Thanks for the thoughts. MA certainly has a dark history. Exclusions of many sorts (including housing-related) are a stunning part of that story.
I wanted to offer that the residents’ group who’ve been working on viable alternatives to the HCA compliant models the appointed town working group have proposed are committed to creating a higher % of affordable housing units than the HCA law permits (which is 10%.) Such a commitment might well support some individuals/families of middle and lower incomes that need housing while adding to Lincoln’s affordable housing, increasing diversity in our community, and encouraging use of non-fossil fuel models of transit.
In my opinion, these goals can be achieved while preserving some semblance of the small Town character.
Kathleen Lomatoski klomato...@gmail.com On Nov 7, 2023, at 5:23 PM, Bob Kupperstein <bobk...@gmail.com> wrote:
We all have the ability to not open these emails and use our delete button.
I have not witnessed any personal attacks or toxicity regarding the HCA issue.
Perhaps, but I have seen a lot of posts telling us what will happen if x-and-y is passed, including some pretty extreme numbers. Unless someone has a crystal ball, none of us knows what will happen. We can say what might happen, what we think is likely to happen, what could happen, etc., but not what will happen.
Why would anyone be opposed to the ultimate form of democracy - town meeting - two-thirds majority vote which has been the norm for Lincoln for many years now. The townspeople have most always gotten it right. Should not the majority have the final say?
...
Well, our town and our region is extremely segregated along racial and economic lines, as well as in the range of housing options - which is what prompted the HCA. The high threshold of a two-thirds majority helps perpetuate the same exclusionary policies. The concept of maintaining the character of the town can be well-meaning, but can also be code for resisting any change and keeping others out. That argument has been used over and over again as a way to resist integration.
Lincoln already has a very large percentage of its open space already protected, so this isn't really about that.
Respectfully,
-Bob
Kind Regards,
Scott Clary
617-968-5769
Sent from a mobile device - please excuse typos and errors It’s been very hard to read message after message of people accusing others of trying to ruin this town. I’m really very sad and tired of hearing it all.
1. At the last town meeting, people told the RLF their renderings were too generic and asked them to put together renderings that were more specific to what they envisioned being developed. So, trying to be responsive to these requests, they are putting together renderings of what is currently conceived. Of course these are going to be hypothetical! That doesn’t mean they are acting in bad faith, putting forth a lie. I personally do not believe they are operating in bad faith. Do they have a vested interest in making sure *something* moves forward? Yes, of course. That doesn’t mean they are willing to go along with something they think will be bad for the town? No. Fundamentally, I believe people who volunteer their time and money to an organization like RLF love this town and want good things for it.
2-3. The upcoming vote will determine whether a majority of the town (most of whom are not on this increasingly toxic echo chamber) believes the Lincoln Station area, owned by RLF, should be allowed to pursue development with more freedom to negotiate than they have now—something that would be profitable, because of increased density, and that could also be a great benefit to the town. I personally believe the RLF has good intent and will work with a developer to build such a space. I also believe that keeping the Mall space as-is is a recipe for commercial/economic failure. I also believe we can be a (small) part of the solution to increasing housing stock in the Boston metro area.
Why is everyone so afraid and so convinced that *any* and all change will be bad? We all do the best we can under the circumstances, which are *not* the same circumstances as 20 or 40 years ago. Please, let’s stop resisting every single thing and have a reasonable conversation about how to move forward based on today, here, in Lincoln in 2023. We all love Lincoln, or we wouldn’t be here.
Sincerely, Tricia Thornton-Wells 112 Trapelo Rd
At the previous planning/hcawg meeting of October 24th, we learned that RLF is planning to hire a consultant to draw potential renderings of a new Lincoln Mall and present them to the town at some point. It is really hard for town residents to evaluate the potential impact of the proposed changes to the Lincoln Mall zoning without a detailed discussion. I understand the planning board is considering further zoning amendments for the new overlay districts to better protect the town's interests. I foresee several problems with this strategy.
1) Any drawings or renderings will be purely hypothetical and not binding on the RLF or any future owner of the Mall as there is no requirement that they be actually submitted to the town for a building permit. 2) Assuming a HCA Overlay district is passed at the March Town meeting, I see very few obstacles to building whatever the developer chooses to build as the town will have NO ability to influence a future developer to do anything unless they need a variance for something. 3) Hypothetically, one day after the HCA Overlay district passes the March Town Meeting, CIVICO could submit drawings to the Town of Lincoln Building Department and the current zoning rules would apply to their project without the ability of the town to influence the project. As long as CIVICO starts construction within 12 months of submitting building plans, the rules at the time of plan submission would govern the project. period, full stop. Any future safeguards that the town might want to impose on development within the Mall area wouldn't apply to plans that were submitted prior to the acceptance of any future zoning changes at a different town meeting!!!!
To approve any of the current plans with the Lincoln Mall being part of a new overlay district without any zoning amendments to be approved at the same time, opens the town for an unnecessary disaster. It would be better for the Town to NOT include the Lincoln Mall in an HCA overlay district so that a normal vetting of plans at a town meeting will ensure that everyone in the Town is happy with the project. This strategy will allow more affordable units, ensure commercial development is actually built, and will allow a negotiation between the town and the developer for a development of importance to the Town. There is no logical way to skip that negotiation to safeguard the town that we know and love.
Peter Buchthal Weston Rd.
Please let us know exactly what legal teeth site plan review has. I have asked for that repeatedly and have heard….crickets. Yes there will be some wetlands protections, but not Lincoln’s set backs. Yes, there will be some set backs. But please, do tell what legal options will we have to actually control the look and feel of major redevelopment.
The repeated reference to “existing regulations and site plan review” is cold comfort.
The whole point of the HCA is to get around our existing bylaws…to make it easier for developers to create larger, denser housing development than is currently allowed.
I think it is misleading to use statements such as "the developer can do whatever they want". Existing regulations and site plan review give the town oversight.
After all, residential property owners have the by right ability to build a new home but cannot build whatever they want.
Once rezone with the HCA, the property owner can put up pretty much whatever they want. That is the point of the HCA-to get around our normal process for managing development in Lincoln. No proposals are required for the town to see. The development is BY RIGHT, they just need to comply with some very basic zoning-wetlands setbacks, other set backs, etc.
And, as was made clear in a public presentation, dense housing is the most profitable use of the land, not retail.
The discussion about the Mall is confusing as concepts were discussed and proposals were to be offered at a later date. In addition, the RLF said they were looking to most lily sell and were in discussion with a local developer-CIVICO. Regardless of what is discussed now, as it stands now, once rezoned the owner, either the RLF but most like a new owner, can do whatever they see fit with that land.
That is why this is all so difficult and generating so much debate.
It is important that we all learn as much as possible and attend each and every meeting to better understand what is being proposed and what is at stake.
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. 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
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