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

Students’ Town Meeting article seeks funds for field work

The eighth-grade warrant article group, left to right: Amalia Munn, Allie Dwyer, Colin Christian, Greer Harnden and Elena Christenfeld.

The eighth-grade warrant article group, left to right: Amalia Munn, Allie Dwyer, Colin Christian, Greer Harnden and Elena Christenfeld.

Six Lincoln School eighth-graders are hoping voters at Saturday’s Town Meeting approve a citizens’ petition for funding to clear the edges of one of the school playing fields.

Elena Christenfeld, Colin Christian, Allie Dwyer, Greer Harden, Amalia Munn and Irene Terpstra have been meeting every Monday since September withTown Moderator Sarah Cannon Holden and Town Clerk Susan Brooks to experience the process for getting an issue before Lincoln’s Annual Town Meeting.

After conversations with the Parks and Recreation Department, the students first came up with the idea to clear the edges of the playing fields next to Codman Pool, the Smith school building and the Town Office Building where brush is growing into the playing area. They eventually settled for just the Smith field as well as an adjacent student emergency evacuation area.

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Community center on Hartwell campus would cost $13 million, panel says

The Community Center Study Committee's "preferred option." Click on the image for more options and interior design ideas.

The Community Center Study Committee’s “preferred option.” Click on the image for more exterior and interior design ideas.

By Alice Waugh

Residents on Saturday will have the chance to hear the final report of the Community Center Study Committee (CCSC), which proposes a community center to be built on the Hartwell campus at a total cost of about $13 million, including roads and other site work.

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Carvings reflect conservation ranger’s love of birds

A montage of Jane Layton's bird carvings (click to enlarge).

A montage of Jane Layton’s bird carvings (click to enlarge).

One of the exhibits at the Town Office Building looks like it could almost take flight.

Jane Layton has been carving birds and working part-time for the Lincoln Conservation Department for 26 years. Her carvings at the library, which are on display until April 1, include local favorites such as the white-breasted nuthatch and the chickadee as well as puffins, a golden-crowned kinglet and more. [Read more…] about Carvings reflect conservation ranger’s love of birds

Letter to the editor: vote for Domnitz

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To the editor:

The Town of Lincoln has been fortunate throughout its history to have been served by individuals who care deeply about its direction. Through careful planning and respect for all its resources, they have created a place we can all be proud to call home.

As a member of the Planning Board, Bob Domnitz has embodied the ethics and pragmatism that have guided this community for the past 260 years. He has served the town of Lincoln exceptionally well, and I endorse him wholeheartedly.

Sincerely,

Margaret Flint
Lexington Rd.

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: support warrant article on climate change

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Editor’s note: Article 45 is a citizens’ petition that asks voters if they support a resolution “that urges town boards, commissions and committees to consider, in relevant cases, and report in their minutes, the impact of their decisions on climate change; or take any other action relative thereto.”

To the editor:

Lincoln has a long history and a national reputation for being a progressive, proactive community in conservation and environmental protection that is reflected in our landscape. The town must now continue with this tradition of creative and innovative planning in finding effective ways to mitigate and adapt to climate change.

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Letter to the editor: approve zoning amendments at Town Meeting

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Editor’s note: Town Meeting Warrant Articles 37 and 38 ask Lincoln voters if they will amend the town’s zoning by-law to (1) permit a greater variety of commercial uses in the Lewis Street district, and (2) relax the parking requirements for businesses. See the complete warrant for details.

To the editor:

I am writing as a former member of the Board of Selectman who was liaison to the Planning Board for 12 years. I worked closely with the board on many critical development challenges that threatened our rural, small-town character in our residential neighborhoods and our fragile retail district.

From that perspective, I am writing to urge support for Articles 37 and 38 at Town Meeting, and to urge all to better understand the work of our Planning Board in implementing the Comprehensive Long Range Plan (CLRP) and caring for neighborhood character through site plan review.

The Planning Board takes it direction from the values and concerns that the town articulates through Town Meeting actions, the CLRP, planning forums, and the numerous comments from applicants and residents that are received at Planning Board meetings every year.

As to proactive work in planning and implementation of aspects of the CLRP, Articles 37 and 38 will do just that. Many in town believe that we must take actions to preserve and promote a vital retail district in the Lincoln Station area. The Planning Board conducted a study as to how best advance this objective. In addition, they held meetings with local business owners to gather their ideas about promoting the district.  A business district is made up of private property owners who cannot be compelled to make investments. But they can be encouraged and welcomed. That is what Articles 37 and 38 are designed to do.

Other objectives identified in the CLRP are dependent upon voluntary actions of other boards and committees, and cannot be mandated or regulated by the Planning Board.

Several letters to the editor have taken issue with the work of the Planning Board, specifically regarding site plan review.

Site plan review is not unique to Lincoln. It is used across the Commonwealth to preserve community character.

While property owners have rights, those who live in the neighborhood also may have legitimate concerns that deserve consideration. It is the Planning Board that is charged by the town, through the town’s zoning bylaws, to protect neighborhoods. It is a balancing act that I have observed has been taken very seriously and very sensitively by the Planning Board.

The Planning Board works hard to ensure that all new development receives full and fair vetting by the town, and by the neighborhoods that will experience the most immediate impact. When the Planning Board reviews a large project, they are acting in all our interest to ensure we all have a voice in shaping and managing change and the character of our community for years to come.

Sincerely,

Sara Mattes
71 Conant Rd.

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: write in Miller for Board of Health

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Editor’s note: Patricia Miller attempted to get on the ballot for election to the Board of Health, but she did not have a sufficient number of certifiable signatures (e.g., legible signatures of Lincoln registered voters), according to Town Clerk Susan Brooks. The same is true for Susan Harding, who intends to run for reelection to the Cemetery Commission. The specimen ballot can be found here.

To the editor:

Patricia Miller has been a wonderful addition to the Board of Health since she was appointed a year ago. We have been delighted to work with her. I speak for Dr. Fred Mansfield, my other colleague on the board, as well as myself in asking Lincoln voters to support her for a full term and write in her name at next week’s election.

Steven R. Kanner, M.D. (Board of Health member)
12 Bypass Rd.

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.