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

$3.5m cut from school project, but alternate funding is a possibility

By Alice Waugh

(Editor’s note: this story has been updated.)

Items including new trees, some of the playground equipment, and sunlight-controlling window devices totaling $3.5 million were chopped—at least temporarily—from the school project last week after construction bids came in at $3.5 million higher than budgeted.

The School Building Committee (SBC) got the bad news when bids were opened on January 29 and voted on February 12 to approve cuts to close the gap. The newly deleted line items include:

  • $1.2 million for planting new trees, concrete walkways and bike paths, half the playground equipment, an auditorium divider and theatrical rigging, and sunlight-controlling window devices
  • $1.5 million (of the $2.1 million originally budgeted) for furniture, fittings, equipment, and technology
  • $254,000 for auditorium seating, carpeting, and stage paneling
  • $782,000 for using a different foundation pouring method and less expensive new caseworks, as well as not demolishing and removing the temporary classrooms.

In a bit of good news, the $254,000 for the auditorium refurbishment was restored after it recently became clear that the work could be funded from the estate of the late Harriet Todd, a former Selectman who died in 2018 and left $500,000 to the town in her will. Her family agreed that some of that bequest could be spent on the auditorium; the rest will endow a scholarship for Lincoln students.

Some of the other items that the SBC cut may not be gone for good. After a flurry of meetings this week, the Board of Selectmen approved a Special Town Meeting (STM) to vote on restoring some of them with money from a different source. The STM will take place at the start of the Annual Town Meeting on March 28.

The three buckets of items the SBC hopes to restore to the school project. Items in peach are the SBC’s top priority, those in blue are second priority, and green is third priority. Click image to enlarge.

On February 26, the SBC went over its previous list of cuts and parceled them into “buckets” that they hope to offer for STM votes (see illustration). The three buckets, which total $2.08 million, are in descending order of how critical the SBC feels the items are. If the first set (peach) is approved, there will then be a vote on group #2 (blue), and then another vote on the third set (green) if group #2 is also approved. But if any bucket is voted down, there will not be a vote on the next set.

Residents approved a budget of $93.9 million for the school in December 2018. Since the school project cannot increase its previously approved budget, money to restore any of the cuts would have to come from another source and would therefore require residents’ approval. Those sources, as identified by the Finance Committee on February 25, include:

  • Free cash. Officials have already targeted spending $1.5 million from free cash to upgrade the town’s public safety radio system. However, that item on the ATM warrant could be passed over if residents at the STM decide to spend some or all of that money on the school instead. The first two buckets of potentially restored cuts add up to $1.499 million.
  • Tapping the town’s stabilization fund, which currently stands at $2.2 million (this would require a two-thirds majority vote at Town Meeting). Town Finance Director Colleen Wilkins said this week that depleting the stabilization fund even to zero would not affect the town’s AAA bond rating.
  • Borrowing via a capital or debt exclusion. This would require a two-thirds majority at Town Meeting plus a simple majority at the ballot box.

At their meeting on Tuesday, the Finance Committee also expressed concern about how town officials and contractors misread the market and didn’t build in enough bidding contingency funds. “The cost escalation moved very quickly [from an expected 5-6% to 8%], and we may not have understood the preference for new construction” by contractors bidding on Lincoln’s complex renovation project, SBC chair Chris Fasciano told Selectmen on Monday.

Finance Committee members voted 5-2 to “roll back” and reopen its deliberations on the large budget requests (e.g., public safety radio) for fiscal 2021 in anticipation of the SBC’s budget request. They will then deliberate those requests  at one or more meetings before Town Meeting and make a recommendation, which might include supporting the SBC’s request, supporting only portions, not supporting it, or having some other recommendation(s).

FinCom members Tom Sander and Elisa Sartori voted against the motion. “I would like to have voters vote at Special Town Meeting decide on whether they want to put additional money into the school project to preserve these important items that SBC was forced to cut and which otherwise will never be part of the building,” Sander said later. “And I actually personally favor funding these. But I see our role on FinCom as being neutral fiscal trustees of the town. And I feared that undoing our vote to fully fund the police and fire radio project for this coming fiscal year would not as concretely and objectively pose to residents what we (FinCom) would have planned to do with this free cash if it wasn’t put into the school. As long as it is clear to voters at Town Meeting that this is not simply $1.5 million of free cash sitting idle with no other planned uses for it, I’m fine with the vote that FinCom approved.”

“It’s a hard ask,” Selectman Jennifer Glass acknowledged at the SBC meeting. “But in my opinion, this is the moment to say to the town that we have a set of choices. We have a great project as it is, but we have some decisions that, if we don’t make them now, we’ve lost things as part of this project.”

Correction

In the February 25 article headlined “Water usage rates to go up by 28%, base charges by 43%,” Bryce Wolf’s name was misspelled and her place of residence was in error — she lives at Lincoln Ridge, which has 58 dwelling units, not the 41 that were cited in data supplied to the Lincoln Squirrel. Also, in a table accompanying the article, the Greenridge multi-unit development was incorrectly labeled as mostly rental, when in fact it is owner-occupied. The table and article have been corrected.

 

 

Water usage rates to go up by 28%, base charges by 43%

By Alice Waugh

Water usage rates will be going up by 28% as of April 1, and the quarterly base charge will also go up from $35 to $50 for homeowners following a public hearing and Water Commission vote on February 25. The commission also voted to start assessing base charges by dwelling unit rather than water meter, but they decided not to implement that change for those in apartments and condominiums until next year.

The water usage rate hike is slightly less than the 30% that the commission was considering earlier this month. The Water Department is required to collect enough revenue to cover its operating budget for the fiscal year that begins on July 1, 2020 and to replenish its retained earnings, which have been depleted by unanticipated expenses. The proposed operating budget of $1.835 million for fiscal 2021 is 38% higher than this year’s.

The biggest change — and the one that drew about 20 residents to a public hearing on a weekday morning — will be felt next year by those who live in apartments and condo complexes, or multi-unit developments (MUDs). Until now, the base charges were based on the number of water meters at a given location, but MUDs almost always have more households than meters (see table below). For example, Lincoln Woods has 125 units but reportedly only five water meters. An exception is Oriole Landing, which will have one meter for every apartment.

Multi-unit development nameAddress# of dwelling units
The Commons in Lincoln
(other than skilled nursing)		Harvest Circle258
Lincoln Woods*Wells Road125
Battle Road FarmNorth/South Commons, Indian Camp Lane120
Farrar Pond VillageAspen Circle, Chestnut Circle97
Lincoln RidgeBirchwood Lane 41
Ridge Court*Ridge Road “flying nuns”36
Minuteman CommonsOld Bedford Road/Virginia Road32
GreenridgeGreenridge Lane25
Todd Pond CondominiumTodd Pond Road21
Ryan EstateLincoln Road25
Ridge Road Condominium*Ridge Road4

* Developments that are mostly or exclusively rental units

The change is an effort to spread the fixed costs of water service across all users. Lincoln has 87 miles of water mains as well as a water treatment plant, a well, a pressure reservoir and other equipment that must be maintained, said Commissioner Ruth Ann Hendrickson. “No matter how much water you use, those fixed costs are required to be supported… this doesn’t cover the whole cost, but it gives us some stability.”

“Implicitly in the past, users who were not in multi-unit developments were subsidizing these costs by paying more than their share of the fixed costs,” Finance Committee member and Water Commission liaison Tom Sander said before the meeting.

The Water Commission is still in the process of finding out exactly how many units and water meters each development has. Preliminary estimates for the base charge increases for MUDs are based on dwelling unit numbers from the Board of Assessors, and the numbers of meters are “educated guesses” based on complexes where the Water Department has conducted checks, said Sander, who helped compile the numbers.

The commission was required by state law to set water rates for fiscal 2021 by April 1, even though it still lacks data about things like accessory apartments, or how many clients and meters there are in group homes in Lincoln.

“We don’t have that information,” Commissioner Michelle Barnes said. “If we can get more hard information on who we can charge, we’d be happy to receive it.” (One of the residents at the hearing said there are 67 registered accessory apartments according to the town building inspector, but that figure could not be immediately verified.) Barnes and her colleagues later voted to make ““best efforts” to identify all of the accessory apartments in town (some of which are not properly registered) and include them in the new per-unit charges when appropriate.

Attendees also complained about the lack of information in the notice of the public hearing, which was not specific about the fee structures to be proposed. Others noted that some condo associations or apartment tenants and landlords had not been directly notified of the impending hike. Hendrickson said much of that contact information isn’t available on the web, though one resident pointed out that the phone number for Farrar Pond Village is listed in the town telephone directory.

“It’s going to disrupt our community, and there will be turnover in units if that increase goes through,” said Lincoln Woods resident Alisar Cohen, adding that tenants currently see rent increase of 4–6% per year. “Those of us in the market-rate units will most affected, but there will be a spillover to the affordable units.”

Condo residents also protested the base-charge change, especially in light of the fact that most condominium associations have already had annual meetings and set budgets for the year. “This is almost the equivalent of having a septic failure or roof collapse—things at that catastrophic kind of level,” said Lincoln Ridge resident Bryce Wolf, who asked the commission to phase in the change more gradually.

The water increases last year and this year are coming at the same time as homeowners are grappling with significant property tax increases due to the $93.9 million school project. Another Farrar Pond Village resident noted that many of the development’s owners are seniors on fixed incomes.

Although the Water Commission discussed a phase-in plan for the base-rate change for MUDs, members ultimately voted 2-1 to approve the original hikes of 28% for water usage and the base-charge increase from $35 to $50 per quarter. “It’s a very big jump in a very short period of time,” said Hendrickson, who voted in favor of the phased-in plan before voting against the final proposal.

The commission also voted to defer billing for the billing change for multi-unit developments until January 2021 to allow time for financial planning by owners and tenants. That change will be reflected in the quarterly bill that goes out in April 2021, and that bill will include the charges retroactive to April 2020, when the other rate hikes are also taking effect.

Health care facilities (the skilled nursing unit at The Commons in Lincoln and the Care Dimensions Hospice House) will pay a base charge calculated by dividing the number of beds by 2.9, which is the average number of people per household in Lincoln.

“Lincoln is already on the high side and will be on the higher side when we raise rates,” Water Commissioner Michelle Barnes said. Her comparison of water rates in nearby towns showed that Lincoln will rise from $706 to $927 annually for customers using 50,000 gallons a year. The average for Bedford, Concord, Lexington, Sudbury, and Wayland at that level of water use is $542, with Lexington the lowest at $329 and Concord the highest at $850. Lexington and Bedford ($472) get their water from the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority.

Some of Lincoln’s overall costs reflect its steep price increases for tiers of water usage, an incentive for conservation. “The more you use, the higher the cost relative to other towns,” Barnes said.

News acorns

Dancers to read, perform “The Secret Garden”

The Commonwealth Ballet will offer a reading of The Secret Garden geared to younger children accompanied by dancers from the ballet company acting out some of the parts on Saturday, Feb. 29 at 10:30 a.m. at the Lincoln Public Library. For all ages; no registration necessary.

HeatSmart events coming up

The Heatsmart Alliance, of which Lincoln is a member, is holding information sessions on environmentally friendly home heat pumps on the dates below. Meet installers to learn which systems might work for your heating and/or cooling your home. Talk with neighbors who have installed systems. Meet community heating/cooling coaches who can help you sort it all out. Find out about available financial incentives.

  • Saturday, Feb. 29 from 1–3 p.m. — Harvey Wheeler Community Center, 1276 Main St., West Concord
  • Wednesday, March 4 from 7–9 p.m. — Wayland Town Building, Large Hearing Room, 41 Cochituate Rd., Wayland

FELS invites L-s alumni to submit essays on high school’s impact

FELS, the Foundation for Educators at Lincoln-Sudbury, is seeking essays of 500–700 words in preparation for its annual FELS Talk on March 26. This year, in honor of the 20th anniversary of FELS, the topic of the event will be “Warrior Letters: How L-S Influenced My Life.”

L-S alumni and current and retired faculty and staff are invited to submit essays by noon on Sunday, March 1 that tell a good story and explore questions including: What impact has L-S had on the lives of the L-S community? How was L-S a positive, formative influence on who you are today, or the path you chose to pursue? Organizers want a snapshot of a place in time, an event, or a person at L-S that had a profound impact on you. Your story can involve a challenge, a relationship, a gift, a class you took, or some other aspect of your experience at L-S .   

FELS will choose up to 12 essays to be read at the annual FELS Talk on Thursday, March 26 at 7 p.m. in the lecture hall at L-S by a panel of selected readers. Organizers are also collecting L-S trivia, so whether you want to write an essay or submit a short sentence or two of L-S trivia to be collated for the program, your contribution of interesting/unusual/funny bits of L-S history are welcome. You’re also welcome submissions of up to five photos from your days at L-S.

All submissions should be emailed to Admin@FELSGrant.org. With your essay, please provide your name, phone number, profession and where you live, and a brief biographical paragraph. Questions? Email admin@FELSGrant.org.

Josie Toney headlines next LOMA night

Josie Toney

Josie Toney is the featured performer at the next LOMA (Lincoln Open-Mike Acoustic) night on Monday, March 9 in the Lincoln Public Library’s Tarbell Room. The event runs from 7–10 p.m., and Toney will perform a half-hour set starting around 8:30. Toney combines virtuoso fiddle play and guitar work with forceful vocals. She graduated from the Berklee College of Music, where she received the Sam Eisenson Award for Country Music. Here’s her band on YouTube playing her original song “Cryin’ Lonesome.” 

Admission is free and refreshments are provided. Performers can sign up at the event or email Rich Eilbert at loma3re@gmail.com for a slot. There is a sound system with mikes and instrumental pickups suitable for individuals or small groups.

Test-drive an electric vehicle

There will be a test drive of electric vehicles hosted by the Lincoln Green Energy Committee (GEC) and the Green Energy Consumers Alliance at the Mall at Lincoln Station parking lot on Saturday, March 21 from 11 a.m.–2 p.m. (rain date: March 22). Find volume-discount EV pricing and government-sponsored incentives at Greenenergyconsumers.org/drivegreen. For other questions about electric vehicles, email Peter Watkinson at pjwatkinson@mac.com. The event is part of the EV 2020 campaign, a GEC initiative to accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles in Lincoln.

Police log for week of Feb. 14, 2020

February 14

Bypass Road (8:38 a.m.) — Officer assisted a party who ran out of gas; gave them a ride to All Town Gas to get fuel.

Aspen Circle (1:37 p.m.) — Resident received a call from an unknown party looking for money that was allegedly owed to them. Resident has no further information.

Bedford Road (3:23 p.m.) — Caller reported an odor of gas on Bedford Road near Route 2. National Grid was on the scene working.

February 15

Wells Road (9:29 p.m.) — Caller reported another resident banging on the wall. Officer arrived and spoke to the party and advised them to stop their behavior.

February 16

Concord Road (10:05 a.m.) — Officer checking the property saw a person out in back of the shop. Officer spoke to him and learned he’s an employee of T&F Auto.

Winter Street (4:55 p.m.) — Caller reported a tree down on wires. Verizon notified.

Brooks Road (6:20 p.m.) — A walk-in to the station requested assistance with a civil matter. Officer spoke to the party about their legal options.

Lincoln Road (8:55 p.m.) — A party contacted the station to report losing a key somewhere in the Donelan’s parking lot.

Wells Road (4:35 a.m.) — Party reported that an unknown person was in her apartment. Officers responded and assured the caller that no one was present, and also spoke to another family member who was there.

February 17

Old Concord Road (9:47 a.m.) — Officer delivered legal documents to a resident.

Boyce Farm Road (9:51 a.m.) — Officers assisted a party in regard to a civil matter.

Cambridge Turnpike(1:59 a.m.) — An officer stopped a vehicle Route 2 eastbound at Gerard’s Farm Stand and subsequently arrested Robert Campbell, 43, of 20 Acton St. in Maynard for possession of a Class B substance and Possession of a Class E substance.

February 18

Smith Hill Road (11:34 a.m.) — Concord police reported finding a resident’s purse. An officer met with Concord police and returned the purse to its owner.

Aspen Circle (1:26 p.m.) — A walk-in to the station reported his license plate is missing or was stolen from his vehicle. Report taken.

Sandy Pond Road (4:07 p.m.) — Concord police requested a check of a residence looking for a juvenile who left the Walden Pond area and headed back home. Officers located the party and reunited them with a parent.

February 19

Hanscom Air Force Base, Vandenberg Gate (2:41 p.m.) — Officers arrested Christopher Towns, 41, of 7 State St. Apt 1 in Peabody on a warrant from Ipswich police for obscene material to a minor (six counts). He was booked and transferred to Ipswich Police Department.

February 20

Wells Road (8:16 a.m.) — Resident reports being a victim of identity theft. Investigation ongoing.

Harvest Circle (2:10 p.m.) — Officer reports being in a very minor motor vehicle crash in the lot of 2 Harvest Circle. Accident documented.

Lewis Street (5:34 p.m.) — Caller reported a possible water main break. Officers found water coming from a building in which a pipe burst and they’re pumping out the building.

South Great Road (5:40 p.m.) — Walk-in to the station reporting people ice-skating on Farrar Pond. Officers checked and were unable to locate anyone.

Tabor Hill Road (10:24 p.m.) — Caller reported a suspicious package in their mailbox. Officers found the package contained gardening seeds.

Property sales for January 2020

233 Concord Road — 233 Concord Road LLC to Kelly Bales and Anne Kingston for $2,145,000 (January 7)

11 Hiddenwood Path — Negarre H. Moore Trust to Fabio Elia and Veronica Carillo-Marquez for $680,650 (January 8)

0 Baker Farm — Douglas Adams to the Walden Woods Project for $480,000 (January 15)

315 Hemlock Circle — Robert N. Garner trust to Richard and Mary Mansfield for $546,000 (January 22)

17 Stratford Way — Duggal Rajender to Michael and Evelyn Yamauchi for $2,150,000 (January 31)

253 Old Concord Rd. — Kim Sungwoon to Sean Allen and Stephanie Lawkins for $1,169,000 (January 31)

News acorns

Restaurant benefit for L-S robotics

The Lotus Blossom restaurant at 394 Boston Post Rd. in Sudbury is holding a benefit night for Warrior Robotics, the Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School robotics team, on Tuesday, Feb. 25. Part of the proceeds will help the team meet its goal of making it to the 2020 World Championships, including the costs of materials, competition fees, and more. For more information, email joshuaaltman1@gmail.com.

Documentary on voter suppression

“Suppressed: The Fight to Vote,” a 40-minute film documenting voter suppression in the 2018 midterm and gubernatorial elections in Georgia will be shown by the Lincoln Democratic Town Committee on Friday, Feb. 28 at 7 p.m. in Bemis Hall (light refreshments start at 6:30 p.m.). Lincoln resident Andrew Glass will facilitate a discussion afterwards. Free and open to all.

Talking to children about race

Parents and children are invited to “Courageous Conversations: Talking to Children about Race” on Wednesday, March 4 from 5:30–7 p.m. at the First Parish in Lincoln parish house. Conversations about race and racism can be uncomfortable. We might make mistakes and are unsure where to begin, but not talking about race with children can send many unintended messages. Explore ways to have conversations with children about race, racism, diversity and inclusion. Co-hosted by the METCO Coordinating Committee and the First Parish in Lincoln, this facilitated conversation will use the NPR Podcast “Talking Race with Young Children” as a backdrop for identifying strategies to start the conversation with kids about racial differences, race, racism and more.

Dinner for adults and children will be served from 5:30–6 p.m. and childcare will be available from 6–7 p.m. during the discussion. Suggested donation for dinner: $10 for adults, $5 for children. Click here to sign up for childcare. Registration is requested but not required – feel free to join even if you have not signed up. For more information, email Gina Halsted at ginahalsted@gmail.com.

Film: “Bitter Moon”

The Lincoln Library Film Society presents “Bitter Moon” (rated R, 1992) on Thursday, March 5 at 6 p.m. After hearing stories of her, a passenger on a cruise ship develops an irresistible infatuation with an eccentric paraplegic’s wife. Directed by Roman Polanski and starring Hugh Grant and Kristin Scott Thomas. Viewers are welcome to bring dinner or a snack.

Sap-to-Syrup breakfast at Drumlin Farm

Maple sugaring season has begun at Drumlin Farm, just in time for the annual Sap-to-Syrup Farmer’s Breakfast weekend on Saturday and Sunday, March 7–8. From 8:45 a.m.–1:15 p.m. each day, hungry visitors of all ages can feast on hearty pancakes with real maple syrup, as well as Drumlin Farm sausage and roasted potatoes. Seatings take place every half hour, with 45-minute seatings taking place at 8:45 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. for those needing a little extra time.

Other highlights include:

  • Seeing how sap is collected from the wildlife sanctuary’s own sugar maples
  • Exploring the natural history of trees as you learn about the distinctly “Northwoods” product of maple syrup
  • Learning about Native American sap-to-syrup techniques
  • Purchasing maple syrup made at Drumlin Farm to take home
  • Family-friendly, hands-on activities
  • Visiting the evaporator to smell and taste the sweet product made during the maple sugaring process
  • Exploring the property trails and visiting livestock and resident wildlife animals

Tickets are $15 for Mass. Audubon members, $18 for nonmembers, and free for kids 2 and under. Register online or by phone at 781-259-2200.

Program on hearing loss

Hearing Loss Association of America member Carol Agate will speak on “Understanding and Coping with Hearing Loss” on Saturday, March 14 at 2 p.m. at the Lincoln Public Library. The program is geared toward people with hearing loss, people who think they might have hearing loss, people whose friends tell them to get their hearing checked, or people who simply want to know what hearing loss is. The library will also be introducing its new hearing loop system.

Domestic Violence Roundtable presents “Boys Don’t Cry” 

Over the past five years, the Sudbury-Wayland-Lincoln Domestic Violence Roundtable has participated in the White Ribbon Day Campaign by engaging our local communities in events designed to raise awareness and highlight the role of men and boys in ending gender-based violence. This year a group of male Roundtable members has worked together to promote discussions and create presentations to provide tools to help create more peaceful, healthy communities free of gender-based violence. The events began in February with a series of small group discussions on “What It Means to Be a Man” and how to raise boys to be healthy and respectful men.

The discussions will continue on Tuesday, March 10 at 3 p.m. in the Community Meeting Room at the Wayland Public Safety Building (38 Cochituate Rd., Wayland) with a program featuring the screening of the White Ribbon Campaign video “Boys Don’t Cry.” Following the screening, there will be a discussion of the issues raised by the video led by Stephen Thompson and Jason Verhoosky, members of the Roundtable planning group. The program will also feature the raising of the White Ribbon Day Flag and a recitation of the pledge to end violence against women. The program will conclude by asking for commitments to action.

To continue this discussion, participants are also invited to the Roundtable’s first ever half-day summit entitled “Tough Guys and Gentle Men: Healthy Men in the Age of #MeToo” in Lincoln on Saturday, March 14 from 9:30 a.m.–2 p.m. at St. Anne’s-in-the Fields Church. Registration for the summit is required. Details can be found at www.domesticviolenceroundtable.org.

Send your creative seeds to the Chipmunk!

The Lincoln Squirrel is adding a new section — the Lincoln Chipmunk, a periodic compilation of feature articles, first-person essays, poetry, drawings, photos and other creative work by Lincolnites. It’s the digital successor to the Lincoln Review, which was published for more than 40 years by Betty Smith and friends.

The Chipmunk will be published as part of the Squirrel website every two or three months, depending on the volume of submissions. Our editor is former Lincoln Review staff member Jeanne Bracken, assisted by Lincoln resident Rhoda Taschioglou. 

The deadline for our first issue is March 1, so send us your stuff! Here are some ideas:

  • First-person essays on almost any topic — a compelling memory, a recent trip, a person or animal you’ve known, your predictions for the coming year, etc.
  • Nonfiction feature pieces about Lincoln history, nature, farms, architecture, etc.
  • Humor and satire
  • Short fiction
  • Poems
  • Profiles of interesting Lincoln residents (current, former, or deceased)
  • Book and movie reviews (especially by or about Lincoln authors/artists)
  • Original drawings and photographs

If you have something else in mind that doesn’t fall into one of these categories, just let us know. You can address questions and send items via email to lincolnsquirrelnews@gmail.com or call Squirrel editor Alice Waugh at 617-710-5542.

The fine print:

  • Submissions must be original work by Lincoln residents, their immediate family members, employees, or others with a direct connection to the town, and they must include the submitter’s name and email address. Anonymous items will not be published.
  • All submissions are subject to selection and editing by the Lincoln Chipmunk staff; publication is not guaranteed.

Company seeks permission for cell tower on Emerson Road

By Alice Waugh

The current and proposed sites of the cell towers under discussion are outlined in yellow.

A wireless technology company is seeking to rezone a piece of residential property on Emerson Road to allow construction of a new cell tower that would replace two existing towers on Mary’s Way. The Planning Board will hold a public hearing on the proposal on Tuesday, Feb. 25 at 7:15 p.m.

Crown Castle International Corp. currently operates two cell towers at 9 Mary’s Way adjacent to the Oriole Landing development and The Commons in Lincoln. The company in turn leases space on the tower to wireless communications companies including AT&T and Sprint. According to a January 21 letter to town officials, the lease on the Mary’s Way parcel is expiring and the company has been unable to negotiate an extension, so “it is necessary to install a relocation tower to address the continuation of wireless service on the networks of some of the leading providers in the town of Lincoln.”

Crown Castle is seeking to add the parcel at 6 Emerson Rd. owned by the Sandra Demirjian Trust and Daniel Cellucci to the town’s Wireless Communications Facility Overlay District, which currently includes 11 parcels on Route 2, Mill Street, Lincoln Road, Lewis Street, Bedford Road, and Sandy Pond Road. (The addresses of the parcels and accompanying overlay district provisions are listed starting on page 43 of the town’s Zoning By-Law.)

The wireless overlay district is one of several zoning districts consisting of noncontiguous parcels that were created to impose special provisions (for example, more restrictions or additional permitted uses) in addition to the existing zoning rules for those properties. The others are the Wetlands and Watershed Protection District, the Flood Plain District, the North Lincoln Overlay District, the South Lincoln Overlay District, and the Solar Photovoltaic Facilities Overlay District. 

The property at 9 Mary’s Way is owned by the David Miller Trust and the John Yagjian Trust, c/o David Segal of 11 Mary’s Way. None of the owners listed for the two properties could be reached for comment.

If the cell towers on Mary’s Way were to be abandoned, the facility owners are required to remove their structures and restore the site to its former condition within one year of the cessation of use.