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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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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