But the part of North Lincoln included in D3 is Battle Road Farm, which won't be developed, so no impact on water.
D1 includes Lincoln North, which could be a different story. On Wed, Nov 29, 2023, 2:06 PM Allen Vander Meulen <[email protected]> wrote: > For the most part I agree with Peter. My main concern with the three “D” > choices is their shifting of at least some of the developmental potential > to other parts of town, particularly North Lincoln. > > Historically, whenever the issue of new development of any sort in North > Lincoln has come up, concerns have been raised about the impact upon the > residential wells there. > > North Lincoln has no public water system, unlike most of us south of Route > 2. Also, the construction of new wells and septic in that area could > easily impact the quality and quantity of the water available to existing > homes. > > These issues are resolvable, but do add an additional layer of complexity > in future discussions regarding any development in North Lincoln. > > -Allen Vander Meulen > > Sent from my iPad > > On Nov 29, 2023, at 10:56, [email protected] wrote: > > > > In the interest of enhancing rational discussion about the proposed > rezoning options, I am repeating and elaborating on the gist of a comment I > posted a couple of days ago in the Lincoln Squirrel in response to Ruth Ann > Hendrickson’s article. > > This is not just an Option C vs. Option E debate. The Working Group and > Select Board have wisely offered us some potential alternatives, which I > view as potential compromise solutions. As a lawyer, I was always > interested in potential compromises, so I appreciate their having offered > some more choices than just Option C or bust. > > Options D-1, D-2, and D-3 all offer the same benefit as Option C in terms > of rezoning the Mall and rezoning some other parcels in South Lincoln. In > fact, they could have been labeled C-1, C-2, and C-3. And, they all include > large amounts of areas that are understood to be highly unlikely to be > developed (Lincoln Woods and Ryan Estates). Those unlikely-to-be-developed > areas, as well as the unlikely-to-be-developed areas in North Lincoln > included in several options, are, to my mind, just benign puzzle pieces to > satisfy the State’s 42-acre requirement. Rather than be distracted by these > benign puzzle pieces, I have tried to focus on where the real action is, in > South Lincoln. That’s where the public transit is. That’s where our > commercial area is. That’s where we have pointed to for many years as the > area for some sort of “walkable village”. That’s where the Working Group > has appropriately focused. > > In trying to sort out which of these four “C”-related options are > preferable, the question for me is how much South Lincoln development > besides the Mall itself are we willing to enable by right, now and forever. > I am totally in favor of by-right rezoning for the Mall itself, and I trust > their judgment. That will entail a large addition of housing and > much-needed revamping of the Mall’s commercial and public spaces. How much > more by-right development in South Lincoln do we want, and how likely is it > to occur? > > Jennifer Glass’ excellent presentation materials at this week’s Mothers > Out Front meeting very well-articulated what our choices are, in terms of > what areas could be developed in reality, depending on what the property > owners and potential developers decide to do. As I understand what was > presented, in the case of D-3, our choice is the Mall plus the properties > across the street (essentially between Ridge Rd. and the Ryan Estates, > going several blocks in from the road), with a maximum collective potential > of 262 new housing units. In the case of D-1 or D-2, focusing only on their > South Lincoln aspects, it’s the Mall plus the properties across the street > and the properties within the Lincoln Rd./Codman Rd./Lewis St./RR tracks > rectangle, with a maximum collective potential of 383 new units. In the > case of Option C, it’s the Mall plus the properties across the street, the > properties within the aforementioned rectangle, and the properties further > along Codman Rd. down to 117, with a maximum collective potential of 480 > new units. The tale of the numbers: 480 vs. 383 vs. 262. > > There are many factors that would drive whether and how much of any or all > of these areas other than the Mall (which has its own development > trajectory) will actually be redeveloped for multi-family housing. Among > these factors are assembling (buying) enough contiguous parcels, septic > infrastructure, wetlands, and parking (which, in my mind, could > realistically necessitate designing for one or possibly two cars per > housing unit). As others have mentioned, all of these factors and their > cost would be balanced by potential developers against the multiple other > opportunities that are sure to arise in other communities as the impact of > the HCA takes hold. In the meantime, in the absence of an effective crystal > ball, all we have to go on are the maximum developable units articulated by > Jennifer. > > My personal opinion is that D-3 offers us a big chunk of what many want – > redevelop the Mall and open the door to nearby by-right multi-family > housing (across the street) – and offers what some, like me, may want, > which is a chance to see what happens if as many as 262 new housing units > and the inevitable car-usage are added to that area, before we enable even > more within the aforementioned rectangle and along Codman. Others may have > a different risk tolerances and/or may anticipate that the amount of > development enabled by Option C or one of the other D’s will be > significantly less than the maximums. > > Reasonable people can debate the merits of all options. But, again, we do > have multiple options. My two cents, in hopes of stimulating rational > dialogue. Peter Braun > -- > 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. > > -- > 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. > >
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