Members of our community have lamented or inquired about the “secrecy” surrounding the Nature Link conservation project. I would like to share my perspective as a member of the RLF & LLCT board of directors and as one who has been involved in complex land conservation projects across the Commonwealth, primarily through The Trustees of Reservations.
Of course, non-profit land conservation organizations like RLF/LLCT would prefer having a wide-open and extended community engagement process before a public project unveiling, but that is often not practical. As I am sure you can sympathize, these projects can be inherently complex because of many stakeholders who often have initially conflicting goals that must be reconciled during confidential discussions. So most of the hard work in crafting land conservation projects happens in private, to retain the privacy of the involved parties, until an agreement can be reached and then presented to the public. The negotiations for these conservation deals are often very tenuous, so there is not typically an opportunity to share the various iterations and points of negotiation in the public realm. Sometimes a project can take years, if not decades, of discussion to reach a point of agreement, but then the transaction itself must happen quickly with a rush of effort. There are brief moments of time when balance can be found, and often financial pressure or other externalities makes folks compromise. In this particular case, it's been a particularly challenging jigsaw puzzle to match the interests of private landowners, institutions like Farrington Memorial, and the City of Cambridge, who are willing to significantly contribute to preserving water quality for their adjacent reservoir. In Farrington’s case, they have expressed to the RLF a desire to increase their financial resources, while still retaining a long-term home in Lincoln. What’s equally important is a critical need to improve access for their visitors. Regardless of any minor improvements that could be made with their current driveway at the intersection of Route 2, they would prefer not having school buses and others navigate that dangerous dynamic. And hence, the linkage to the Panetta property— creating the opportunity for a safe and secure entrance for their limited visitors. And to add to this complexity, it is in the RLF’s best judgement that we must include housing redevelopment to make this project financially viable. Portioning some land for development has been an innovative and effective conservation strategy employed by the RLF for decades, including the original formation of Lincoln Station, more recently the Birches School / Wang Sports Field project, and other housing neighborhoods across the town. This tactic provides much-needed capital to finance larger conservation projects. Using this sort of financial tool requires additional coordination, making sure that a developer finds the project financially attractive while the RLF pays attention to the needs of the larger community interests. In balancing these tensions, the RLF believes this project is in the best interest of the town of Lincoln, permanently conserving one of the largest land holdings while at the same time diversifying our housing stock. If you have questions and/or want to lend support, there are many opportunities to learn at a variety of public forums: UPCOMING TOWN MEETINGS, with more info at www.Lincolntown.org Thursday, May 29, 7:00 p.m. Community Preservation Committee Monday, June 2, 6:00 p.m. Select Board Tuesday, June 10, 7:00 a.m. Planning Board Tuesday, June 17, 8:00 a.m. Housing Coalition FORUMS HOSTED BY RLF / LLCT, with more info at www.lincolnconservation.org Tuesday, June 3, 7:00 p.m. Zoom Wednesday, June 4, 12:00 p.m. Lincoln Public Library WE ARE ADDING MORE SO PLEASE check www.lincolnconservation.org for the latest. If these don’t work for you, please reach out. And most importantly, remember to cast your vote for the Special Town Meeting the evening of June 25th. Best regards, Bob Mason Old Concord Road
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