The Lincoln Squirrel

News, features and photos from Lincoln, Mass.

land use

Three concrete towers planned along railroad tracks in Lincoln

Yellow stars indicate the three sites in Lincoln where the MBTA is proposing to put monopoles (click to enlarge).

Yellow stars indicate the three sites in Lincoln where the MBTA is proposing to put monopoles (click to enlarge).

By Alice Waugh

The MBTA plans to install three monopole towers along the commuter rail tracks in Lincoln to comply with a federal mandate for emergency train stop controls. The concrete towers will range in height from about 65 to 75 feet.

Because the pole sites are within the MBTA’s right of way, the agency is not required to obtain approval from town land use boards unless the sites fall within a wetlands area, said Director of Planning and Land Use Jennifer Burney, adding that she heard about the plan only indirectly.

At least one of the towers will have “multiple arrays” of antennas for both train control and passenger Wi-Fi access, according to a Request for Determination of Applicability submitted to the Conservation Commission by Ramaker & Associates, a Wisconsin engineering firm hired by the MBTA. The tower will also support a radio equipment cabinet, and a 5-by-5-foot pad is proposed to support future radio equipment.

In response to a request from the town, the MBTA will attend the Lincoln Planning Board meeting on April 26 to give an overview of the project and answer questions. Representatives from the Conservation Commission and the Walden Woods Project will also attend, Burney said.

The monopoles will carry telecommunications equipment for a computerized system that combines GPS and wireless radio to monitor trains for excessive speed or proximity and to stop them before a collision or derailment can result. The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Positive Train Control regulations stem from the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008.

The MBTA plans to install a total of 330 poles along the commuter rail system starting in April with the Fitchburg and Rockport lines, said Jason Johnson, deputy press secretary for the MBTA.

The MBTA has also entered into a partnership with inMotion Wireless to offer commuter rail and boat passengers free Wi-Fi and broadband Internet access. The contractor paying for the monopole installations will also “have the option to examine private revenue generation” by adding antennas for cell phone companies and other commercial users, Johnson said.

To work properly, the poles need to be a maximum distance apart depending on the curvature of the track. They are being spaced as far apart as possible (an average of 1.3 miles) to minimize the number of poles required, and sites in “the least obtrusive areas available” were chosen, Johnson said. “In addition, this infrastructure has been designed as a multi-use structure that could support the needs for additional projects in the future, limiting the need for redundant building on the right of way,” he said.

Burney said MBTA officials told her that they might be open to suggestions about altering the locations of the monopoles only if there were “very small adjustments” of less than 30 feet involved. They have also agreed in principle to a “balloon test” where a tethered balloon is sent aloft at each site up to the height of the proposed pole so people in the area can see how high the top of each pole will be, and from what distance it can be seen, she said.

The Massachusetts Historical Commission has requested a “viewshed” analysis and archeological survey of the planned monopole site near where Route 126 goes over the train tracks. That area is close to the Walden Woods historical landscape as well as a Native American cremation and burial site that has not yet been systematically investigated.

Voters OK buying land for possible solar swap

The lighter green protion of the Hargreaves-Heald property will be purchased by the town for conservation land.

The lighter-green portion of the Hargreaves-Heald property will be purchased by the town for conservation land.

By Alice Waugh

Thanks to a vote at the March 19 Town Meeting, Lincoln will buy a new piece of conservation land that could be used as part of a “land swap” with the state to allow a solar array to be built on the capped landfill.

Voters approved spending $225,000 on a three-acre portion of the seven-acre Hargreaves-Heald property in Sandy Pond Road, which includes the meadow just to the east of the Old Town Hall Exchange. Converting the three acres into town-owned conservation land means that it will be preserved as open space and that the town can run a conservation trail through it.

The purchase was one of 11 projects to be funded by a Community Preservation Committee (CPC) allocation of $897,882. Housing and recreation reserves brought the total for the CPC measure (which was approved with a few “nay” votes) to $1,030,162.

According to state law, if the town decides to remove the conservation designation from a parcel such as the landfill for purposes of installing a solar array, it must compensate by designating an equivalent amount of other land as conservation property. While a solar array will not be proposed for the Hargreaves-Heald land itself, that land could potentially be “swapped” for the landfill in exchange for permission to site a solar array on the landfill conservation land.

The idea of putting solar panels on the landfill site was discussed at the State of the Town meeting in November 2015, though no concrete proposals have been put forth yet.

Green Energy Committee chair John Snell proposed amending the CPC motion to specify that the Hargreaves-Heald purchase could be counted as a conservation land swap in a future application to the state. “It would really help if this was an option… it would be a good forward-thinking thing to do,” he said.

Town officials huddle in front of Town Counsel Joel Bard to craft amended wording for the Hargreaves-Heald motion as Town Moderator Sarah Cannon Holden (left) waits.

Town officials huddle in front of Town Counsel Joel Bard to craft amended wording for the Hargreaves-Heald motion as Town Moderator Sarah Cannon Holden (left) waits. 

After a lengthy on-stage huddle among Lincoln officials, Town Counsel Joel Bard drafted amended wording for the motion. “It’s just a paper designation, if you will—the acquisition and use of the parcel is not going to change,” he said, adding that the amendment conferred “the option but not the obligation” to use the property as part of a future conservation land swap.

“We’ve done such a good job with conservation land that we don’t really have any fungible municipal land” to use in a swap, said Selectman Noah Eckhouse, who along with Snell is a members of the Landfill Solar Steering Committee. “The state is trying to keep towns from cracking into conservation land they already have.”

 

Planning Board candidate #2: Margaret Olson

ballotEditor’s note: This is the second of three articles on candidates for the Lincoln Planning Board, which has three candidates running for two seats. Yesterday, we featured Steve Gladstone, and on Saturday we will feature Jennifer Morris Gundy. Next week we will have an article about Board of Selectman candidate James Craig, who is running unopposed for the seat of Noah Eckhouse, who is stepping down. The town election is Monday, March 28.

Margaret Olson

To the editor:

I am writing to ask for your support in the upcoming election for Planning Board. I have lived in town since 1998, served on both the ZBA and for the past three years on the Planning Board. The work of the planning board is very important to the long-term health of the town in terms of both preserving and continuing the land stewardship values that make Lincoln so special and the health of our small commercial area at Lincoln Station.

Here is a brief overview of the major issues that the Planning Board will be facing over the next few years:

  • Regulation: Site plan review (SPR) has been the primary tool by which the town has sought to preserve the characteristics of our neighborhoods and road scape. As more and more houses have come under site plan review, we have been learning what its strengths and weaknesses are. As currently implemented, SPR takes up inordinate amounts of staff time and of course imposes a burden on homeowners seeking to make modifications to their properties. The board has worked over the past two years to streamline this process—to make it faster and more efficient while preserving the goals embodied in the regulation. We have more work to do here.
  • Commuter train: The commuter rail is an important amenity for residents working in Cambridge and Boston. As the commute by car into Boston and Cambridge continues to become longer and more difficult, the commuter rail will become even more essential. Currently, Lincoln is listed on the Metropolitan Area Planning Council site as an example of an “undeveloped station” (see page 31-32). As the MBTA pushes to reduce costs and compress schedules, Lincoln is vulnerable to reduced schedules. This will not only impact residents, but has already had a negative impact on the ability of the businesses in the Lincoln Station area to attract and retain employees. We need to find a way to keep or increase ridership in a manner that has a positive impact on the town and provides sufficient MBTA parking.
  • South Lincoln/Lincoln Station: For many residents, Donelan’s and the other Lincoln Station businesses are critical to the community; they are convenient and local. The economic changes of the last 20 years have not been kind to small local business areas. With a mix of attention to the train station and some creative planning we can keep Lincoln Station healthy and vibrant, but it will require considerable planning.
  • Complete streets: “Complete streets” is a term used to describe a street that is friendly to pedestrians, bicyclists and cars. On too many Lincoln roads, walking is not safe, and it’s particularly not safe at rush hour. We’ve gone to great lengths to preserve the rural feel of our roadsides, but too often we are enjoying that only from a car window. “Complete Streets” is a state initiative from which the Planning Board may be able to secure funding to help the town apply multiple strategies (not necessarily sidewalks or roadside paths).

Please continue make Lincoln a great and special place to live. I ask for your support and vote on March 28th.

Sincerely,

Margaret Olson
17 Boyce Farm Rd.
781-392-4403
margaret@margaretolson.com (mobile)

Planning Board candidate #1: Steve Gladstone

ballotEditor’s note: This is the first of three articles on candidates for the Lincoln Planning Board, which has three candidates running for two seats. Tomorrow will feature incumbent Margaret Olson and Saturday will feature Jennifer Morris Gundy. Next week we will have an article about Board of Selectman candidate James Craig, who is running unopposed for the seat of Noah Eckhouse, who is stepping down. The town election is Monday, March 28.

Steve Gladstone

To the editor:

I would like to announce my candidacy for one of the vacant seats on Lincoln’s Planning Board.

Having joined the Lincoln community nine years ago, my wife Susan and I are still relative newcomers to a town whose founding families still enrich our community.  It has been a real pleasure to become ever more closely involved with townsfolk, governance, and of course the landscape.

Soon after our arrival, I was in a position to serve on the Facilities Coordinating Committee. Identifying usage patterns, availability, capabilities and limitations of our core meeting spaces led to deeper engagement in the town’s management and social processes. Most recently I was selected as one of the three at-large members of the Community Center Study Committee.

Professionally, I have applied two science master’s degrees as Director of Research Operations at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) for 22 years, where I was part of the management team responsible for an interdisciplinary academic/clinical research enterprise with a $325 million budget. As a director in BIDMC’s Office of Science and Technology, I was intimately involved in budgeting, strategic planning, space allocation, and implementation of diverse critical functions. I am now part of the management team at a pharmaceutical startup in Cambridge.

Lincoln enjoys a distinct rural character unique among towns so near Boston. It is a fundamental aspect of our special town spirit, one that deserves to be maintained, to “Keep Lincoln, Lincoln.” We must and will change as times change.  This mindfully managed evolution is one of my core values. The Planning Board and Town should and must be open to new ideas and concepts as they blend with this guiding principle.

Volunteers are the backbone of Lincoln’s community spirit. It is exciting to continue my involvement in Town affairs by offering my candidacy for the Planning Board.  It is my hope that this note gives the voters of Lincoln some familiarity with me personally, and with my professional background.  Please call or email me with your thoughts, questions, or concerns—or join me for coffee at the Whistle Stop.  And please DO vote, DO volunteer and DO get involved in this exceptional town!

Sincerely,

Steve Gladstone
67 Winter St.
steve.gladstone@gmail.com

Property news

House-1Land transactions for January 2016
  • 15 Oak Meadow Rd. — George Speen, trustee, to Anne Niemi for $685,000 (January 8)
  • 64 Birchwood Lane — James Reider, trustee, to William Glynn and Anna Lombroso for $604,000 (January 11)
  • 32B Indian Camp Lane  — Erik Phillips to Patrick McCusker and Tracy Steele for $367,000 (January 12)
  • 121 Tower Rd. — Trinity Group LLC to Chad Sears and Thomas McMennamin for $1,500,000 (January 15)
  • 34 Old Winter St. — David Ries to Christopher and Susan Murphy for $815,000 (January 22)
  • 0 Lexington Rd. — Alice DeNormandie to Zeis Lincoln One LLC for $800,000 (January 25)
  • 14 Winter St. — Samson Munn to Zachary and Kim Morris for $1,425,000 (January 29)
Zoning Board of Appeals hearings

The Zoning Board of the Appeals will hold a public hearing on Thursday, March 3 at 7:30 p.m. at the Town Office Building to hear and to act on the following petitions under the zoning bylaws:

  • Christina Van Vleck and David Nydam, 2 Lewis St., for a special permit to construct alterations and make landscape improvements to a non-conforming structure on a non-conforming lot in a B-2 Business District, to use the premises for both business and residential uses, and to reduce the applicable parking requirement.
  • Adrian and Jennifer Fretland, 8 Pine Ridge Rd., for a special permit to construct a new garage and kitchen addition to a non-conforming structure.
  • Harold Engstrom, 27 Old Farm Rd., for a special permit to construct a shed on a non-conforming lot and/or structure.