The Lincoln Squirrel

News, features and photos from Lincoln, Mass.

land use

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.