The Lincoln Squirrel

News, features and photos from Lincoln, Mass.

letters to the editor

Letter to the editor: senators hear about We the People Act

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Editor’s note: Article 44 at the Town Meeting on March 28 will ask if Lincoln residents support passage of the We the People Act. The full warrant can be found here.

To the editor:

I attended the first of eight “Commonwealth Conversations” with state senators at Newton North High School [last week] to urge quick passage of the crucial We The People Act (Mass. House Docket 1988, filed Jan. 15, 2015). The “Commonwealth Conversations” are a series of grassroots forums that our state senators are holding to hear from us. It was a moving experience.

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Letter to the editor: support fossil fuel divestment at Town Meeting

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Editor’s note: The authors are referring to Article 42 at Town Meeting on March 28. The complete Town Meeting warrant can be found here.

To the editor:

Global warming, caused primarily by the burning of fossil fuels and the resulting increase in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, is a serious threat to current and future generations in Lincoln and around the world. Already global warming is causing costly disruption of human and natural systems throughout the world, for example. The effects of global warming will further intensify with increased temperatures such that almost all governments in the world, including that of the United States, have agreed (through the 2009 Copenhagen Accord) that any warming above a 2º C. (3.6º F.) rise would be unsafe for human habitation. Scientists estimate that humans can emit only approximately 565 more gigatons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and still retain a reasonable hope of not exceeding 2º C. of (additional) global warming.

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Letter to the editor: support Taylor for Planning Board

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To the editor:

I am writing in support of Gary Taylor’s candidacy to the Planning Board. I have known Gary through a number of years, having first worked with him when I was chair of the Finance Committee in the early 1990s. He is a thoughtful and energetic individual who would bring his much-needed skills to the board. This is particularly important from the perspective of the town’s Comprehensive Plan, formulated in 2009 and worked on for a number of years by the Implementation Committee, which I also chaired. We made periodic presentations to the Planning Board but received little support other than verbal encouragement. I believe that Gary would be instrumental in revitalizing this effort, which is so very critical to the well being of Lincoln. I encourage all of our citizenry to vote for Gary.

Peter C. Sugar
Chestnut Circle, Lincoln

Letters to the editor must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to news@lincolnsquirrel.com. Letters must be about a Lincoln-specific topic, will be edited for punctuation, spelling, style, etc., and will be published at the discretion of the editor. Letters containing personal attacks, errors of fact or other inappropriate material will not be published.

Letter to the editor: questions on lighting proposals

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(Addendum, 3/5/14: The paragraph beginning with “Fourth, what about…” was added after this letter was published.)

(Editor’s note: Kanner references a letter to the Lincoln Journal by Margaret Olson for which the link is unavailable, but the Lincoln Squirrel published a similar letter from her on February 23.)

To the editor,

I believe the outdoor lighting issue is a bit more complex and potentially disruptive than Margaret Olson of the planning board suggested in her letter Friday, Feb. 27 to the Lincoln Journal, at the same time as I also support Lincoln as a delightfully idiosyncratic quasi-rural community and share the concern about excessive regional ambient light.

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Letter to the editor: “surprised” at First Parish remarks

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To the editor:

I, like many other Lincoln residents, was surprised by the harsh quotes in last week’s article about First Parish Church’s ongoing interactions with the Planning Board. As someone who has no opinion on the reasonableness of the church’s proposed plans for expansion, I can only say that it was painful to read so many mean-spirited remarks about the members of a key board in town who work tirelessly to do the tough job of regulating development that citizens have elected them to do.

Everyone well knows that (volunteer) Planning Board members each put in hundreds of hours per year to address the matters that come before them. Like those who serve on our School Committee or our Selectmen, the residents who serve on town boards learn quickly that it is impossible to please every citizen all the time. Polite disagreement is perfectly fair; thinly veiled insults are not.

I intend to support Bob Domnitz who is running for reelection to the Planning Board. Bob has served with distinction for twelve years, bringing his legal and engineering training to bear on every matter. We are fortunate to have someone with Bob’s skill set and sensitivity serving on our Planning Board.  He (along with the entire Planning Board) has promised to remain focused on protecting the rural character and values of Lincoln. This is what Lincoln asked him to do when he was first elected in 2003 and this is what he has faithfully done.

Sincerely,

Maria O’Brien Hylton
5 Oakdale Lane

Letters to the editor must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to news@lincolnsquirrel.com. Letters must be about a Lincoln-specific topic, will be edited for punctuation, spelling, style, etc., and will be published at the discretion of the editor. Letters containing personal attacks, errors of fact or other inappropriate material will not be published.

Letter to the editor: Proposed changes to Lincoln Station zoning

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To the editor:

At this year’s Town Meeting, the Planning Board is proposing for the town’s consideration two zoning amendments to further the goals of the 2014 Lincoln Station Planning Study. These will be found under Articles 37 and 38 of the Town Meeting warrant. Together these amendments are intended to promote private sector development in the Lincoln Station area. No public-sector investment is proposed at this time.

There are two distinct commercial districts at Lincoln Station: The B1 Retail Business district, located along Lincoln Road immediately north of the railroad tracks; and the B2 Service Business district located on Lewis Street immediately south of the railroad tracks. The B2 district presently excludes some B1 retail uses that we believe would be appropriate on Lewis Street. These include retail stores, banks, and retail service establishments such as barber shops, beauty shops, laundry and dry-cleaning pickup agencies, shoe repair, etc.

To facilitate retail or mixed-use development, the first amendment, Article 37, expands the uses allowed in the B2 district to include all the retail uses presently allowed in the B1 district. Uses currently allowed in the B2 district will continue to be allowed.

In addition, after studying parking requirements in nearby and similar communities, we propose to relax our parking requirement to conform more closely to current norms. The second amendment, Article 38, will reduce required parking from 1 space per 140 square feet of retail space to 1 space per 250 square feet. The proposed amendment does not alter the flexibility in the Zoning Bylaw to adjust this requirement in specific cases if appropriate.

The increased flexibility offered by these two amendments is intended to encourage business owners to explore new opportunities and to enhance the economic sustainability of our town commercial center.

Sincerely,

Richard Rundell
Chair, Lincoln Planning Board

Letters to the editor must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to news@lincolnsquirrel.com. Letters must be about a Lincoln-specific topic, will be edited for punctuation, spelling, style, etc., and will be published at the discretion of the editor. Letters containing personal attacks, errors of fact or other inappropriate material will not be published.

Letter to the editor: Flint responds on First Parish

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(Editor’s note: In her letter, Margaret Flint refers to a February 24 article in the Lincoln Squirrel that incorrectly stated that the First Parish Church has been trying for 12 years to win formal approval from town boards to expand the Stearns Room, when in fact it has been doing so only since 2012. The earlier article has been updated to reflect this correction.)

To the editor:

I would like to clear up a few misconceptions regarding the First Parish Building Committee’s application for a building permit to upgrade the Stearns Room. In 2001, my family donated land to the church in good faith and with the understanding that there would be a modest addition to the Stearns Room to improve handicapped access and to improve circulation. After many years of input from parishioners and subsequent design changes, the Building Committee finally approached town boards in 2012 with their proposed plan. This was just two and a half years ago, not 14 as was reported.

The Stearns Room renovation has changed from its original intent to become quite a large project that now includes, among other things, a meeting room and a gallery to display a history of the church. I have been dismayed by the change in scale of the project, which I feel diminishes the prominence of the lovely, simple sanctuary. I believe strongly that my husband and father-in-law would feel the same way. In fact, I believe the church has bitten the hand that fed them the land in their disregard for several requests dating back many months, beyond the square footage, to the planned new Stearns Room: the amount of glass, the height of the roof, the metal roof, and the door leading nowhere and which bumps out the southern profile of the building.

Town boards have been generous to the church in granting exemptions for the Stearns Room. The February 24 article stated that “…the church has argued that, given the constraints of the property, it cannot fulfill the goals of a Stearns Room expansion without the exemptions.” To that I respond, perhaps the goals of the Stearns Room are too grand, given the constraints of the property and its place in the historic town center.

The article also quotes a member of the Building Committee as follows: “…it is not our intent to simply build real estate, but to create an experience that is spiritually uplifting and satisfying to the soul as well as true to the values of Lincoln and an entire spiritual community.” It is my belief that taking into account the concerns of neighbors and trying to reach compromise is what most people would consider being true to the values of Lincoln, especially in light of this building’s place in the Historic District.

Sincerely,

Margaret Flint
Lexington Road

Letters to the editor must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to news@lincolnsquirrel.com. Letters must be about a Lincoln-specific topic, will be edited for punctuation, spelling, style, etc., and will be published at the discretion of the editor. Letters containing personal attacks, errors of fact or other inappropriate material will not be published.

Letter to the editor: reelect Nancy Marshall

To the editor:

It is  of the utmost importance that Nancy Marshall be reelected to the Lincoln-Sudbury School Committee. I have known and worked with Nancy for more years than I like to remember and have always found her to be sensible, practical, and financially responsible. In addition and maybe more important, she thinks first of the students and the world into which they will be going. She thinks ahead and endeavors to find ways to provide them with the training and skills they will need and ways in which the school system can provide those skills.

Please, make sure to vote and vote to reelect Nancy Marshall.

Note: This letter is being written by me as a private citizen and does not have an endorsement in any way with the Lincoln School Committee, of which I am a member.

Sincerely,

Al Schmertzler
142 Chestnut Circle

Letters to the editor must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to news@lincolnsquirrrel.com. Letters must be about a Lincoln-specific topic, will be edited for punctuation, spelling, style, etc., and will be published at the discretion of the editor. Letters containing personal attacks, errors of fact or other inappropriate material will not be published.

Letter to the editor: school building warrant articles

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(Editor’s note: click here for the most recent news story about the school building project, or use the search box in the right-hand column of the page to find older stories.)

To the editor:

At the March 28 Annual Town Meeting, the Lincoln School Committee will ask the community to consider three warrant articles related to a Lincoln School building project.  The School Building Advisory Committee (SBAC), which was reconstituted by a vote at last year’s Town Meeting, has worked over the past 12 months to develop a wide variety of project concepts that range from repair projects at one end, to comprehensive renovation projects (repairs + systems upgrades + educational enhancements) at the other. For detailed information, the SBAC’s final report documents are here, and hard copies are available in the Lincoln Public Library and the superintendent’s office.

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