I am a supporter of option E, who also wants development at the mall. What I would like for the mall is for some number of housing units to go up (see my old lincoln talk posts, I am not sure the exact number), while maintaining viability of Donelan's and serious consideration to keeping a commuter lot. Without a grocery store and commuter parking, the notion that we are doing all this for environmental reasons seems false. I would also like to see a large percentage of these units to be affordable (also in the spirit of the HCA), but understand the economics of this issue are complicated.
What I have heard is developers do not want to go through town meeting. That is the line that has been repeated. I agree that they would rather not have to negotiate with the town. They would not get as much as they want (which is profit). People have said that they WON'T go through town meeting and therefore the only way to get housing there is to push it through the HCA . I am skeptical of this. First of all, before the summer, the mall was not even allowed to be included in the HCA because mixed use land (residential + commercial) was not allowed in the proposals. So there must have been some other plan to develop the mall outside of the HCA. Other projects, like Oriole landing have gone through town meeting successfully . It may take time but I believe it is worth it to try to get what we truly want at the mall. Once we give up our rights to developers, it is gone. THIS IS OUR PRIME REAL ESTATE. I know there has been chatter about special interests and secrecy in the option E group. I'm not sure exactly what the special interest would be in this case. However, is it possible there is a special interest tricking people into thinking the best way to get housing at the mall is through the HCA? I am worried that we are being taken advantage of. That our moral principles, which are strong and great, could blind us to what could really be going on. I have no concrete evidence, and am pointing no fingers at any one person or entity, but I know small towns are ripe for corruption and that good, smart people can be misled. I welcome a dialogue on this issue. Am I paranoid or perhaps onto something? Laurie Gray
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