I am writing in response to recent comments on Lincoln Talk, one of which accused the Lincoln Residents for Housing Alternatives (LRHA) of being a “special interest group, which has had secret meetings to develop…options with no public notifications of meetings or publication of minutes”.
This group of residents sprang up organically from individuals using Lincoln Talk, our only open-ended Town-wide communication platform. They did not have the advantage of being appointed as committee members by the Selects. Instead, they attended meetings, read distributed information, and looked up relevant Massachusetts’ law. Their ideas grew during back-and-forth discussions on Lincoln Talk. There is no open meeting law to restrict residents from talking together. To characterize these discussions as ‘secret meetings’ is offensive to me. These individuals, without a hierarchy of leaders but with similar ideas and meeting mostly on line, created a web site <https://sites.google.com/view/lincoln-hca-info/home> with fact-based information regarding the Housing Choice Act and a fifth option, now called Option E. While I have not contributed to the website, I have taken a strong interest in the analysis presented there. To my knowledge, there is no ‘special interest’ that unites the group other than basing their opinions on data and analysis and showing where that leads. And that leads me to Option E, which is entirely compliant with HCA rezoning rules. Its main difference compared to Options C and D, is that it excludes the Lincoln Mall from HCA development. It excludes the Mall because many of us, listed as supporters <https://sites.google.com/view/lincoln-hca-info/who-are-we> on the LRHA website, believe it is the most likely to be developed and we want it to be developed subject to Town approvals: we want more affordability and better control of the layout and design than a ‘by right’ developer might give us. As a 20-year member of the Lincoln Land Conservation Trust and a supporter of the RLF, I want to see the Mall filled with wonderful condos, one of which I might buy when we are ready to downsize! I do not criticize the Town staff, the RLF, and the appointed Working Group members. They have done a great job getting us to this point. But everyone has their own lens for Lincoln’s response to the housing crisis. Let’s not criticize those residents who have invested their time and volunteered their skills to create alternatives. We will all meet on December 2nd to make the best choice we know how to make for Lincoln’s future. See you there! Lynne Smith 5 Tabor Hill Road Lincoln, MA 01773 cell: 781-258-1175 ly...@smith.net
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