Thanks, Ken. Very helpful information. Cindy Bencal On Tue, Sep 26, 2023 at 1:26 PM Ken Hurd <[email protected]> wrote:
> Hello LincolnTalkers, > > > > At the annual State of the Town Meeting to be held at the Lincoln Schools > on Saturday, September 30th., Lincoln residents will have the opportunity > to become more informed on four major issues facing the town, including the > following: 1) compliance with the Housing Choice Act; 2) a proposed > Climate Action Plan for Lincoln; 3) the development of a Strategic Plan to > improve Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Anti-Racism in our community; and > 4) a proposed Community Center on the school campus. > > > > I’d like to express my appreciation for the work of all the committees > that have met over the summer to prepare for this event, but especially for > the Housing Choice Act Working Group with which I am most familiar. In my > opinion, their process has been a laudable model on many levels. > > > > With the help of a consultant, they began by unpacking the complexities of > the Housing Choice Act, the crux of which required a certain amount of > acreage in the town to be re-zoned to permit higher-density housing > as-of-right. There were formulas in the Act that prescribed size, > connectivity, proximity to transportation, etc. of various parcels to be > re-zoned, and from these, the committee initially determined that there > were two pathways by which Lincoln could mathematically comply. Both > approaches featured re-zoning the minimum area required near the railroad > station with the balance of the acreage required by the law to be made up > by re-zoning certain parcels in North Lincoln. These became known as Option > A and Option B depending on which North Lincoln parcels were used. > > > > Last Spring, they shared this information in several forums in which they > invited the public to comment, and to their credit, they took many > suggestions to heart. Chief among these was the fact that neither of the > proposed solutions was in keeping fully with the spirit of the law, which > ideally would allow most of the higher density housing to be built closer > to public transportation. Over the summer, the committee then worked with > property owners to include the stretch between the railroad and Codman Road > in the allowable area to be re-zoned for greater density, thus reducing but > not eliminating the additional area needed in North Lincoln to comply. > > > > One of the drawbacks of the law as originally written was the exclusion of > any commercial activity allowed in the re-zoned districts. Because of > Lincoln’s initiative and that of other small towns served by public > transportation, the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities > amended > the act in August to permit the allowable housing that could be built in an > adjacent mixed-use district to count toward overall compliance, even though > the land area itself would not contribute toward the total acreage required. > > > > Currently, the area near the railroad known as Lincoln Station is zoned > for business use only, and it encompasses a total of five acres that > include the mall, the two public parking lots as well as the Doherty’s > Garage parcel. The committee is proposing to re-zone it to become a new > Village District that would permit mixed-use development, and by doing so, > the number of potential housing units that could be built would count > toward compliance and eliminate the need to re-zone any parcel in North > Lincoln. This new approach will be presented as Option C, and it appears > that it will satisfy both the legal requirements as well as the spirit > intended by the Housing Choice Act. And, keep in mind that the Act does > not require that housing must actually be built, but only that it could be > built as-of-right. > > > > With this re-zoning, it also allows the current mall to become eligible > for redevelopment, thus consolidating decades of work that go back to the > 1990’s. That effort began with a vision of transforming the Lincoln > Station area to become a walkable village center, and that vision was > ultimately ratified by Town Meeting in 2010 when it adopted the Long-Range > Comprehensive Plan. > > > > In addition to this story boding well for a win-win outcome over the > long-term, I want to commend the members of the Housing Choice Act Working > Group for how they navigated this journey. In my opinion, despite the > well-meaning intentions of the law as initially promulgated, it was > nevertheless confusing, and in some ways simply badly written and therefore > often misunderstood. Getting a consultant’s help when necessary, the > committee set about to understand fully the problem that needed to be > solved, sought and incorporated as much public input as possible and > appropriate, built consensus among many stakeholders, and demonstrated the > initiative and leadership that we’ve come to expect in our town. > > > > In my mind, this is Lincoln at its best, a committee representing a > community that respects tradition and its legacy as a responsible member of > a metropolitan area, yet embracing the kind of change that is relevant in a > modern era. I hope everyone will join me in supporting their efforts in > advancing Option C for approval by the State. > > > > In gratitude and with respect, > > Ken Hurd > > > > Lifting the Human Spirit by Design > 781-259-3300 > 781-259-8900 cell > www.keha.com > > > > > > > > > > > > -- > The LincolnTalk mailing list. > To post, send mail to [email protected]. > Browse the archives at https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/private/lincoln/ > . > Change your subscription settings at > https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/lincoln. > > -- Cynthia Bencal 781-259-1898 781-258-1344
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