I'm not sure why we are playing this game of hide the 'expected' developments.
It is true that very little in life is guaranteed. However, I think smart citizens should expect development to follow zoning. Cautious citizens should definitely be prepared and expect for it to follow. I think it is safe to say that the HCAWG also appears to expect development to follow the zoning based on today's meeting, when more low impact zoning ideas were rejected in favor of the current set and "getting something" as I believe was said at the time. There are huge financial incentives that have made the idea of joining the HCA zoning attractive to property owners and potential developers. Unfortunately some of those incentives might be directly at odds with the town's interests. The Mall has gotten the most attention, as RLF has been the only property owner that has publicly stated that they plan to develop. But realistically, it is just one of the new developments that would likely follow. After all, if Doherty's is indeed leaving, zoning it for over 20 housing units makes a very strong financial incentive to build something along those lines at that location. Being zoned mixed use doesn't require any commercial return and we could as a town see an actual decline in our commercial center as a result of the new zoning proposals. If "Codman corner" is zoned for 83 units on 4 acres, there is a very strong financial incentive to build those 83 units there. If Codman is zoned at 180 units, then there will be a very strong financial incentive to build 180 units on the street. All of these potential developments would be done under the new zoning without the normal town approval process and without any remaining sticks to encourage affordability above 10%, green energy goals, or almost any other concerns the town might have. There is a reason the town has never previously just abdicated our town approval process like the HCA proposals suggest we do so. A small committee is now asking the town to do so and take that incredibly bold leap of faith. Asking that we further assume that this zoning doesn't matter and maybe nothing changes feels silly at best. I think the first question any HCA committee should have asked was how much do we really want to tie our hands as a town and make it more difficult to get affordability above 10% and any other town goals we might have from the (most likely) several incoming developments. Instead, the committee has decided to start with a position that we want to reduce our town leverage going forward and done so to such an extent that it even included proposing zoning municipal land that gives 0 credit to the laws compliance. The core issue isn't complicated -- should the town try and maintain as much oversight as possible, or should we cater to the financial interests of developers and affected property owners in the hopes that the reduced oversight and regulations makes more buildings happen. Jeff Birchby Twin Pond Lane On Mon, Nov 6, 2023 at 3:51 PM Margaret Olson <s...@margaretolson.com> wrote: > 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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