You vote on the specific zoning language at the March town meeting. The vote on Dec 2nd is only for which option the zoning regulations are to address.
This process has multiple steps: 1. develop possible approaches 2. choose an approach 3. develop zoning regulations for the chosen approach 4. Vote on the zoning 5. Assuming the zoning passes at town meeting, send the zoning to the state for approval We are at step 2: choose an approach. There are no zoning changes on the warrant on Saturday, only a “sense of the town” vote. There will be public meetings and a public hearing and multiple opportunities for the public to provide input prior to the zoning vote in March Note that the preliminary verification check that we are soliciting now is just that: a preliminary check. It isn’t a full review; that comes after we have adopted HCA zoning. On Wed, Nov 29, 2023 at 9:08 PM Robert Ahlert <robahl...@gmail.com> wrote: > So how can we be expected to vote on Saturday when key information is > contained in ONLY the Zoning Bylaw? > > For example, the section on the Village Center states that only 30-40% of > the ground floor of buildings will have to remain commercial. Is that > still the latest language? Perhaps you can provide the revised language to > the residents because I know it only applies to interior portions of the > parcel and not frontage on Lincoln Rd. This is a critical point. No one > knows what the "mandatory" in mandatory mixed use actually means. It's > only "mandatory" that 30-40% is commercial, the rest can be parking or > units at ground level. > > If Donelan's decides not to renew, wouldn't a "by right'' property owner > (e.g. CIVICO) likely demolish that building and only leave 30-40% of the > ground floor as commercial? Could the developer push out the grocery store > b/c housing is more profitable? I worry we would end up with more of a > mini-mart than a real grocery store > > *Vote Option E, this process needs more time.* > > Rob > 185 Lincoln Rd, Lincoln, MA 01773 > <https://www.google.com/maps/search/185+Lincoln+Rd,+Lincoln,+MA+01773?entry=gmail&source=g> > > On Wed, Nov 29, 2023 at 8:43 PM Margaret Olson <s...@margaretolson.com> > wrote: > >> On the draft the planning board was discussing last week at our working >> meeting: >> >> As is common with working drafts, the text of the HCA zoning by-law >> discussed by the planning board at our working meeting included all the >> options the board might consider. The draft has text from planning board >> members, town staff, and town counsel. It is both incomplete and at the >> same time contains multiple approaches to the same problem, only one of >> which will be chosen. The board has not voted on it. It is not possible at >> this point to make any statements about what the zoning does and does not >> include or permit. >> >> I’ll also point out that the errors in the HCA submission to the state >> were inconsequential. They were corrected for completeness but the updates >> did not change anything material. >> >> Margaret >> >> >> >> On Wed, Nov 29, 2023 at 6:56 PM David Cuetos <davidcue...@gmail.com> >> wrote: >> >>> The State allows towns rezoning land that can be used towards HCA >>> compliance to require developers to set aside 10% affordable units. In >>> order to request a higher than 10% affordable quota, towns have to submit a >>> feasibility study to the State. As per the guidelines >>> <https://www.mass.gov/info-details/section-3a-guidelines>, the analysis >>> must demonstrate that a reasonable variety of multi-family housing types >>> can be feasibly developed at the proposed affordability levels, taking into >>> account the densities allowed as of right in the district, the dimensional >>> requirements applicable within the district, and the minimum number of >>> parking spaces required. Lincoln hired a third-party to conduct such a >>> study >>> <https://www.lincolntown.org/DocumentCenter/View/85137/Final-Draft-Lincoln-Econ-Feasility-October-6-2023>, >>> requesting 15% affordable units, but the State denied our request. >>> >>> Could the denial have been a surprise to the authors of the study? >>> >>> The answer is a resounding no. The feasibility analysis included a >>> series of scenarios with deeply negative rates of return (as low as -37%). >>> Anyone who had taken a look at the report ahead of its submission would >>> have known that the State would not grant Lincoln the requested 15%. >>> >>> Was denial the only possible outcome? >>> >>> The answer I believe is also a resounding no. The analysis conception >>> was deeply flawed. A more reasonable set of scenarios would have probably >>> yielded at least 15% affordable units, perhaps even 20%. >>> >>> Why did Lincoln submit a report that would certainly be denied? >>> >>> We enter into the realm of speculation here, but there are only two >>> reasonable explanations: lack of oversight, or satisfaction with the >>> results. >>> >>> Supporting the lack of oversight explanation, there are several >>> instances in which the HCAWG and the Director of Planning have failed to >>> properly oversee the work of consultants. Gross mistakes were made in the >>> model submission to the State prepared by Utile, as well as in the maps >>> presented to the public in which some parcels were not properly represented >>> in the maps used for public discussion. We also know that the economic >>> analysis >>> <https://www.lincolntown.org/DocumentCenter/View/79178/LDS-Memorandum-to-the-Town-of-Lincoln-re-Oriole-Landing--3162018-1?bidId=> >>> referenced in the HCAWG’s site, which was prepared by a consultant for >>> Civico at the time it was requesting approval for Oriole Landing, includes >>> unsourced educational costs that severely understate their true value. If >>> proper numbers had been used, the study would have indicated that the >>> development yielded negative fiscal results for the Town. >>> >>> Supporting the explanation that the denial was a satisfactory result for >>> the overseeing parties involved is the fact that throughout this process it >>> has been clear that the RLF is trying to maximize the price of the sale for >>> the Mall, and several members of the HCAWG have been publicly explicit in >>> their support for meeting Civico’s wishes. Loosening affordability >>> requirements would obviously increase the profits for Civico and therefore >>> the price of the sale. Let us remember that certain Planning Board members >>> presented a by-law draft last week that allowed the developer to pay fees >>> in lieu of building affordable units. >>> >>> What are the flawed assumptions exactly? >>> >>> The study runs some internal rates of return (IRR) for a variety of >>> multi-family housing types. The scenarios are divided into for sale >>> developments, and rental developments. The scenarios are also divided by >>> the type of development; there are townhome scenarios and garden style >>> scenarios. Finally scenarios vary by size: 24 units, 45 units, and 120 >>> units. >>> >>> All of the townhome scenarios deliver rates of return that are >>> commensurate with developers’ expectations. The four garden style >>> developments are however deeply problematic. Their IRRs are -37% and -32% >>> for the for sale developments and 2% and -1% for the rentals. Garden style >>> and townhome developments are modeled as costing a similar amount, but >>> townhomes have a unit market price that is approximately 50% higher! >>> Simply, why are the consultants modeling garden style developments when >>> townhomes are so superior economically? No rational developer would ever >>> develop a garden-style development assuming this set of assumptions is >>> remotely accurate. It is important to note that the math for garden style >>> developments would also not work at 0% affordability. >>> >>> Why are the for sale garden style condos so unattractive? >>> >>> The assumptions used by the consultant are highly flawed. First, the set >>> of comps seems quite biased. Why are we taking Cold Brooks in Sudbury as >>> basically the only comp to determine price per unit? If we are taking a >>> comp from a westerly neighbor (Sudbury), why not also take an easterly >>> neighbor (Lexington)? Since prices per square foot for the comps in >>> Lexington >>> <https://www.lexingtonma.gov/DocumentCenter/View/8838/Eco-Feasibility-Study-033023?bidId=>, >>> per the consultants admission, are 40% higher than those for Sudbury the >>> result, had we taken an average of the two, which would have been more >>> appropriate, would have changed dramatically. >>> >>> More importantly, Cold Brooks is a new development. It is completely >>> absurd to expect Pulte Homes, the developer of Cold Brooks and a publicly >>> traded company, to start a development expecting negative 30% returns. >>> Clearly the cost per unit used by our consultant is dramatically wrong. >>> >>> -- >>> 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. >>> >>> -- >> 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. >> >> > > -- > *Robert Ahlert* | *781.738.1069* | robahl...@gmail.com >
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