I would like to clarify my email. I was typing on my phone and can end up too succinct.
In addition to people who are good with numbers in town, there are also people who are lawyers and went to law school and/or have studied how judicial and administrative review of things like laws and regulations works. And in that process, officials often consult things like contemporaneous minutes and notes to see what the intent of a law was, esp if something on its face might look illegal, like an oddly drawn zoning map. The fact that there aren't any for Option E means any reviewer would have no such backup to discover any legitimate intent. I don't think Option E will necessarily get to any legal challenge, but the fact that there aren't any minutes or notes alone makes the option unappealing to me. And no amount of post-hoc zoom meetings will change that. And while the numbers for Option E might pass muster under whatever software they were plugged into, living human beings will be reviewing the town's submission, and, like I said, the oddly drawn district on Lewis Street is highly suspect. Carving out specific lots is the opposite of how zoning is supposed to work. And trying to claim it's a historic district - well, that's textbook NIMBYism that any human would understand. On Tue, Nov 28, 2023 at 3:42 PM DJCP <djcp0...@gmail.com> wrote: > Nothing you have written contradicts the facts that there are no published > minutes or agenda items even for others to pour over in minute detail with > our copious free time. > > Second, option E is not compliant. The only compliant option is C as that > is the only option submitted to the state that has been approved. > > In fact, the lack of continuity on Lewis St is a big red flag and may get > rejected. Not having minutes or notes from the development of the option > means there is no concurrent evident to show the state that there was no > racist or discriminatory or self serving intent in crafting that option. > > > > On Tue, Nov 28, 2023, 2:56 PM Lynne Smith <ly...@smith.net> wrote: > >> 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 >> >> >> >> -- >> 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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