This all sounds like an endorsement for building housing that is affordable to middle class residents. A recent town meeting slide for the Community Center showed that the average home value is around $1.2mil. There are many people who would like to downsize or move into town but are unable to given such a high cost of entry.
It is understandable that long time residents can have a hard time paying their tax bills. But gaining 6 or 7 figures in equity is far less of a problem than not providing a more robust mix of housing options for folks who wish to downsize or become the next generation of Lincoln residents. As it stands now, think about whether your child, niece, grandchild etc can even afford to purchase a home in town? I'm guessing I already know the answer. - Chris On Mon, Dec 5, 2022, 21:12 Jennifer Saffran <[email protected]> wrote: > I have not heard of alternative funding, but what you are describing is a > lament that I’ve heard in Cambridge and certainly in Chestnut Hill when we > moved to Brookline in the early 90s. Those huge Georgian houses on small > lots were built in the 1920s, so by the time the 90s rolled around, most > were in rough shape. The elderly children of the original owners could not > afford the upkeep. One would see arbor vitaes obscuring second floor > windows and wood gutters with Greek dental molding falling off the slate > and copper roofs. There was much discussion about the ever rising taxes > forcing people out of their family homes. > > On the other hand, the windfall from the eventual sales netted the heirs a > big check. Or the owners if the decided that a 6,000K sf house with > carriage house and (small) grounds really was unmanageable. > > Point is, it’s more about the lifecycle of buildings than unique to > Lincoln. > > > > On Dec 5, 2022, at 8:06 PM, Jane Appell <[email protected]> wrote: > > One of the problems that I have been thinking about is the way in which > increases in property taxes to fund projects such as a community center may > be unfair and may well have an adverse effect on those you are trying most > to service. It is simply not a correct assumption to assume that income > or ability to pay is correlated with the assessed value of a house, or that > all projects need to be funded by increasing the property tax rate. > > Since a third of the population is over 60, it stands to reason that many > of the older population have been in their homes a long time. I include > myself in this. I know I am not alone in my income going down and my > finding it harder and harder to support my home as well as paying ever > increasing taxes. For some of us, the taxes are verging on making staying > here unsustainable. > > Someone in a small house or an apartment in town will have the same > ability to use a community center and its services as an older person in an > expensive house. The latter person will pay many times more for the > project than the person in the lower price home if the tax rate increases > to fund the project. > > Are there other models to consider for funding projects besides increasing > property taxes on a percentage basis? > > Jane > > > > > On Nov 28, 2022, at 1:04 PM, Rich Rosenbaum <[email protected]> wrote: > > > There has been a bit of discussion regarding LIncoln's property taxes > compared to other towns. One reason taxes may be higher than similar towns > is our low housing density. > > Lincoln has consciously and deliberately limited density with land > acquisition, zoning regulations, agricultural easements and more. > > The result is that there are fewer houses to distribute fixed costs. If > you have two similar towns with the same number of miles of road, the less > housing-dense town will pay more per family to maintain those roads. The > same goes for many other services provided by the town. > > All of this wonderful open space that we all enjoy is not free. > > ------------------------------ > Here are some statistics from this site > <http://zipatlas.com/us/ma/city-comparison/population-density.htm> (not > sure of the date but I assume it does not change quickly): > > *Town Population / sq. mile* > Bedford 926.37 > Wayland 819.52 > Sudbury 683.63 > Weston 664.03 > Concord 656.11 > Lincoln 359.11 > > Our limited commercial base is also a factor. > > > > > -- > The LincolnTalk mailing list. > To post, send mail to [email protected]. > Search the archives at http://lincoln.2330058.n4.nabble.com/. > 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 [email protected]. > Search the archives at http://lincoln.2330058.n4.nabble.com/. > 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 [email protected]. > Search the archives at http://lincoln.2330058.n4.nabble.com/. > 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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