My husband and I absolutely agree with Sara and plan to vote option E on Saturday. Maureen Malin and Chuck Kaman
> On 12/01/2023 12:21 PM EST ٍSarah Postlethwait <[email protected]> wrote: > > > The main reason Civico is insisting the village center be included in the HCA > rezoning is so they can’t be required to have more than 10% affordable > housing… so how will that add equitable diverse housing in Lincoln? If they > had intentions to actually add real affordable housing, they would have no > issue with separating the village center rezoning from the very unrestrictive > HCA rezoning. > > By having the village center rezoning be a different warrant article, the > town can require affordable housing for families who earn less than ~$120k a > year/ 80% of the median income; and we can ensure more than 10% of the units > are reserved as affordable. Plus we save a significant amount of our limited > “affordable housing trust” funds by doing that, so truly affordable housing > can be built with it. > > It’s a win, win, win scenario. > > Separating the village center rezoning from the HCA won’t even require a > supermajority at town meeting. Even rezoning outside of the HCA near the MBTA > only needs a simple majority 51% now. That's a pretty easy hurdle to pass if > the village center is presented with a reasonable UPA/ affordable housing > requirement and percentage. > > The RLF has done some great things for Lincoln- but they can’t promise the > next owner(s) will have the same purpose. The RLF have stated multiple times > in public meetings they plan to sell to a developer in the near future. And > that developer will likely sell within a couple years once construction is > finished. Why wouldn’t we have it set in stone, rather than just crossing our > fingers and hoping they have good intentions? > > The only way to truly ensure affordable housing will be built is to separate > the “village center” into a separate rezoning warrant at March Town meeting. > The only way to do that is to vote for Option E. > > Sarah Postlethwait > Lewis St > > On Fri, Dec 1, 2023 at 8:36 AM David Cuetos <[email protected] > mailto:[email protected]> wrote: > > > The current draft of the bylaws for the Village Center District is tailored > > to meet a developer’s (Civico) wishes rather than the Town’s general > > interest. A majority of the Planning Board has so far supported that > > approach. There is no reason to believe that the imbalance of power will > > change after Saturday. If options C-D are chosen, the Town would be forced > > to decide between approving a set of disagreeable Village Center bylaws or > > reject HCA rezoning altogether. It is obvious in that scenario we would be > > dosed with a heavy ration of “approve this or the State will sue us” like > > we have seen so far in public presentations from the HCAWG. HCA and Mall > > rezoning need not be coupled. Vote E to retain control. Vote E if you are > > unsure what is the best approach and you want more time to consider. > > > > To recap, these are the concerning bylaws: > > > > * If the Mall is not developed under HCA, more than 10% affordable units > > could be required, as Lincoln has historically done. It gets even worse. > > There is a clause in the planned bylaws that would allow developers to > > skirt the 10% HCA affordable housing requirement by making a donation to > > the Town’s Affordable Housing Trust. No units would be reserved for > > households with an income lower than 80% of the median (~$120k for a family > > of four). > > * There are minimal requirements for commercial space. The requirements > > discussed could be easily gamed by a developer. The RLF Chair admitted at > > the Community Forum of Nov. 8 that commercial space would likely decrease. > > * Under HCA there is no possible requirement for commercial parking space. > > Residents could not be able to visit the Mall like they do today. > > * There are no floor area or lot coverage ratios. This means lots can be > > clear-cut to maximize build-out, increasing the amount of impervious > > surface and reducing tree-cover . > > * The draft bylaw discussed on the 20th allows a maximum 4 stories and > > height of 48' for buildings located 100 ft or more from the road. This is > > inconsistent with all public communications from the HCAWG, which set the > > limit at 3 stories and a height of 42’. > > * Most concerning of all, the Planning Board would reserve the right to > > provide height, story, and density variances through a special permit. This > > would essentially render moot the discussion the Town is expected to have > > regarding the District’s proper bylaws, including number of units. This is > > an unprecedented clause in Lincoln’s history. > > > > > > On Fri, Dec 1, 2023 at 02:27 RAandBOB <[email protected] > > mailto:[email protected]> wrote: > > > > > Most house lots in town are zoned for by-right single-family housing. You > > > can’t build just any house on these lots, however. The building is > > > governed by side lot and front lot setbacks and by height, wetland and > > > septic restrictions, among others. > > > > > > Similarly, the new zoning for by right multi family housing/retail will > > > restrict the possibilities for buildings. The planning board is in the > > > process of developing new bylaws. Right now they disagree among > > > themselves. Their continuing discussions will be held in public, and also > > > be guided by input from the public through public hearings. Eventually, > > > they will propose new bylaws that will be voted up or down by the Town > > > Meeting. This is the process that will eventually limit what developers > > > can build on these new by-right zoned properties for multi-family/retail > > > developments. In this way, the Town will continue to have control over > > > what is developed. > > > > > > Ruth Ann Hendrickson > > > (She, her, hers) > > > > > > > > -- > > > The LincolnTalk mailing list. > > > To post, send mail to [email protected] > > > mailto:[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] > > mailto:[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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