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South Lincoln/HCA*

Opening statements by candidates at PTO forum

March 17, 2024

Here are the prewritten opening statements (in alphabetical order) that the four candidates made at the Lincoln PTO candidate forum on March 12. Click here to read more about the forum.

Frank Clark

Select Board challenger

I’m running because the town deserves a choice between the divisive path we’re currently on and a more moderate, and more inclusive way forward.

Our town seems to have lost its sense of balance. We are a very small town, and I worry that our aspirations are beyond what we can realistically accomplish without permanently damaging the character of the town and the social fabric of the town. I believe the majority of the town’s residents just want to know that the town’s essential character will be preserved & public money is spent carefully. We have to recognize that our rapidly rising taxes are pushing people out of town.

Among all Massachusetts towns, Lincoln has one of the highest long-term debt loads, about $40,000 per household. Add the community center and our debt will rise to about $50,000 per household and we might be #1 in the Commonwealth. We have other projects waiting in the wings and we’ve fallen behind on essentials such as road maintenance.

We have lost a sense of moderation… we borrowed $90 million to renovate our school because we didn’t want to wait for state aid. And now, We’re heading towards approval of the most expensive option for the community center. And the HCA rezoning promoted by town leadership goes far beyond what’s required by the State, and we haven’t done the analysis to be sure we can handle the large increase in population that will result.

On this issue, the Planning Board is split and the Select Board is wavering. And the town is very polarized. I’m preaching for unity, and that won’t happen with a 55/45 vote at Town Meeting. We can come together but we need consensus, not a winner-take-all attitude.

Town leaders cannot take refuge by saying “we’re just doing what Town Meeting wants.” We look to the Select Board and Planning Board for leadership and the town is heavily influenced by their recommendations and by the subcommittees they appoint. But we’re not being given the balanced, objective information we need to make wise decisions about big projects. The subcommittees that do the research for big projects become invested in an outcome and they rarely give us “both sides of the story.” It is disingenuous for town leaders to now say ‘we’re just following orders’ from Town Meeting.

I believe we need new leadership to get us back on track.


Jennifer Glass

Select Board incumbent

I moved to Lincoln with my family at the end of 2006. Many things drew us to the community: Its conservation land; the school system, the modernist deck houses; and it’s on the commuter rail, which has always been a prerequisite for choosing a place to live.

In 2007, the School Committee was looking for volunteers to serve on its Class Size Policy Subcommittee. As a former Kindergarten teacher, I thought this would be an interesting way to bring my experience to our new community. It was a great experience, and our group hammered out a policy that focused on what was best for our children while being fiscally responsible to the town. It also began my interest in tackling complex, emotional, and controversial topics.

I ran for School Committee in 2008 and served for 9 years, 7 of them as Chair, and in 2017, a friend encouraged me to run for the Select Board. For the past seven years on the Select Board, I have focused on building community, holistic planning, and finding creative ways to ensure community voice in our decision-making. That has played out in a number of ways:

  • We are sitting in one of them. As part of the School Committee and School Building Committee, I helped build community consensus to get this school renovated.
  • I have worked extensively with the Green Energy Committee and helped shape Lincoln’s new Climate Action Plan.
  • I helped establish and now co-chair the Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, & Antiracism Committee.
  • I worked with my colleagues to recognize Juneteenth and Pride Month, listened to the 3rd graders who thought we should recognize Indigenous Peoples’ Day.
  • I helped craft a new property tax abatement program for income-eligible seniors.
  • I am a member of the Affordable Housing Trust.
  • And I am, of course, part of the Housing Choice Act Working Group.
  • For fun, I’ve been editor in chief of the Select Board newsletter, have learned how to set up hybrid Zoom meetings, and organized the December 2020 scavenger hunt on Lincoln’s amazing trail network.

I love working with all of you to serve our town, and I respectfully ask for your support to continue to do so.


Sarah Postlethwait

Planning Board challenger

You may be able to tell that I don’t like public speaking and this is definitely not inside of my comfort zone, but I feel the current issues facing our town are far too important to sit on the sidelines and just hope for the best.

I am extremely invested in a successful South Lincoln rezoning, as this is the place my family calls home. I deeply care about ensuring more housing is built — especially more affordable housing, while also protecting the rural character of our town and ensuring that our commercial center is able to thrive. I may not have a formal background in development — but I am unprejudiced, versatile, and eager to learn. I am dedicated to looking out for the best interest of the town and our stated goals- safeguarding what we have achieved in the past, while at the same time adapting for the needs of the future.

I have grown increasingly concerned, as with many other of my fellow residents, with Lincoln’s chosen path to comply with the state mandated Housing Choice Act, and its proposed bylaws. I have dedicated countless hours to researching the law, its guidelines, its compliance model — every detail around it. I have studied several other town’s HCA bylaws to see how our own bylaws can be improved.

I feel we can do better. And we have plenty of time to do better! But instead of being the squeaky wheel, I’ve decided to be a part of the change and to run for a seat on the planning board.

Lincoln’s current Housing Choice Act proposal is rezoning 71% more land than is required by the state. The multifamily developments that are being permitted on these acres can be built by right. This means as long as a developer follows the set of rules established in our town’s bylaws, they can build the maximum allowed, and the town has no right to deny that development. It’s imperative the HCA proposal and bylaws that we pass align with the vision we see for our town. I feel what is being submitted for town meeting vote in a couple weeks does not.

Our HCA proposal puts our commercial center at risk. It is seriously lacking in environmental protections for all 72 acres of rezoned land. It does not limit negative impacts on the resources and residents in the rezoned area. We are the stewards of this land. We are the ones who should be safeguarding it. If we are going to rezone it for multifamily developments, the least we can do is ensure that the bylaws are written in a way that reasonably minimizes the negative environmental impact of development.

I firmly believe that the current proposed path towards HCA compliance has major flaws that could significantly change the landscape of the town that we all know and love. But I am hopeful we can all sit down at a table, find common ground, and come up with a path towards HCA compliance that will gain significant support, fully comply with the regulations of the law, and protect the values that are important to this town.

Thank you for considering voting for me for planning board, and I hope that my focus on critical thinking, thoroughly researched planning and inclusive dialogue will bring value to Lincoln and win your vote.


Gary Taylor

Planning Board incumbent

Most residents encounter the Planning Board when seeking to remodel or build a home. Through Site Plan review we guide development in ways that respect Lincoln’s values and protect abutters and the environment. Since I joined the board, we’ve made this process more user-friendly and less time-consuming for everyone, allowing us to spend more time planning.

The board regularly proposes changes to Lincoln’s bylaws to address state requirements and local land use and environmental issues. Recent examples are the liberalization of the accessory apartment bylaw and adoption of the 2023 opt-in stretch energy code to improve energy efficiency.

Now we face the Housing Choice Act mandate for zoning allowing “by right” multi-family housing near our metro rail station. How should we respond? After decades of concern over the viability of the mall and years of study about how to address Lincoln’s housing needs, five options were presented to voters at December’s Special Town Meeting, and Option C focusing housing in the mall area was selected.

I hope the coming Town Meeting votes “yes” on Article 3 (zoning implementing Option C). Whether or not is passes now, I shall honor Town Meeting’s decision, and my professional expertise and town experience will be of value in helping Lincoln through this process. I have learned how to bring people together and get things done.

I’m particularly proud of my role in the addition of over 100 units of affordable housing units in Lincoln. These include 30 at The Commons, one of the first senior living facilities with affordable units, and 60 at Oriole Landing that protect Lincoln for decades from the threat of 40B development, which — unlike the HCA — would circumvent Lincoln zoning entirely.

Lincoln has in the past strived successfully to strike a balance between preserving its shared values and responding as needed to change affecting our town and the world around us. I hope that we can continue to thread that needle effectively. I ask not only for your vote, but as well for your participation in the continuing dialogue that will shape Lincoln’s future.

Category: community center*, elections, South Lincoln/HCA*

Over 200 residents urge town to vote yes on HCA article

March 12, 2024

Dear Lincoln friends and neighbors:

What vision of Lincoln do we share? Over the past several decades, our town has voted consistently for projects that preserve open space, increase access to housing, and protect our broader environment. With Lincoln Woods and the Ryan Estates, we have welcomed new residents in the village center giving them easy access to shopping, the train, our trails, and the schools.

The proposed zoning changes under the MBTA Communities Housing Choice Act (HCA) that we will vote on at Town Meeting invite us to continue sharing that spirit and vision of Lincoln. Can we trust our talented and proven leaders to balance concerns about the proposed level of development with the values we have consistently expressed? 

We, the undersigned, are confident that we can and that we will benefit by doing so, just as we have for decades. We ask that you join us in voting “yes” for the amendments to our zoning bylaws designed to implement Option C when we gather at Town Meeting on Saturday, March 23.

Briefly, here’s our reasoning:

  • Residents have voiced strong support for rezoning near transit – twice: Large majorities both in September (76.4% for Option C at the State of the Town Meeting) and in December 2023 (55% for C; 6.9% for various D options at the Special Town meeting) to concentrate re-zoning at the mall and village center. These decisions were an affirmation that transit-oriented development makes environmental and climate sense and that it is most likely to contribute to housing and a more vibrant and sustainable commercial center at the mall. They also reflect the goals of the town’s 2009 Comprehensive Plan.
  • The RLF-owned mall should remain in the HCA zoning plan. HCA-compliant rezoning will help the RLF to reinvest in the mall both to support our commercial center and contribute to transit-oriented housing for the town and the region. “By right” development makes any RLF mall reinvestment project less risky and therefore more attractive to investors.
  • Lincoln’s proposed bylaws and design guidelines provide stringent controls on “by right” zoning. The Planning Board has listened to and incorporated many comments provided by opponents and supporters of this bylaw. Margaret Olson, chair of the Planning Board, has stated that the board has taken a conservative approach to the bylaws to address concerns about their impact, while still honoring the larger democratic preference for options that are more likely to create additional housing under the HCA.
  • The proposal is ready for voting. Since the law was passed in 2021, an extraordinarily qualified group of Lincoln volunteers and staff have studied, invited active engagement, and listened carefully to comments from the community to bring us a sound proposal that not only complies with the HCA but also respects the values of the town. Community input has led to significant tightening of the bylaws, for example, by reducing the density of housing in the village center, and by imposing more stringent height restrictions and setback requirements.

Some Lincoln residents are asking us to vote down the proposed bylaws with the hope that some alternative, yet-to-be-articulated, consensus plan can be hammered out in the few short months before the looming HCA deadline. Our concern is that we already know what the alternatives are. These options disperse rezoning to parcels in town (Lincoln North, Battle Road Farm) that are likely to result in less housing and could take the RLF mall out of the HCA further restricting housing in that area and delaying revitalization of the mall.

The HCA will bring change. We have an opportunity to respond to these changes with generosity, creativity, and confidence as we have for decades.

Signed,

Abigail Adams
Dea Angiolillo
Chris Andrysiak
Sarah Andrysiak
Gina Arons
Ken Bassett
Emily Beekman
Alex Benik
Merrill Berkery
Laura Berland
Becky Bermont
Sarah Bishop
Rebecca Blanchfield
Paul Blanchfield
Pam Boardman
John Bordiuk
Rory Bordiuk
Janet Boynton
Stephen Brand
David Briggs
Elaine Briggs
Julie Brogan
Janet Boynton
Kim Buell
Larry Buell
Brian Burns
Annie Calhoun
Jess Callow
Karen Carlson
Alex Chatfield
Deb Choate
Lindsay Clemens
Buzz Constable
Cathy Corbin
Jason Curtin
Rosamond DeLori
Alice DeNormandie
Penny DeNormandie
Tom DeNormandie
Pilar Doherty
Jona Donaldson
Nancy Donaldson
Anne Doyle
Jon Drew
Rachel Drew
Nataly Dvash
Jeff Eaton
Dan England
Andy Falender
Shirin Farrahi
Jon Ferris
Kristen Ferris
Nancy Fincke
Randall Fincke
Caroline Fiore
Mike Fiore
Lorraine Fiore
Nancy Fleming
Jim Fleming
Ian Forman
Rainer Frost
Martha Frost
John F. Foley Jr.
Amy Funkenstein
Dwight Gertz
Cailin Gidlewski
Bryn Gingrich
Johanna Goodman
Trintje Gnazzo
Andy Gnazzo
Josh Grindley
Sandy Grindley
Gina Halsted
Chris Hamilton
Jennifer Hashley
Tom Haslett
Emily Haslett
Alan Hein
Lis Herbert
Zach Herbert
Ruth Hodges
Shira Horowitz
Sue Howland
Ken Hurd
Pam Hurd
Kimberly Jalet
Brian Jalet
Bryan Kelly
Elizabeth Kelly
Jon Kelman
Joan Kimball
John Kimball
Chris Klem
Sue Klem
John Koenig
Bob Kupperstein
Lauren Lane
Jesse Lefkowitz
Barbara Leggat
Jackie Lenth
David Levington
Karin Levy
David Levy
Paula Light
Jonathan Light
Mary Helen Lorenz
Gwyn Loud
Sara Lupkas
Scott Lupkas
Rick Mandelkorn
Rachel Mason
Mo Masterson
Lucy Maulsby
Ron McAdow
Chris McCarthy
Tricia McGean
John Mendelson
Maria Miara
DJ Mitchell
Matt Mitchell
Tara Mitchell
Kenny Mitchell
Richard Mollica
Nicholas Mollica
Christopher Mollica
Staci Montori
Buffer Morgan
Terri Morgan
Jennie Morris Gundy
Patty Mostue
Jayne Mundt
Chris Murphy
Susan Murphy
Rachel Neurath
Richard Nichols
Katie Nicholson
John Nolan
Trisha O’Hagan
Barbara O’Neil
David O’Neil
Jane O’Rourke
Tristram Oakley
David Onigman
Nannette Orr
Katherine Page
Jason Paige
Candace Pearson
Karen Prince
Ginger Reiner
Kurt Reiner
Dana Robbat
Joe Robbat
Cathy Rogers
Travis Roland
Allen Rossiter
Selina Rossiter
Katrin Roush
Aldis Russell
Lucy Sachs
Barbara Sampson
Roberto Santamaria
Joanna Schmergel
Ron Siegel
Kathleen Shepard
Ray Shepard
Ellen Shorb
Paul Shorb
Barbara Slayter
Vicky Slingerland
Tucker Smith
Jonathan Soo
Kara Soo
Nancy Soulette
Bill Stason
Sue Stason
Mary Stechschulte
Scott Stewart
MingYi Stewart
James Stock
Betsy Stokey
Jim Storer
Sandy Storer
Kathleen Sullivan
Surendra Shah
Susan Taylor
Tricia Thornton-Wells
Dilla Tingley
David Urion
Allen Vander Muelen
Peter Von Mertens
Tom Walker
Katy Walker
Anne Wang
Andy Wang
Irene Weigel
Ginny Welles
Ben Wells
Bryce Wells
Jeani Welsh
Susan Welsh
Blandyna Williams
Claire Winchell
Susan Winship
Bob Wolf
Bryce Wolf
Krystal Wood
Jen Zeis
 

“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: My Turn, South Lincoln/HCA*

My Turn: The real housing crisis is affordability

March 12, 2024

By Gail O’Keefe

The HCA zoning decision looming is based on an assumption that we have a housing crisis in Massachusetts. Politicians have linked development to diversity, claiming all towns must help the state in the housing struggle. However, in looking at recent building data from local cities and towns, it seems very likely that the housing crisis is really an affordability crisis, with housing being built that is too expensive for those needing affordable housing.

Earlier this month the Boston Globe reported on the housing boom in Everett — 1,600 new units under construction now, with a total increase of 16% added to their housing stock over the past few years. Only 5% of those units are “affordable” housing, leaving us to question how these units will offset the housing needs facing families.

On Zillow today, over 1,000 housing units are available for rent (and ~100 for sale) in Cambridge; Boston has over 8,000 available for rent, (~1,000 for sale). An additional 800 for rent in Somerville, with 75 for sale. In Waltham, many are available; a brand-new one bedroom will cost you only $2,700/month. In Lexington, 30 rentals, mostly one- and two-bedrooms available. Price range: $2,500- $5,000 per month. And here in Lincoln in mid-March, there are still five units available at Oriole Landing, as well as a few houses.

Clearly, supply is plentiful. Market-rate housing units are available, with hundreds more being built right now all around Boston.

The zoning changes under the HCA has buoyed developers, so the future will see a surge in housing stock. Why, then, are we rushing to jeopardize our grocery store and small retail area to build 100 units? Who are we really helping? Are there thousands of people to fill all these homes? Or is it the cost the real housing crisis? Will trickle-down really reduce housing costs?

HCA Option C simply adds to the volume of new units, 90% at market rate. What happens if we rush to build, alongside all the other MBTA-adjacent towns, and end up with vacant residential units while losing our retail in the deal? One of the state’s goals with the HCA is economic growth for developers. Is that a goal of Lincoln as well? If not, let’s make the zoning more attractive to townspeople rather than RLF’s “more attractive to developers.”

Lincoln’s planning board and the RLF have presented Option C as the only choice, yet other options were not fully presented to the town in the fall. We needn’t give up on affordability and diversity, and should not jeopardize our small but critical retail space. We only need to submit a plan by the end of 2024! There is plenty of time to come to a plan that aligns with the values and goals of our town.


“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: My Turn, South Lincoln/HCA*

Select Board issues positions on community center and HCA rezoning

March 7, 2024

(Editor’s note: This article was amended on March 10 to clarify that the Select Board did not explicitly endorse Article 3 even as it supported compliance with the Housing Choice Act.)

The Select Board has endorsed both the community center project but took a more nuanced approach in its stand on a Housing Choice Act-compliant zoning district — measures that will be debated and voted on at the start of Town Meeting on March 23.

In a statement at their March 4 meeting, the board noted the previously cited justifications for a community center, including the deteriorating condition of the Hartwell pods for the Parks and Recreation Department and the inadequacies of Bemis Hall for the Council on Aging & Human Services, adding that renovating all of them would cost about $14.4 million compared to $24 million for new construction. ICON Architects estimates that construction costs will continue to rise by about 7% a year for the next several years, they added.

Operating costs for a new building have yet to be determined, though the Community Center Building Committee outlined the cost drivers in a March 6 statement. A grant from the Ogden Codman Trust as well as funds contributed and raised by the Friends of the Council on Aging will offset at least $1.5 million of the cost.

The CCBC will hold a forum on the final design concept and cost estimates on Wednesday, March 13 at 7 p.m. The agenda contains the Zoom link.

Housing Choice Act

At the same March 4 meeting, the Select Board also declared support for “the adoption of a Housing Choice Act-compliant zoning district” without specifically supporting Article 3, which asks voters to approve the amended zoning bylaw drawn up by the Planning Board and HCAWG.

Though there’s general agreement that the town should comply with the state law, there has been a great deal of controversy about exactly how to do so. In a second statement on March 4, the Selects said the process “gave residents voice and choice and allowed them to shape the direction and substance of the zoning bylaw.” But members of Lincoln Residents of Housing Alternatives have said that their alternative was not given equal time at the Special Town Meeting on December, when Option C was chosen. Opponents want residents to vote down the bylaw that’s based on that option, which would concentrate all new multifamily housing in South Lincoln, and draw up a different amendment that would allow multifamily housing in other parts of town as well.

The Selects allowed for the possibility of a “no” vote. If the HCA measure isn’t passed by voters, “the Select Board is committed to bringing all interested residents together to forge a compromise to be voted on at a Special Town Meeting before the end of the year,” their statement says.

The stance echoed that of Planning Board Chair Margaret Olson. “If the town has changed its mind, the town will tell us no by voting no. I don’t think any of us should be upset by that prospect. If it’s not approved, that’s OK — that’s part of the process,” she said at the board’s February 20 public hearing on the bylaw.

The town originally scheduled the Town Meeting vote for this month to allow time for the state to vet the amended bylaw for HCA compliance and for the town to make any necessary adjustments before the December 2024 deadline. If voters delay approval until fall, the state presumably won’t have time to review and give its final thumbs-up before the clock runs out, but they haven’t said whether they might be flexible about the deadline if they aren’t able to sign off in time.

In the March 4 discussion, Select Board member Kim Bodnar emphasized the “magnitude of what we’re asking of residents… It really matters to the town we are and the town we might become. This has required the town to think about about who they are, questioning their values. It’s been very tough.”

Category: community center*, South Lincoln/HCA*

My Turn: In support of Article 3 at Town Meeting

March 7, 2024

By Joan Kimball

I am supporting Article 3, the Housing Choice bylaw, at the March 23 Town Meeting.

Having voted in favor of Article C (with the majority) at the December Special Town Meeting, I have since read carefully the pros and cons, attended meetings about the Housing Choice Act and made my decision. I will vote yes on March 23 for the following reasons:

  1. Knowing that we in Massachusetts have a housing crisis, I want Lincoln to be part of the solution, not part of the problem. 
  2. I believe that we have an opportunity now, with RLF and the mall, to actually build some multiple-family housing. Building in the (relatively) near term will:
    • Actually provide housing
    • Be developed by an owner, RLF, who has a proven record of doing things for the town and an understanding of the town so that the development will fit Lincoln. I liked the conceptual drawing that we saw at the recent RLF meeting.
    • Provide more customers for our retail businesses. We need more customers. When I go to Donelan’s, there is never a line, and when I go to other businesses, I am often the only customer. This is not sustainable.
    • Create housing that is near transportation — an important aspect as we oppose climate change.
  3. If we do not include the mall with its potential for building housing, I strongly believe it will take years and years to actually build any housing. It is a complex and challenging undertaking. In addition, I have heard that developers do not want to risk time and investment in projects with the risk of going through Town Meeting.
  4. With town and private investment we can choose to increase the moderate income percentage in housing developments.
  5. As a former Conservation Commission member, I support development on already built land whenever possible to protect habitat on undeveloped land.

Bylaws are not specific housing developments; they are zoning “rules.” A great deal of time — as well as incorporating public comments — has gone into this bylaw. I think it is a good one. Therefore, I vote yes.


“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: My Turn, news, South Lincoln/HCA*

Informational meeting on South Lincoln on Thursday

March 6, 2024

There will be an informational meeting with representatives of the Housing Choice Act Working Group and the Rural Land Foundation (owner of the mall) on Thursday, March 7 at at 7 p.m. in the Lincoln Public Library’s Tarbell Room. This will be an in-person event only, and seating will be limited.

The unofficial meeting with town officials including Select Board member Jennifer Glass, Planning Board Chair Margaret Olson, and Director of Planning and Land Use Paula Vaughn-MacKenzie is organized and hosted by Pam and Ken Hurd. It is not a presentation or debate but will focus on questions people may have regarding the proposed zoning changes to the Lincoln Station District in response to HCA.

Geoff McGean and Michelle Barnes of the RLF will also answer questions on the constraints they face in transforming the current mall building into housing with ground floor commercial, perhaps using a schematic plan for illustrative purposes only.

Videos of the RLF’s public forums in January and February can be found on this RLF web page. Read about them in the Lincoln Squirrel articles published on Jan. 21, 2024 and March 3, 2024.

Category: South Lincoln/HCA*

My Turn: The importance of counting the votes

March 5, 2024

By David Onigman

I have lived in Lincoln most of my life. I grew up here, my mother and her four brothers lived here. I worked for various town departments through a Massport internship growing up in town, working for the Select Board, the Finance Department, and others. I attended Town Meetings growing up, running around microphones during public comment and running the soundboard. I sit on the Parks and Recreation Committee as well as the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee. I coach basketball in our Tri-Town league and I regularly perform music for my fellow residents at the Tack Room and Twisted Tree.

But none of that makes my vote any more or less important than every other voter in Lincoln. Whether you are a patriarch of the town, moved here in the 1900s, or moved here last year… whether you live in a large house on Blackburnian Lane, or live in multifamily housing on Wells Road, your vote counts once.

I have grown extremely weary of the slow drumbeat from the group of residents that opposes Article 3 at our upcoming Town Meeting that implies the will of the town is best measured by any means other than a Town Meeting vote.

Public comment at open meetings, the frequency of those comments, the passion behind those comments, LincolnTalk posts, emails to town officials, or other informal ways of gauging public opinion are no replacement for a democratic process where all votes are counted. In fact, any initiative to not have our votes be counted at the upcoming Town Meeting is a dangerous threat to our democratic process.

I applaud the members of the Planning Board that voted to move forward with the proposed bylaws so that we could indeed, as a town, all voters, vote “Yes” or “No” on the proposed zoning.

I support the proposed zoning. I believe the Housing Choice Act mandated by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is long overdue. I believe one of the many contributing factors to the housing crisis that Massachusetts and the county finds itself in is due to the exclusionary zoning bylaws towns like Lincoln adopted in the mid-1900s.

It is 2024 and our commercial center of town, which is also conveniently located near the commuter rail, does not have the appropriate zoning to allow for multifamily housing development. Left to our own devices, we have not done enough. The HCA is forcing our hand, and it is long overdue.

The commercial center of our town is where this zoning makes the most sense. “Spreading this zoning around town” is not smart municipal planning, in fact it contributes to suburban sprawl, and increases — not decreases — traffic. I also believe the Rural Land Foundation have been great stewards of the town, and the frequent questioning of their motives and lack of trust in the organization has been most disappointing.

But most disheartening has been the recurring talking point that residents like myself, who both support this zoning and also live in the proposed subdistrict, are motivated by our own financial interests and not our true beliefs as housing advocates. There is no way for me to convince someone otherwise if they just continue to say it over and over again, I suppose, but I wish more of my fellow residents who oppose Article 3 would trust me at my word that:

  • Yes, I support this zoning.
  • No, I do not have any plans to sell my property; it is my family’s original home and I love it.
  • Yes, I would be welcoming if my neighbors on either side chose to further develop their property.

In closing, I would like to extend my thanks to all of the hours invested in this process to date, by everyone involved, whether we agree on the topic or not. I look forward to the upcoming Town Meeting vote to truly see what the majority of voters in our town support.

It is my hope that the “Yesses” will have it when we vote on Article 3. But if we don’t, you have my word that I will not decry the process. I will be disappointed in the outcome, but I’ll shake it off, and see how I can best advocate for my position moving forward.

Onigman is a Codman Road resident.


“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: My Turn, South Lincoln/HCA*

My Turn: Taking issue with Planning Board dissenters

March 3, 2024

By Trisha O’Hagan

Editor’s note: O’Hagan has said that her quote by her in the February 27 Lincoln Squirrel story headlined “Planning Board splits 3-2 on endorsing zoning amendments” was inaccurate, so it has been removed.

I attended the February 26 Planning Board meeting and felt I needed to respond when a community member emphatically told the planning board that they shouldn’t “sell” the zoning changes at the March 2024 town meeting.

Our Planning Board and Housing Choice Act Working Group have worked diligently to develop sensible zoning changes in line with the Housing Choice Act. They listened to all community members feed back and incorporated many of the residents’ suggestions into the zoning guidelines. And we should all be delighted that the planning board made some very last-minute changes (after checking with the state and our town lawyer) that may allow for including 15% affordable housing.

And lest we forget, they were working from the results of the 2023 December Special Town Meeting in which Option C received the most votes. This is how our town democracy works — we listen, we learn, we vote, and we respect the results of the election.

So it is deeply troubling to me that two members of the Planning Board “do not believe that the vote at the December Special Town Meeting should be taken as a legal act.” Since when does Lincoln have a Town Meeting and vote and then elected town officials decide that it is “not the right time” and advocate to negate people’s vote?

We will all have a chance to vote again soon at the March 23 Town Meeting. My hope is that Option C passes. I believe that Lincoln is a wonderful, welcoming and generous town and that we will embrace the opportunity to be a part of the solution to Massachusetts’ housing crisis. I hope we can build inviting, all-electric, multifamily housing close to our train and town center where people can walk and bike to our schools and shops and churches as well as Codman and Drumlin Farms and our multitude of trails. And I will always respect the results of the election, even if my choice does not prevail.


“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: My Turn, South Lincoln/HCA*

New RLF proposal shows larger and fewer housing units

March 3, 2024

The latest iteration of early plans for developing the mall now includes fewer but larger apartments after residents said at a forum in January that the units ranging from 600 to 800 square feet were too small.

At a February 29 public forum, the Rural Land Foundation, which owns the mall, proposed 40 housing units (down from the previous 47), with one- and two-bedroom units of 708 to 1,261 square feet as well as two studios at 513 and 536 square feet as sketched out by Union Architects (see below). Ten percent of the rental units would be designated as affordable. The bank building and the Something Special building would be demolished and rebuilt while the Donelan’s and the post office/restaurant building remain untouched in this phase.

To accommodate Donelan’s, the main parking lot won’t be disrupted during construction. Twisted Tree could operate out of a food truck and other tenants might be able to use temporary trailers or take advantage of phased construction, said RLF Executive Director Geoff McGean.

As in the past, residents at the meeting worried about the town losing control of what gets built on the property if it’s eventually sold to a developer. Current plans call for the RLF to offer a ground lease. “I think we would have a lot of say [in lease terms controlling what can be built] and I don’t say that lightly — that would be critical,” McGean said. Also critical: passage of the HCA rezoning measure at Town Meeting so the RLF can start working with designers, lenders, town officials and others.

“From our perspective, we’ve got a really long process ahead of us and we need to get going,” McGean said. “There isn’t a crisis today, but we feel there will be.”

The presentation also included a history of the mall and sketches of parking and traffic circulation, as well as the two design concepts (traditional and modern) for the buildings that were shown in January. There are no plans for an underground or above-ground parking structure, McGean said. There also won’t be a traffic study until we have “much more of a definitive plan,” he added.

Click images below for larger versions with captions.

mall-floor1
mall-floor2
mall-floor3
mall-parking

Category: land use, South Lincoln/HCA*

Clarification and addenda

February 29, 2024

In the February 27 article headlined “Planning Board splits 3-2 on endorsing zoning amendments,” links have been added to the finalized bylaw and accompanying multifamily and mixed-use zoning map.

A phrase in the February 28 article headlined “Draft of HCA design guidelines released” may have been unclear as to the changing nature of public feedback about the HCA, so the wording has been altered slightly. In general, feedback received by town officials has shifted over time and is currently split between a preference for concentrating affordable housing at the mall (especially once the state allowed housing in mixed-use subdistricts to count toward a town’s required total) vs. spreading it around town.

In the summer 2023 public forums and the State of the Town Meeting in October, participants favored the first option (C), but since then, a number of residents have argued in favor of the second direction, and many specific rezoning options have been floated along the way. “Feedback” obviously refers to residents who have spoken publicly on the issue, but the overall actual sentiment of voters won’t be known until March 23.

HCAWG’s work and the feedback it has received was also summarized by Select Board member Jennifer Glass at the start of that meeting. Her remarks were included in the notes area under slides 3-5 but were cut off in the meeting’s slide deck with notes posted to the HCAWG website, but they can be found here, and this link has been added to the February 28 article.

Category: South Lincoln/HCA*

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