Hi Carl,
Your point is very well taken! You live on Codman Road! If a developer wants to offer 10 million dollars for your house so he can put an apartment building on your lot, will you not sell? There has not been a study done on a development of this size how it would impact the traffic through the Lincoln mall area! How would the increase in traffic affect the environment in the area or would we all be driving electric car then to cut down the carbon imprint? I truly would like to know how affordable the unit for the development under consideration will cost either to rent or to buy. I personally would not consider Oriole Landing affordable! I just feel more people in town should have the time to weight in on the pros and cons of a development of such magnitude and an open discussion can be achieved rather than rubber stamped the decision of a group of hardworking citizen in town whom had no doubt spent much of their time on this and with good intent. However, it is still the conclusion of a small number of people, not the representation of all the residents! I agree with couple of selectman that we should be given couple of choices to vote on. To have true democracy, we have two political party to chose our president! Don’t you think the town deserves to have at least a. couple of choices to vote on? When we have to build our new school, there were 4 choices for people to decide! We now have a beautiful school bigger than we need but it is the reflection of what the majority of the town wants and that is how it should be!
On Oct 11, 2023, at 12:00 AM, Carl Angiolillo <carlangioli...@gmail.com> wrote:
On Oct 11, 2023, at 12:00 AM, Carl Angiolillo <carlangioli...@gmail.com> wrote:
I share similar questions about the percentage of affordable housing, overall volume, and timeline that others have already raised so I won't belabor those. However, I just wanted to chime in on the question of location.
> What drew you here? I suspect it was the investment of previous generations in the preservation of fields and forest, and the trails and open space.
Absolutely. (That and being able to live within walking distance of a train station, supermarket, and farm.) I hope we can all agree that any housing solution should preserve the fields, forests, trails, and open space that make Lincoln unique.
From a conservation standpoint, focusing on density in areas that are already the most disrupted by human activity (such as Lincoln Station but also The Commons, Oriole Landing, Lincoln North, etc) seems like it's our best hope to minimize impacts to Lincoln’s fields, forests, trails, and open spaces.
From an environmental standpoint, density near Lincoln Station has the additional advantage of allowing for the largest share of trips by foot, bike, or transit compared to any other location in town. Given the sad state of the MBTA this share isn't as large as it should be, but any amount is better than none.
From a historical perspective, a dense core surrounded by open space is how towns developed for thousands of years before the popularization of the automobile. Every year more people seem to acknowledge the social, financial, and environmental benefits of this approach.
For these reasons I believe that greenfield development with scattered housing units throughout the town is not a good option.
Carl
Codman Rd
May I intimate people that some of the developers could be the members in this group? They are carving their way monitoring this discussion. A developer would like a concentrated landing and that is where we could be headed through the navigation of our captains. The resistance voice of distribution of projects in town through a single developer or by finding several developers may eventually quell naturally or artificially. Thought to alert! Have a good meeting.
Bijoy Misra
"Developers are evil" is an oversimplification that is a convenient way to make it seem like a silly concern. What we need to be eyes wide open about is the reality that developers are not here to be our friends and keep Lincoln's best interests in mind. They are running a business, and their objective is to make a profit by building. There is nothing wrong with that at all, but we need to remember that we, the citizens and government of the town, are their checks and balances. The proposals shared, which overshoot the minimums required by the HCA, give developers a green light with a substantial amount of running room. Once that is approved, the town and residents are more restricted in ability to rein them back in.
Will
I just don't buy the "developers are evil" argument. How else do we build without a healthy public/private development partnership?
What do you propose to do other than nothing?
We continue to hear arguments that our school is overbuilt and under enrolled, our taxes are too high, etc. We've already preserved 40% of our land in perpetuity.
What is really at stake here?
John
Developers John! Save it from Developers! I'm trying to illustrate the scale of what this approval could enable. I understand fully that Zoning does not equal Building 1:1 but why risk it? Why not propose a true compromise solution?
You seem to think you are on high moral ground here. All you are doing is helping future wealthy residents - no one else!
Rob
Save it from what? Progress? Working to help solve the regional challenges of housing, traffic, environment? Providing housing alternatives?
Or should we just continue to approve 20,000 sq/ft single family houses on big lots and put our heads in the sand?
Lincoln is not an island despite what many seem to wish it could be.
John
1000% agree with Susanna. Well said. I have young children and want them to enjoy Lincoln as it is now, not as another Concord or Bedford or Lexington.
Lincoln is precious, save it!
Rob
A developer’s only objective is to make money! It is not a charitable organization who cares about providing more affordable housing for people! Please find one example that proves the contrary! Regarding 😊 ng the train to work because they live walking distance to the train station! When we moved to Lincoln in 1977, my husband was working at Mass General Hospital, an ideal situation for him to take the train to work. He did it at the beginning and gave up the idea because for one thing, it ends up more costly and the train does not run often enough to give the flexibility he needs! Yes, we have enjoyed decades of living in Lincoln, and we want the future generation of Lincolnites to enjoy what we have loved about Lincoln, the open space, the ‘low key’ nature of our town center even though occasionally we complained we are far from everything! We care greatly about what will happen to Lincoln even though we both at the later stage of our lives! So, for the relatively newcomers to town, there are older residents in town who do care what is going to happen to Lincoln even though it may take decades for the developers to get their hands on Lincoln! We have resisted them so far by using our tax dollars to buy up lands for conservation! There is no other town like Lincoln that is so close to Boston! Please do not let the developers come in to spoil it for us! All very well voiced points!
But make no mistake- do not be fooled by the voices saying "potential development will take decades". If option C of this rezoning gets passed, development will begin immediately.
The HCAWG and the RLF are directly working with Civico, the developer of Oriole Landing. Civico isn’t working with the town because it likes us and is a trusted town partner… it wants to make money. Civico has threatened the town by saying it will not go through the town meeting process again after it did so with Oriole Landing. The pro-building HCAWG (which includes the Executive Director of the RLF as a member) wants Civico to develop. So in turn, the HCAWG and Planning board added mixed Use Zoning at Lincoln Center to this proposal so it wouldn’t be necessary for them to go through the traditional town meeting process.
This gives Civico the chance to push a high cost, high density housing complex (125 units), with only 10% affordable housing (we required 15% with Oriole landing). And it’s more likely to be passed because only a simple majority is needed under the HCA instead of the usual 2/3 majority at town meeting; not to mention, the HCAWG is making it seem like a looming lawsuit and loss of grants are eminent to encourage residents to pass the rezoning.
Let me emphasize again- if Civico develops this Subdistrict, it will be 112 units at market rate and 13 units of affordable housing. Market rate for Oriole Landing is currently $4,000 to $8,500 without utilities, according to their listing on Apartments.com. That is not affordable housing for anyone who wants to downsize or work in Lincoln, as many seem to be under the impression this development would help.
A slide from the presentation:
<69012668-7F39-478C-B8C4-134AB43AB1A5.jpeg> <75467D4B-940C-4471-880D-5A25ED122A3D.jpeg> Thank you Bob and Rob, among many others, for the helpful insights.
I have a number of concerns with the currently proposed HCA options. The impacts to affordable housing in town (both absolute number and percentage of total), traffic, and finances (taxes) are just a few.
As another resident mentioned in a separate thread, the potential for areas like Lincoln Woods, with a higher % of affordable housing units, to one day be redeveloped and, despite an increase in total number of housing units, result in a net decrease in the town's number of affordable units, is concerning. If we can only mandate that 10% of new housing units (in the HCA zone) must be affordable, and the 40b threshold for the town is also 10%, doesn't that imply that the town's overall ratio would get closer and closer to being under the threshold with each new development that is built? What will that result in - yet more development?
Further, the argument that the entire district needs to be near the commuter rail station does not make sense to me. The commuter rail is, at its best, inconvenient and expensive, and at its worst it is both of those things, plus unreliable. The traffic study that was shared, in my opinion, grossly understates the potential impact of the additional vehicles resulting from the additional development. The reality is that most people, unless they live in perhaps Boston/Cambridge/Somerville, use cars for much of their daily lives.
It also pains me to hear, from multiple individuals, that the "potential development will take decades". I'm a relatively new and young homeowner in Lincoln. I intend to be here in the future "decades" referenced, and I hope to get to enjoy Lincoln with my children in much the same way so many current residents have over the past several decades. These choices we make today will have big impacts, and we can also be sure that this will not be the last effort by the Commonwealth to force additional development in the decades to come.
I look forward to the continued lively debate among residents and the various working groups, but it feels like there is much more that needs to be explored before we can have a "final" proposal.
Best,
Will Broughton Round Hill Rd
Thank goodness you are paying attention Bob!
The HCA feels like a juggernaut and options were clearly favored towards “all near Lincoln station”. I have a long series of unanswered questions. I hope to get answers and publish them all on a blog/website that everyone can read.
I’ll need help to put it together and get answers.
If anyone is even slightly concerned about what is happening with the HCA in Lincoln, please email me privately or text me on 781.738.1069.
Rob A
As a recently-retired member of the Planning Board and Housing Choice Act Working Group, I am concerned that the three options presented last Saturday at the SOTT - and the plan to choose just one of those options at a multi-board meeting on October 10th -
will restrict Town Meeting to merely rubber-stamping the HCAWG's decision. And the HCAWG's decision will reflect its embedded priorities that may differ from what town meeting would choose if we are given more options. I therefore think it is crucial for the
HCAWG to submit several options to the state for advisory opinions prior to Town Meeting. All options should be presented to Town Meeting for debate and vote.
I'd like to expand on some of the points made - and some of the points omitted - by the presenters at last Saturday's SOTT meeting.
1. About 35% of the town's residences are currently multi-family (not including Hanscom Field, see list below). Most folks are surprised when they hear this. Lincoln has done an outstanding job allowing multi-family living while
maintaining our rural character. With full build-out under the HCA, multi-family housing will approach
50% of the town's inventory.
2. State guidelines for the HCA provide a mechanism for towns to
get credit for existing multifamily housing. Towns are free to locate HCA-compliant subdistricts in areas that currently have high residential density. These subdistricts will help us meet our
"quota," even though it is very unlikely these areas will be redeveloped.
3. An evaluation of the various options requires consideration of the likelihood that redevelopment will
actually occur. Existing condo developments would require consent of the owners to redevelop, with the particular procedures laid out in
the condominiums' organizational documents. If condo owners don't want redevelopment
to happen, it won't happen. Existing apartment buildings (e.g., Oriole Landing) owned by a single entity would only require a decision by that entity and would depend on their analysis of whether
an increase in density would justify the cost of redevelopment. On the other hand, rezoning single family homes on Conant Road as shown in options A,B, and C from the HCAWG would likely result in rapid redevelopment,
as owners
on Conant Road take advantage of the
jump in value
that would result from the increase
in development potential.
4. State guidelines require that only 20% of the HCA-compliant district be located in the vicinity of the commuter rail station. The other 80% can be anywhere in town. However, the HCAWG eliminated consideration of the Farrar Pond
and Lincoln Ridge condos as "too far from any amenities and public transit." See link below to p. 17 of SOTT slide deck. This area could be used as part of our plan for compliance; the HCAWG's decision to eliminate consideration of this area reflects their
prioritization of access to public transit and goes beyond what the state requires. Similarly, the Commons/Oriole Landing area was removed from consideration by the HCAWG because it is "not walkable to any public transit or public amenities." See p. 20 of
SOTT slide deck. Instead, the HCAWG has proposed placing 100% of the district in Lincoln Station (option C) or adding to option C additional subdistricts in North Lincoln so that the total development potential greatly exceeds what is necessary for compliance.
5. The HCAWG should consider other ways of splitting the HCA district.
The current option C fully complies with the HCA by allowing development only within the Lincoln Station area. If compliance with state law is our objective, options A and B are less appealing because they needlessly add to option C more development potential
elsewhere in town. Among the three options, C is the obvious choice for most residents because it minimally complies with the HCA. But the Town deserves a chance to vote on other options that do not exceed the HCA's requirements. Three options that would make
sense are:
- Place the entire district at Lincoln Station (current option C)
- Place most of the district at Lincoln Station and some of the district elsewhere.
- Place some of the district at Lincoln Station and most of the district elsewhere.
For all options, the details should be worked out for minimal compliance with the HCA, giving Lincoln residents maximum control over future land use decisions. It's worth noting that the HCA does allow, on a discretionary basis, subdistrict boundaries that
do not match parcel boundaries. This may provide the Town with additional flexibility it needs to comply with, but not exceed, the HCA's requirements.
Residents deserve a meaningful, democratic chance to choose the level of development they want in the Lincoln Station area. Due to the limited set of options that were presented, I don't think the survey taken at the SOTT is a good indicator of the will of
the town. Surprisingly, the HCAWG did not propose an option where some development allowed elsewhere in Town is used to reduce the development allowed at Lincoln Station. All three of their options allow more than 400 units of additional development in the
Lincoln Station area. That is an extreme increase compared to what currently exists in the area. See p. 40 of SOTT slide deck.
My goal in writing this post is to encourage the HCAWG to give our Town Meeting the respect and deference to which it is entitled. This is a hugely important matter for the Town and we can move forward together only if Town Meeting has a meaningful role as
the decisionmaker. Please attend the October 10th multi-board meeting to share your thoughts.
Best regards to all,
Bob Domnitz
SOTT slide deck: Follow link found in https://www.lincolntown.org/1327/Housing-Choice-Act-Working-Group
Existing multifamily housing in Lincoln (not including Hanscom housing):
The Commons
Oriole Landing
Battle Road Farms
Minuteman Commons
Lincoln Woods
Greenridge Condos
"Flying Nun" apartments
Ridge Road apartments
Ridge Road Condos
Todd Pond Condos
Farrar Pond Condos
Lincoln Ridge Condos
Ryan Estate
Accessory Apartments in Single Family Homes
Miscellaneous (Scattered sites under Housing Comm.)
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