*I am surprised to hear from an elected official who has attended the same meetings I have that the WG proposal selection process is not about housing production. Whenever one listens to WG discussions, it is very clear this is very much a housing production plan. The WG is very deliberate in its desire to rezone parcels with very low existing units that have a very large probability of being developed at a much higher density. Conversely, the WG is intent on shunning multi-family properties that would lead to little redevelopment. This is the critical disagreement between the WG and many Lincoln residents. *
*How is the redevelopment of the Mall not a housing production plan when we hear that a developer is enlisted and basically ready to break ground as soon as they have a chance?* On Mon, Nov 6, 2023 at 17:47 Karla Gravis <karlagra...@gmail.com> wrote: > This is a very interesting point. According to the post below, the RLF is > a private organization, and we shouldn’t expect them to share their > negotiations with Civico. Yet this private organization, which stands to > benefit from HCA rezoning, has secured not only one but two seats on the > working group. > > We are being told that residents cannot sit on the working group, yet a > private organization can? I believe if we have one stakeholder in the > working group we should allow residents as well. > > We are told that Civico refuses to go through town meeting, and now we are > being told that the RLF, as a private organization, does not need to share > their negotiations. Why are we forgoing the town meeting process, which > would allow us to control the level of affordable housing beyond the 10% > HCA allows as well as potentially many other concessions, because one > developer refuses to go through it? > > In terms of site plan reviews – my understanding is they deal with > basically 5 issues: lighting, topography, drainage, screening, traffic > circulation. There's also a (IMO vague) subjective requirement of > architectural harmony. Site plan reviews cannot really stop a project, > they only dictate mitigation. Let’s remember the plan is to build 85 - 100 > units PLUS one level of commercial space in the mall. Why not allow > ourselves the ability to vote on it as a town? > > > > > >> ---------- Forwarded message --------- >> From: Margaret Olson <s...@margaretolson.com> >> Date: Mon, Nov 6, 2023 at 15:50 >> Subject: Re: [LincolnTalk] Why Lincoln should overlay HCA zoning over >> existing multi-family districts >> To: Deborah Greenwald <deborah.greenw...@gmail.com> >> CC: David Cuetos <davidcue...@gmail.com>, Lincoln Talk < >> lincoln@lincolntalk.org> >> >> >> The HCA is about zoning - what property owners have a right to do with >> their property. It is not about housing production and there is no town >> project to develop housing. >> >> The Mall is private property owned by the Rural Land Foundation. The RLF >> is a private 501(c)(3) organization. It would be unusual for a private >> organization to publicly discuss their negotiations with a developer or >> developers. As a private organization the RLF is not subject to the state's >> RFP (bidding) process. >> >> I can't help but point out that the Boston Public Garden is surrounded on >> three sides by dense development, including several buildings with ground >> floor retail and apartments or offices above. >> Monument Square in Concord has multifamily housing - 30 Monument square >> is a condo building. There are additional condos and apartments within .2 >> miles. >> >> On Mon, Nov 6, 2023 at 1:43 PM Deborah Greenwald < >> deborah.greenw...@gmail.com> wrote: >> >>> Dear All, >>> I would very much like to have David's proposals included in our vote. >>> He >>> And are we taking bids from multiple developers? Some might be more >>> amenable to more low income units. >>> To me it seems that considering any development near Codman Farm is akin >>> to building an apartment building on the Boston Public Gardens or >>> Concord's Monument Square. That area is one of Lincoln's jewels and should >>> be preserved. >>> On Sun, Nov 5, 2023 at 10:01 PM David Cuetos <davidcue...@gmail.com> >>> wrote: >>> >>>> I have received some questions from residents trying to understand why >>>> our HCA proposals overlay zoning over existing multi-family districts. I >>>> thought the rationale was important enough to share it with the wider >>>> public. >>>> >>>> I believe the town would be better served by separating as much as >>>> possible the zoning exercise required for compliance approval from actual >>>> development. Zoning existing multifamily developments accomplishes that >>>> goal, as those properties already have the characteristics we would like to >>>> see and they are unlikely to be redeveloped. Let me explain the logic >>>> behind the separation. >>>> >>>> HCA compliance requires us to zone a certain number of acres to a >>>> certain density by right. What that means is that as long as the developer >>>> does not go past our height and setback bylaws, they do not need to ask the >>>> town for feedback. This is not what historically happened in Lincoln. >>>> Historically every multi-family development was a give and take between the >>>> developer and the town. In that process the town was able to extract >>>> important concessions like the number of affordable units, measures to >>>> reduce environmental impact, etc. >>>> >>>> While that give and take was quite important, for areas rezoned under >>>> HCA the town's influence is diminished even further as developers would get >>>> an override over certain town bylaws the State considers too >>>> restrictive. Among them two are chief: affordability and wetland setbacks. >>>> The state will only allow us to ask a developer to include 10% affordable >>>> units. The town’s bylaws require 15%, and historically the town has never >>>> approved anything below 25%, including some units reserved for low income >>>> households. 25% is also the lowest percentage of units for an entire >>>> development to count towards 40B State requirements. The other requirement >>>> at odds is wetlands setback. The town’s bylaws require 100’ and the State >>>> only gives us 50’. This difference would be critical in some sensitive >>>> areas like Codman Rd. >>>> >>>> Our view is that it is detrimental to the town’s general interest to >>>> allow a developer to build a large multifamily building without going >>>> through town meeting approval. The success of Oriole Landing is testament >>>> to the usefulness of town meeting: a win-win for the town and the >>>> developer. We have actually learned from other towns like Winchester that >>>> we can drive a much tougher bargain than we have done in the past. >>>> >>>> We see with skepticism claims that the Oriole Landing developer, who >>>> made an estimated $12M profit and was able to get through town meeting in >>>> nine months, does not want to go through town meeting again. Lincoln has >>>> historically not been an obstructive town towards multi-family developers >>>> and there is no reason to think that would change now that HCA has lowered >>>> Town Meeting approval thresholds from 2/3 to just a simple majority. >>>> >>>> I ask all residents to consider that when they vote to rezone an area, >>>> they are de facto abdicating their democratic right to influence future >>>> development. >>>> >>>> David Cuetos >>>> Weston Rd >>>> >>> -- >>>> 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. >>> >>> -- > 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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