Select Board Endorsement of Panetta/Farrington Project As voted June 2, 2025
The Select Board believes this project will have a positive impact on Lincoln. It reflects the Town's core values, including conservation and thoughtful stewardship of our natural and built environments. First, it conserves 77 acres of undeveloped land that have long been a part of the Town's open space plan. As the largest remaining parcel of unprotected land in Town, preserving it represents a rare and significant opportunity. Funding will come from three sources: a contribution from the City of Cambridge to help protect its watershed; private contributions from Lincoln residents; and a $950,000 contribution from the Town's Community Preservation (CPA) Fund. The Board considers this a good investment of our CPA money. Second, the community benefits from a wide variety of housing types. Each year, Lincoln loses moderately sized homes to demolition. This project will build twenty new, detached family homes that share common land and amenities. Seventeen of the twenty will be three-bedroom homes between 1,650 - 2,000 square feet, and three will be four-bedroom homes of about 4,000 - 4,500 square feet. Three of the homes will be income-restricted, offering an opportunity for home ownership under an income-restricted model. Because the twenty homes will have common ownership of the land, they may not be torn down and replaced with large houses, keeping them moderately sized in perpetuity. Third, Farrington NatureLinc's mission is closely aligned with Lincoln's values and vision statement. A deal that gives them the capital they need to stay on the property and introduce children to the wonder and magic of the natural world is in both their and the Town's best interests. Finally, this opportunity for Lincoln would not be possible without the collaboration of multiple entities: The Panetta family wants to help conserve some of the land, including the farm stand that has been so important to them for multiple generations; Farrington is committed to fulfilling their mission and conserving their land; and the City of Cambridge is willing to partner with Lincoln once again to protect water quality. The project would not be possible without the Rural Land Foundation's long-term commitment to Lincoln's open space plan and its quiet persistence in listening to stakeholders, finding common ground, and making proposals like this possible. For these reasons, we recommend that Lincoln voters approve the project at the June 25th Special Town Meeting. Jennifer Glass, Chair Jim Hutchinson Kim Bodnar Select Board =========================================================== Peggy Elder Administrative Assistant to the Select Board & Town Administrator Town of Lincoln T Direct 781-259-2601 D Email [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>
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