Joe Sussman
Shiva will be held at the Sussman home (196 Sandy Pond Rd.) on Monday, March 26 from 3–8 p.m. in remembrance of Joseph Sussman, who died on March 20 at age 78. He was a renowned transportation researcher at MIT and former head of its Department of Cvil and Environmental Engineering, as well as a trustee of the Lincoln Public Library (memorial donations may be made to the library’s Joseph and Henri-Ann Sussman Book Fund).
The First Parish in Lincoln will hold a Good Friday meditation and three services in celebration of Easter Sunday plus an Easter egg hunt for children.
To the editor:
I write to urge Lincoln citizens to attend Town Meeting and vote for the zoning changes required for the Oriole Landing housing development.
In the interest of full disclosure, I am a member of the Planning Board, which has recommended passage of the proposed zoning amendments, but this is a personal plea from me simply as a private citizen who has been deeply involved in housing matters in Lincoln. In 2000 I joined the Housing Commission and since then have had a hand in most if not all of the affordable housing units added to Lincoln’s inventory. I chaired the Affordable Housing Trust and helped draft the town’s first Housing Development Plan and our Inclusionary Zoning bylaw. When Lincoln’s affordable housing stock briefly fell below 10 percent, I assisted in a challenge at the state level that thankfully deflected a 40B application for a 30-unit development on a one-acre lot on Route 117.
My experience gives me some perspective on the merits of the Oriole Landing proposal, and on the merits, I hope it will be approved. There are many reasons why, but there are a few key points.
First, the project offers housing in a range sorely missing in Lincoln. This isn’t just the units that qualify as affordable, but also the market-rate units that open opportunities for seniors to downsize and young people to live in Lincoln.
Second, 40B development is a real threat. Without additions to our affordable housing, Lincoln will fall below the 10 percent requirement in 2020, and with our high real estate values, developing units that qualify for the Subsidized Housing Inventory (SHI) is very difficult. Critics of the Civico proposal have argued that we should pursue other options, but other available options have been pursued vigorously without success. The housing groups in Lincoln have not been sitting idly by while the clock ticks.
Finally, collaborative developers like Civico are rare. Other developers that checked out the six-acre parcel where Oriole Landing would be located were contemplating 150 or more units. In response to citizen concerns, Civico reduced the number of proposed units from 72 to 60, increased the share of affordable units from 15 to 25 percent (thus qualifying all 60 units for the SHI), committed to preserving the historic farmhouse located on the property, and agreed to measures to mitigate community impacts. If the parcel goes back on the market, there is nothing to prevent its falling into the hands of someone far less accommodating.
Having mentioned community impacts, it must be noted that projects that serve the greater public good often have differential effects, and that is the case here. Consequently, care must be taken to understand such impacts and to mitigate them to the degree possible. The Selectmen (who control roadways and traffic regulation) and Planning Board (which must consider abutter impacts in site plan review) are charged with and committed to doing so.
And to those who suggest that by “checking the 40B box” pursuit of housing diversity in Lincoln will wane, let me assure you that is not the case. The South Lincoln Planning and Implementation Committee (a subcommittee of the Planning Board) has been and will continue to investigate and pursue increased housing diversity as an element in revitalizing the Lincoln Station area. More to come on that in future Town Meetings!
Sincerely,
Gary Taylor
2 Beaver Pond Rd.
Letters to the editor must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to lincolnsquirrelnews@gmail.com. Letters 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.
Turns out the weather forecasters were turkeys on this latest storm (March 2018 nor’easter #4), which at one point was predicted at 6-12″ but wound up being barely enough to show footprints. (Photo by Rich Rosenbaum)
Readers may submit photos for consideration for Lincoln Through the Lens by emailing them to lincolnsquirrelnews@gmail.com. If your photo is published, you’ll receive credit in the Squirrel. Photos must be taken in Lincoln and include the date, location, and names of any people who are identifiable in the photo. Previously published photos can be viewed on the Lincoln Through the Lens page of the Lincoln Squirrel.
To the editor:
The Lincoln Housing Commission and Affordable Housing Trust are co-sponsoring the Oriole Landing Project at Town Meeting on Saturday, March 24.
The project, located at 1 Mary’s Way and presented in Warrant Article 30, is the result of a truly collaborative effort over the past six months involving multiple town boards and committees, Civico Development, and extensive public input. Because of these efforts, we believe Oriole Landing will benefit the residents of Lincoln in the following ways:
Lincoln’s SHI is anticipated to fall below 10 percent in 2020, making the town vulnerable to 40B high-density housing developmens similar to projects under consideration and/or construction in Weston, Wayland, and Sudbury today. In fact, at least four prior developers made inquiries with the town about the six-acre Mary’s Way property since it was listed for sale, discussing developments ranging in size from 125–250 units.
To arrive at where we are today, many town boards and committees, through multiple public forums, hearings, and informational sessions, have worked diligently to identify and address the many concerns and issues raised about this project, including:
The Housing Commission’s 2014 Housing Plan’s goals included providing housing for young couples, empty nesters seeking to downsize, those who work in town, and those connected to Lincoln in other ways. Oriole Landing will enable the town to create moderately priced local housing opportunities in a cost-efficient manner, rather than pursuing the inefficient and expensive task of incrementally increasing Lincoln’s subsidized housing stock to keep pace with new home construction.
If approved, the Housing Commission and Affordable Housing Trust will be able to turn their focus toward other important housing initiatives, such as working with the South Lincoln Planning and Implementation Committee to explore housing opportunities in the Lincoln Station area.
You have an important role in determining the shape and direction of Lincoln’s future. Please join us this Saturday at Town Meeting, participate in the discussion, and vote. Lincoln’s Board of Selectmen, Housing Commission, Affordable Housing Trust, and Planning Board have all endorsed this project. We ask that you support it too, by voting “yes” in favor of Warrant Article 30. See the websites below for more information.
Sincerely,
James Craig and George Georges
Co-chairs, Lincoln Affordable Housing Trust
Allen Vander Meulen
Chair, Lincoln Housing Commission
Pamela Gallup
Lincoln housing consultant
Letters to the editor must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to lincolnsquirrelnews@gmail.com. Letters 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.
The Planning Board will hold a public hearing on Tuesday, March 27 at 7:30 p.m. to review an application for Site Plan Review. The applicant, Joachim Fruebis of 58 Weston Rd., proposes to construct a new home on an undeveloped lot.
The Historical Commission will hold a public hearing on Tuesday, April 3 at 7:30 p.m. to consider the application of Hytho Pantazelos for a request to extend the 12-month delay to demolish the structure at 12 Woodcock Lane.
The Zoning Board of the Appeals will hold a public hearing on Thursday, April 5 at 7:30 p.m. to hear and to act on a petition by Mary Kostman, 131 Tower Rd., for a special permit for an addition of an art studio, open air deck and screened porch.
Forum on bike safetyThere will be a Mass. Bike Forum co-sponsored by the Lincoln Cycling Safety Advisory Committee and members of the MetroWest cycling community to discuss how towns can create a safe cycling network in Middlesex County on Wednesday, March 28 from 7–9 p.m. in Bemis Hall. Richard Fries, executive director of MassBike, will speak on “Middlesex Revelations,” followed small-group brainstorming from 7:45–8:30 p.m. and a plenary discussion incorporating a summary, prioritization, and next steps from 8:30–9 p.m.
Lotus Blossom (394 Boston Post Rd., Sudbury) will sponsor a fundraiser for the Lincoln-Sudbury Scholarship Fund on Tuesday, March 27. The restaurant will donate 20 of all orders between the hours of 5–9 p.m. when customers mention LSSF when ordering. There will also be representatives in attendance to answer questions about the scholarship application process.
The Lincoln Public Library encourages all residents to take the community survey to helpguide improvements and shape the future as it develops a new five-year plan of service. Each person in the household (kids too!) can submit a survey individually. Click here to take the survey.
The Friends of the Lincoln Public Library and the Friends of the Lincoln Council on Aging are co-sponsoring a free “Remembering Names” workshop with Neil Kutzen on Thursday, April 5 at 6:30 p.m. in the library’s Tarbell Room. The workshop will train attendees to remember the name of anyone they meet using Kutzen’s MemorizeBest program. Preregistration is required. To register, call 781-259-8465 ext. 202 or email lrothenberg@minlib.net.
Rupert Wates
Rupert Wates is the featured performer at the next LOMA (Lincoln Open-Mike Acoustic) night on Monday, April 9 in the Lincoln Public Library’s Tarbell Room. The event runs from 7-10 p.m., and Wates will perform a half-hour set starting around 8:30. He has released nine albums and he can be seen in this video performing “Waiting to Begin.” LOMA is a monthly event. 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.
Here’s a guide to stories published in the Lincoln Squirrel about some of the topics to be voted at at Town Meeting on Saturday, March 24. See the town website for a one-page summary of warrant articles and the full warrant.
The town election is Monday, March 26 from 7:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. in the Smith gym. Click here for more town information about voting. Scroll down for more information and to see the ballot.
In the March 26 town election, the contest for two open seats on the Lincoln-Sudbury District School Committee has drawn the most attention. Lincoln resident Nancy Marshall is stepping down from the panel and fellow Lincolnite Carole Kasper is running for her seat. Meanwhile, Sudbury resident Gerald Quirk was up for reelection but unexpectedly withdrew from the race after the candidates’ filing deadline, so three other Sudbury residents—Cara Doran, Siobhan Hullinger, and Ellen Joachim—are running as write-in candidates.
Kasper and her supporters are urging residents to write in Joachim, but both Joachim and Hullinger have been the subject of numerous letters to the editor to the Lincoln Squirrel. All seats on the committee are at large, meaning neither town is apportioned a certain number.
There are also contested races for the Cemetery Commission and the Parks and Recreation Commission. Cemetery Commission candidates are Susan Harding and Carol DiGianni, who is featured in a short video on the town website. Also in the video is a statement from Kasper starting at the 2:25 mark, and a video by Parks and Recreation Commission candidate Rey Romero and his daughter at the 5:25 mark. Romero is running against Sarah Chester and Adam Hogue for the single seat.
There is also a question on the ballot:
Question 1. Shall the Town of Lincoln be allowed to assess an additional $600,000 in real estate and personal property taxes for the purpose of purchasing a new Fire Department engine, including all costs incidental and related thereto, for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2018?
| Board or Committee | Openings/terms | Candidates |
|---|---|---|
| Board of Assessors | One for three years | Edward Morgan* |
| Board of Health | One for three years | Patricia Miller* |
| Board of Selectmen | One for three years | Jennifer Glass* |
| Cemetery Commission | One for three years | Susan S. Harding,* Carol DiGianni |
| Commissioners of Trust Funds | One for three years | — |
| DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park Trustees | One for four years | Jonathan Rapaport |
| Housing Commission | One for three years, one for two years, one for one year | Evan Gorman,* Bijoy Misra,* Keith Gilber |
| Lincoln-Sudbury Regional District School Committee | Two for three years** | Carol Marie Kasper |
| Parks and Recreation Committee | One for three years | Adam Hogue, Rey Romero, Sarah Chester |
| Planning Board | One for three years | Gerald Taylor* |
| School Committee | Two for three years | Peter Borden,* Alvin L. Schmertzler* |
| Trustees of Bemis | One for three years | Mimi Borden |
| Water Commission | One for three years | Robert B. Antia* |
* incumbent
** Carole Kasper of Lincoln is running for one of two seats. Three Sudbury residents—Cara Doran, Siobhan Hullinger, and Ellen Joachim—are running as write-in candidates for a second open seat.
The Planning Board voted unanimously this week to recommend passage at Town Meeting of a measure that would give preliminary approval to the Oriole Landing mixed-income housing project.
In its recommendation, the board included several conditions that will be reflected in conditions for any future approval of the developer’s formal application. If the Town Meeting measure (which would create a development district within the North Lincoln Overlay zoning district and also approve a preliminary land use plan) passes by a two-thirds majority, Civico Development must then come back to the Planning Board within two years to obtain a special permit and site plan review.
In the first portion of the board’s public hearing on March 6, neighbors protested the 60-unit proposal on a number of fronts, saying the project is too large, will cost the town money due to increased school enrollment from tenants, will significantly increase traffic in the neighborhood, and will allow the town to dispense with any future efforts at increasing affordable housing in town.
At the hearing continuation on March 20, Andrew Consigli of Civico detailed changes in the proposal that resulted from community input at various meetings and open houses. The original proposal called for a four-story building of rental units (15 percent of them affordable) plus a condo building. The plan now calls for no condos and two 30-unit rental buildings of two and a half to three stories, with 25 percent of the units deeded as affordable. Consigli noted that this adjustment was made possible by the promise of a no-interest loan of $1 million from the Lincoln Housing Commission. The sum does not need to be repaid to the town unless the affordability deed restrictions are terminated for any reason in the future.
Rather than tearing down the 1870s Dexter C. Harris house on the property, Civico has pledged to spend up to $100,000 to relocate the house between the two rental buildings and repurpose it as an open three-season indoor space for gatherings or studio use.
In response to traffic concerns, Civico agreed to a left-turn-only restriction out of the Oriole Landing driveway onto Mary’s Way from 6:30-9:30 a.m. on weekdays. The company also agree to donate $25,000 to Lincoln’s Complete Streets program to improve street safety and accessibility for drivers, bicyclists, and pedestrians. (Last fall, the town received a $400,000 state grant for 10 projects that must be completed by September 2018.)
In their March 19 vote to endorse the Oriole Landing project, the Board of Selectmen specified that the $25,000 should be used if possible to create a roadside path along Old Concord Turnpike near the development. The Department of Public Works is also planning to paint a center line on Mary’s Way. In addition, Consigli said he was looking into the idea of offering a fee-based shuttle service between the development and the Alewife MBTA station.
“It’s a better plan from when we first came in with,” he said.
The town hired Lynne Sweet of Newton-based LDS Consulting in Newton to look at Civico’s fiscal impact statement. Her report estimated a net positive fiscal impact to the town of about $114,000 annually—just under the $115,000 predicted in the analysis commissioned by Civico.
“The margins are very slim for this project,” Sweet said of the development’s projected finances. Because of the reduced density from the original plan and things like the LEED certification, “the numbers are really tight; there’s not a lot of wiggle room to add more costs,” she said in concluding that the $1 million loan is in fact necessary to make the project financially feasible.
“For me, this was a difficult decision,” said Planning Board member Lynn DeLisi after the vote. “I was very impressed with Civico and how they interacted with the community, but on the other hand, I have great sympathy for the neighborhood. Cathy O’Brien made some very good points.”
O’Brien, who lives on Cambridge Turnpike and whose mother Mary’s house abuts the development site, raised numerous objections at the earlier public hearing. On March 21, she confirmed on LincolnTalk that she was the source of a town-side mailing that reiterated those objections and urged residents to vote “no” vote at Town Meeting.
“Neighborhoods are personal—it’s where we live,” Selectman Jonathan Dwyer said earlier this week when Selectmen unanimously voted to endorse the project. If voters approve it, “we need to help the neighborhood get that it needs to help them live with it.”
Selectmen James Craig and Jennifer Glass also expressed sympathy for the neighbors, who have had to live alongside two construction projects at The Commons as well as the Route 2 project in recent years. However, they couldn’t pass up an opportunity to guarantee the town’s state-mandated affordable housing minimum for years and thus avoid a much larger 40B housing project that could bypass local zoning restrictions. Weston and Wayland are both facing the real prospect of “unwanted large-scale developments that are really going to change the fabric and essence of those communities,” Craig said.
To the editor:
I am writing in support of Siobhan Hullinger’s write-in candidacy for the L-S School Committee. Having known Siobhan for some time, I am confident that the thoughtfulness she brings to the conversation will be an asset to the district. I know Siobhan to be thoughtful and listen to people. She takes an approach that is thoughtful, deliberate, and considered. She is intelligent and informed, and will seek out advice and input from the whole community, regardless of town of residency, to ensure that we have a wonderful, thriving, academically challenging, and inclusive school community which does not leave anyone behind.
I encourage you to write in her name on the ballot for Lincoln-Sudbury School Committee.
Sincerely,
Craig Gruber
187 Goodmans Hill Rd., Sudbury
Letters to the editor must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to lincolnsquirrelnews@gmail.com. Letters 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.