees when its work is done. Lincoln officials will be notified when the restoration work and a mandatory three-year monitoring period is about to begin, Grzenda said.

Lincoln residents Alex Chatfield and his wife Trish O’Hagan were among those on site during the protests. “It’s concerning to us because it is an example of scenarios that play put all across the country routinely between Enbridge (and other pipeline companies) and local communities,” Chatfield told the Lincoln Squirrel. “Enbridge has a long and disturbing track record of overriding the concerns and priorities of cities, towns, and tribal authorities by using federal laws such as the Gas Act to build, rebuild, and expand pipelines. When it meets with opposition, as was the case with this project on the part of Cambridge, it goes to court and threatens to take what it wants through eminent domain and usually wins.”

Chatfield added that he and O’Hagan have been part of “peaceful resistance” at other Enbridge sites, including the West Roxbury Lateral Pipeline in 2015 and 2016 and Line Three in Minnesota in 2021.

This isn’t the first time that tree-cutting by outside agencies has caused angst in Lincoln. Residents near Route 2 were upset about the removal of dozens of trees in 2013 at the start of the project to build new service roads and a flyover at Crosby’s Corner. More recently, smaller trees and brush were removed from land over the Kinder Morgan gas pipeline that crosses Bedford Road, though there were no known public protests.

Category: land use

Property sales in January and February 2024

July 10, 2024

233 Aspen Circle — Dorothy Blanchard Brown Trust to Paul Roeder and Sarah Birss for $799,000 (February 23)

10 Deerhaven Rod. — 10 Deerhaven Road LLC to Lecheng Zhang and Feng Zhu for $1,231,000 (February 22)

15 Stratford Way — Joe Zimmerman to Ali and Danielle Raja for $3,200,000 (January 24)

16B North Commons — Marcia Libman To Douglas and Shahinaz Carson for $429,000 (January 16)

82 Virginia Rd. #106 — Sebastiano Blandino Trust to Phyllis Chen for $420,000 (January 16)

31 Old Concord Rd. — 32 Old Concord Rd. Trust to Robert N. Feldman Trist and Helen L. Feldman Trust for $3,500,000 (January 16)

26C Indian Camp Lane — Nancy Politzer to Resilient Investments LLC for $220k000 (January 11)

21D South Commons — Margaret Davis to Mine and Degerhan Usluel for $680,000 (January 4)

Category: land use, news

  • « Go to Previous Page
  • Page 1
  • Page 2
  • Page 3
  • Page 4
  • Interim pages omitted …
  • Page 34
  • Go to Next Page »

Primary Sidebar

Upcoming Events

May 13
4:30 pm - 6:00 pm

Nature walk for families

May 14
4:00 pm - 5:30 pm

Popsicle party

May 15
May 15 - May 16

Pick up seed kits

May 15
6:30 pm - 7:30 pm

Period house restorer speaks

May 16
12:30 pm - 1:30 pm

Unusual plants of Lincoln and beyond

View Calendar

Recent Posts

  • My Turn: Planning for climate-friendly aviation May 8, 2025
  • News acorns May 7, 2025
  • Legal notice: Select Board public hearing May 7, 2025
  • Property sales in March and April 2025 May 6, 2025
  • Public forums, walks scheduled around Panetta/Farrington proposal May 5, 2025

Squirrel Archives

Categories

Secondary Sidebar

Search the Squirrel:

Privacy policy

© Copyright 2025 The Lincoln Squirrel · All Rights Reserved.