Waterlands and septics can be taken out for "gross density" <https://www.mass.gov/info-details/section-3a-guidelines#6.-minimum-gross-density-> calculations per 3A guidelines, BUT publicly owned land CANNOT.
The 9.9 acres in the Sudbury parcel that are owned by the town cannot be excluded from the denominator in the density calculation. The calculation shared by Margaret of 21 units per acre is not accurate, since it removes publicly owned land. According to the guidelines, the Sudbury project has a density of 274 units in 26-3.1=22.9 acres or 12 units per acre, below the 15 units per acre needed for HCA compliance. *Any zoning approved in Lincoln that pertains to follow the guidelines would have to be DENSER than what is being built in Sudbury. *Rob is right - I encourage folks to take a look at the Subdury project here <https://sudbury.ma.us/pcd/2020/05/07/cold-brook-crossing-residential-development-planning-board-permitting-application-materials/> . I would also point out that the RLF proposed a plan to build at a density of 25 units per acre (slide 48 <https://www.lincolntown.org/DocumentCenter/View/79138/2023-06-16-HCA-Public-Forum-Slide-Deck?bidId=>). That is almost twice as dense as the project in Sudbury. The model Rob is building will help people understand the enormity of the changes being floated. The working group has not explained why it is solely concerned with following the guidelines, which keep changing and could continue to change even after we vote for any hypothetical rezoning. Guidelines are not law nor regulation. We should be more concerned with what the law states than with attempting to follow guidelines that are merely interpretations of the law by government agencies and are constantly changing. ———————- Section 3A guidelines – 6. Minimum Gross Density a. District-wide gross density To meet the district-wide gross density requirement, the dimensional restrictions and parking requirements for the multi-family zoning district must allow for a gross density of 15 units per acre of land within the district. By way of example, to meet that requirement for a 40-acre multi-family zoning district, the zoning must allow for at least 15 multi-family units per acre, or a total of at least 600 multi-family units. For purposes of determining compliance with Section 3A’s gross density requirement, the EOHLC compliance model will not count in the denominator any excluded land located within the multi-family zoning district, except public rights-of-way, private rights-of-way, and publicly-owned land used for recreational, civic, commercial, and other nonresidential uses. This method of calculating minimum gross density respects the Zoning Act’s definition of gross density—“a units-per-acre density measurement that includes land occupied by public rights-of-way and any recreational, civic, commercial and other nonresidential uses”—while making it unnecessary to draw patchwork multi-family zoning districts that carve out wetlands and other types of excluded land that are not developed or developable. c. Wetland and septic considerations relating to density Section 3A provides that a district of reasonable size shall have a minimum gross density of 15 units per acre, “subject to any further limitations imposed by section 40 of chapter 131 and title 5 of the state environmental code established pursuant to section 13 of chapter 21A.” This directive means that even though the zoning district must permit 15 units per acre as of right, any multi-family housing produced within the district is subject to, and must comply with, the state wetlands protection act and title 5 of the state environmental code—even if such compliance means a proposed project will be less dense than 15 units per acre. > ---------- Forwarded message --------- > From: Margaret Olson <s...@margaretolson.com> > Date: Mon, Oct 9, 2023 at 2:59 PM > Subject: Re: [LincolnTalk] 15 Units per Acre - Part 2: Cold Brook Crossing > - Sudbury/Concord on 117 > To: Robert Ahlert <robahl...@gmail.com> > Cc: Lincoln Talk <lincoln@lincolntalk.org> > > > From the project narrative ( > https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/cdn.sudbury.ma.us/wp-content/uploads/sites/326/2020/05/Cold-Brook-Crossing-Site-Plan-Narrative-March-11-2020.pdf?version=dd2e49a8d33cbe913460c6b7d51236c4 > ): > > Of the 26 acres: > 9.9 acres are in conservation > 3.1 acres are part of the Sudbury Water District and will remain so > > That leaves 13 acres. 274 units/13 acres = 21 units per acre. > > > -- > The LincolnTalk mailing list. > To post, send mail to Lincoln@lincolntalk.org. > Browse the archives at https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/private/lincoln/ > . > Change your subscription settings at > https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/lincoln. > >
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