I think it is important to clarify what grants the town would be eligible for if we decide not to comply with HCA. Contrary to what the Housing Choice Act Working Group's website <https://www.lincolntown.org/1327/Housing-Choice-Act-Working-Group> states, none of the grants received by the town since 2021 are named in the HCA legislation (also referred to as Section 3A of the State's Zoning Act <https://www.mass.gov/info-details/mass-general-laws-c40a-ss-3a>). The only three grant programs named in the HCA legislation are MassWorks, the Housing Choice Initiative and the Local Capital Projects Fund. The town has to the best of my knowledge never received money from any of those grants.
The grants listed in the working group’s website, from which the town has received $737,000 since 2021, are mentioned in the 3A guidelines <https://www.mass.gov/info-details/section-3a-guidelines>. Guidelines are neither legislation nor regulation, and they do not carry the force of law. In any case, the 3A guidelines do not pretend to exclude towns not compliant with the HCA from those grant programs. All the guidelines state is “compliance will be taken into consideration”. This does not equate with exclusion. This is a good opportunity to address another legal conflation. In the June public forum <https://www.lincolntown.org/DocumentCenter/View/79129/2023-06-06-HCA-Multi-Board_UTILE-RLF-Working-Group-9-FINAL-06062023>, the Working Group stated that compliance with HCA legislation was not optional. It rested its case on a “ruling” of the Massachusetts Attorney General. As long as there is separation of power, ruling rests with the courts alone. Utterances from the AG are not rulings. After submitting a question in June, I am still waiting to hear back from the Working Group why it decided to go against the town counsel’s legal opinion. Counsel spoke without ambivalence of the optionality of compliance with the HCA law, as evidenced by meeting minutes <https://www.lincolntown.org/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_03162021-3888> and video <https://lincolntv.viebit.com/player.php?hash=uYUCrAxv0xLU> recording 1:30:15. As I have expressed in this forum in the past, the financial impacts to the town of Lincoln from compliance with HCA are potentially very severe. If areas zoned for housing are developed, Lincoln would increase its housing units by a larger percentage than any other town <https://www.mass.gov/doc/submitted-section-3a-action-plans/download> in Massachusetts*.* We would potentially increase our housing twice as much as the second most impacted, which is Weston. We would have to build approximately ten times more houses than our peer suburban/rural towns of Dover, Carlisle and Sherborn. I have pleaded with the Select/Working Group to create a financial analysis group to study the potential cost of compliance, as it is irresponsible to ask residents to decide without understanding the impact. Unfortunately, I have not received a response. There is a precedent of a very similar study conducted in town 15 years ago by professional consultants, analyzing the financial impact if the Hanscom base was shut down and we lost the contract with the Department of Defense. The conclusions of that study were dire. The Working Group’s zoning proposals aim to comply with the guidelines. I argue that we should concentrate on compliance with the law. The law is in fact much less demanding than the guidelines. It only requires “a district of reasonable size in which multi-family housing is permitted as of right; provided, however, that such multi-family housing shall be without age restrictions and shall be suitable for families with children. For the purposes of this section, a district of reasonable size shall: (i) have a minimum gross density of 15 units per acre, subject to any further limitations imposed by section 40 of chapter 131 and title 5 of the state environmental code established pursuant to section 13 of chapter 21A; and (ii) be located not more than 0.5 miles from a commuter rail station, subway station, ferry terminal or bus station, if applicable.” Given how disproportionately HCA impacts Lincoln compared to any other town, I believe the town should not blindly assume compliance with the guidelines is necessary to be compliant with the law. I agree there is a large housing shortage in our State, and Lincoln should be part of the solution. However, I do not think it is fair to ask Lincoln to carry ten times the burden of other towns. David Cuetos 145 Weston Rd On Sun, Sep 17, 2023 at 8:08 PM Sara Mattes <samat...@gmail.com> wrote: > … and since we already have gotten grants, do we more? > The septic system at the Mall is part of private property. > Why are we talking about investing in private property? > What kind of precedent does that set? > > Sent from my iPhone > > On Sep 17, 2023, at 7:23 PM, ٍSarah Postlethwait <sa...@bayhas.com> wrote: > > > The specific grants that the town would no longer qualify for are listed > below. Which of the grants that you have mentioned that we have received > are from these specific grant programs? > > <image_6487327.JPG> > > Sarah Postlethwait > > On Sun, Sep 17, 2023 at 7:07 PM Jennifer Glass via Lincoln < > lincoln@lincolntalk.org> wrote: > >> Hello everyone! >> >> One of the questions that has come up in conversations about the Housing >> Choice Act is whether it would be detrimental to lose access to selected >> state grants. Below is a chart that shows grant funding that the Planning >> Department has secured since 2021. (For those who can’t see the image >> below, go to >> https://www.lincolntown.org/1327/Housing-Choice-Act-Working-Group). In >> total, Lincoln has received $1.5M, with another $820,000 for which we have >> applied and are awaiting a decision. >> >> Grants have been or are currently being used to: >> >> - Draft Lincoln’s Climate Action Plan (learn more at State of the >> Town on September 30th at the Lincoln School!) >> - Update the Town’s Municipal Vulnerability Plan, with $50,000 set >> aside for a resiliency project >> - Design an upgrade to the waste treatment plant that serves The Mall >> and Lincoln Woods (and any future development on those properties or the >> Town-owned MBTA commuter parking lot at the back of The Mall parking lot.) >> - To actually upgrade the system, the Town will work with The >> Community Builders (owners of Lincoln Woods) and the Rural Land >> Foundation >> to apply for a MassWorks Grant. MassWorks Grants can provide hundreds >> of >> thousands to several million dollars for qualifying projects: >> https://www.mass.gov/info-details/massworks-infrastructure-program >> - A list of 2022 awards can be found here: >> https://www.mass.gov/info-details/massworks-2022-awards. MassWorks >> Grants are part of the Community One Stop for Grown application. >> - Build the accessible roadside path that now extends from the Town >> commuter parking lot (next to Doherty’s) to the Police Station and over to >> a new crosswalk to Codman Farm. >> >> >> In addition to seeking funds to upgrade the water water treatment plant, >> there are other big infrastructure needs in town such as water main >> replacement. For example, the 2.7 mile long stretch of water main that runs >> from the 5 corners to The Mall is in need of replacement, which is >> estimated to cost $7M - $8M. And, we know there will be more water >> infrastructure needs over time. Without outside funding, the cost of >> bonding these projects would be shouldered by residents who are on the Town >> water supply. >> >> Governor Healey recently released her Capital Improvement Plan which adds >> funds to a number of grant programs. The plan’s investments over five >> years include: >> >> - $1.2 billion in economic development funding, with $163 million for >> local communities, including grant opportunities through the Community >> One Stop for Growth >> <https://www.mass.gov/guides/community-one-stop-for-growth> application >> portal >> - More than $125 million for municipal climate-focused grants, >> including almost $24 million in fiscal 2024 for the Municipal >> Vulnerability Preparedness >> <https://www.mass.gov/municipal-vulnerability-preparedness-mvp-program> >> planning >> and action grant programs >> - More than $270 million per year for local transportation programs, >> including $200 million for the Chapter 90 >> <https://www.mass.gov/chapter-90-program> local road and bridge >> program >> - $134 million for library construction grants for the renovation and >> expansion of municipal libraries >> - $50 million in Cultural Facilities Fund grants >> - $74 million in local support for technology investments through >> capital programs >> - The use of $736,000 to unlock $4.1 million in federal funds for >> ambient air monitoring, as well as support for community-based resilience >> programs and for parks, trails and open space >> - $10 million for the launch of the Executive Office of Technology >> Services and Security’s Digital Roadmap >> <https://www.mass.gov/service-details/statewide-it-roadmap-for-fy23-25>, >> which will improve access to Commonwealth digital services >> - Download the capital investment plan >> >> <https://www.mma.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/FY24-FY28CapitalInvestmentPlan.pdf> >> (1.2M >> PDF) >> >> >> For additional answers to FAQs, visit >> https://www.lincolntown.org/1327/Housing-Choice-Act-Working-Group >> >> *Jennifer Glass Kathy Shepard Gary Taylor* >> *For the Housing Choice Act Working Group* >> >> <State Grants Since 2021.png> >> >> >> -- >> 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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