The claim that the town leadership is "pro development and are reaching for max density” - as well as implying illegal favoritism - departs very far from reality, re-casting a very complicated and nuanced landscape with a trite and false generalization.
We have a very diverse group of people in leadership in town, with an even wider range of opinions and perspectives. The one consistent trait I have seen in all of the town’s leadership - whether we’re talking of those in volunteer positions on the town’s many committees, boards, commissions and task forces, or those who are Town employees, is a deep devotion to the long term best interests of the town and its residents, and a determination to navigate an incredibly complex legal, economic, administrative, regulatory, and political landscape to do all they can in service to the town. We certainly disagree on many aspects of what “best interests of the town” means, exactly, but I deeply believe that we are far stronger and more effective for having such a wide range of voices engaged in service to Lincoln and its residents. And, I am grateful that whether they are volunteers, or paid staff, for the huge amounts of effort they all invest into making this community what it is, and that they are always striving to make it ever better. The facts are that the Mall needs help to remain viable; and that the HCA requires the town to adopt "by right” zoning for higher density housing, with a large set of detailed parameters to define the expectations of what that means. There are a very wide range of options as to how to accomplish that, even within the HCAWG and town leadership itself. What we’ve seen over the last year or so is a prolonged discussion as to how best to address these two issues. The current direction - confirmed by a vote at the recent town meeting - is a consensus view arrived-at through that long and intense process of research, discussion, vetting, and negotiation with many parties - including the State. It is not ideal from my point of view, but given all of the work that has gone into it, I am certain it is a solid consensus view that does a good job of finding a middle ground that most Lincoln residents will accept. We will see how the Planning Board turns that statement of direction into an actionable Zoning Bylaw for presentation and (hopefully) approval at our Town Meeting in March. - Allen Vander Meulen > On Dec 16, 2023, at 13:33, Scott Clary <scottclar...@gmail.com> wrote: > > You're not missing anything Moira. > > The rlf and town leadership are pro residential development and are reaching > for max density and has indicated there would be a decrease in the commercial > aspect of the mall. Highest, best and most profitable use of land is > typically residential and a developer is going to have by right zoning at the > mall. What do you think they're going to concentrate on? And there's a caveat > - the developer they are negotiating with is a residential developer and is > providing their input for our new zoning bylaws. Hmm. > > And we are lucky to have those four outlets you mentioned. My family > frequents them often and I wish we had a hardware store. > > Kind Regards, > > Scott Clary > 617-968-5769 > > Sent from a mobile device - please excuse typos and errors > > On Sat, Dec 16, 2023, 1:11 PM Lindentreefarm Csa <lindentree...@gmail.com > <mailto:lindentree...@gmail.com>> wrote: >> Why is there talk about no retail at the mall? Aren’t we lucky to have a >> grocery store and restaurants and post office and something special here in >> town? It was great with the hardware store …. Isn’t the point to drive less >> to get necessities? Everybody is happy to drive to Waltham or concord for >> food?is this the choice? More housing and every one drive out of town? >> I am sorry to have missed something here. >> Thank you >> Moira >> >> >> >> >> Sent from my iPhone >> -- >> The LincolnTalk mailing list. >> To post, send mail to Lincoln@lincolntalk.org >> <mailto: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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