The Lincoln we enjoy today is the result of 60 years of deliberative and thoughtful planning. Let's continue on this path and balance Lincoln's many current and future priorities with HCA compliance.
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Get Informed & Stay Informed!
Visit our Town Meeting Section of this Website get Prepared!
Are You Registered to Vote in Lincoln?
In order to have your voice heard, you must be registered to vote in Lincoln
—AND—
you must show up and vote at Town Meeting
Saturday, March 23, 9:30 AM
Doors open at 8:00 AM to sign in
at the Lincoln School Donaldson Auditorium
Vote NO for Now on Article 3
So That Lincoln Can Unite to Get It Right By December.
Attend Town Meeting on March 23 so that your vote counts.
When Asked About HCA Rezoning at Public Forums, Residents Wanted to:
Remove The Lincoln Mall from by-right rezoning and support its revitalization independently of the HCA mandate
Concentrate less density in the Lincoln Station area
Balance the distribution of new overlay districts for by-right rezoning in other parts of Lincoln
Retain at least 15% affordable housing in new development under HCA rezoning
Support the success of retail and commercial businesses in a livable Village Center
Commission professional studies of traffic, affordability, massing, taxes and economic and environmental impact to inform and guide decision making.
Participate in a process that incorporates greater resident input
Lincoln Can Have All This—But not with Article 3's HCA Zoning Bylaw
Article 3 will be decided at Town Meeting by a simple majority vote of over 50%. Your vote is your voice. Show up and be counted! It will be close, and one vote may make the difference!
There will be no voting at the ballot box on this issue. You must be present at Town Meeting to have your vote counted.
Town leadership has confirmed: if the zoning does not pass at Town Meeting, there is time to revise the plan and bring it back for a vote before the end of the year.
Be Part of the Solution. Let's Get it Right.
At Town Meeting on Saturday, March 23, 2024, be part of the solution!
Vote NO For Now So We Can Get to Yes Together.
Mark your calendar and plan to attend and vote. Your vote is your voice.
Lincoln should chart its own course toward growth. Here is why not to sign away our small commercial hub's future to speculative development:
Through Article 3, the proposed Lincoln Station Rezoning Option (a.k.a. "Option C") will allow for up to 650 - 800 high-density units to be developed "by right" around Lincoln Station. 100 of those units are zoned to be where the Mall is now, raising questions about how and if retail will remain.
Under Lincoln's current HCA guidelines, no more than 10% of the units can be required to be affordable, leaving the remaining 90% to be market-rate units. Even Town Leadership has stated that this rezoning is not about affordable (or transit-oritented) housing.
The State allows for as little as 20% of rezoning to be near a transit hub (SPECIFICALLY with Lincoln in mind out of concern for pressures on our existing roads, infrastructure, and neighborhoods)—yet nonetheless and against State parameters, Article 3 condenses 100% of the rezoning within 1/2 mile of Lincoln Station, almost tripling the density of this area. There are currently 344 units within 0.5 miles of Lincoln Station. Article 3/Option C would allow for up to a max of 959 including existing housing. That is 2.8x the density!
The HCA requires a minimum of one parking space per residential unit. This, plus associated rights of way and hardscaping, raises questions about traffic, parking and environmental impacts. Yes: that's also zoning for 650-800 additional cars shoe-horned into the Lincoln Station area in addition to any space that might remain for commercial parking.
There will be yet-to-be-quantified impacts on water supply, taxes, police and fire services, waste and recycling capacity, wildlife, wetlands, retail presence, longtime existing neighborhoods, and our public schools.
Learn more about these topics of interest and join the conversation!
Many South Lincoln Residents don't know that their properties have been selected to be rezoned. There has been no formal direct outreach. Is your home on the list?
Do Your Homework—Be an Informed Voter!
Below are is some useful material to read before Town Meeting.
Latest News:
Viewpoints
FEATURED ARTICLES:
Viewpoint:
Compare State Guidelines with Article 3: Are we Over-Complying?
"Article 3 Bylaws go well outside the State requirements and in doing so, put unnecessary structural pressures on South Lincoln and South Lincoln Residents..."Planning Board Members Joint Statement in Opposition to Article 3's Bylaws
"... we need to slow down and take on a leadership role to carefully create a consensus for new Bylaw changes with clear resident input... we request that it be formally stated at Town Meeting when the Bylaw is presented to the Town for a vote, that “2 of the 5 Planning Board members were opposed to bringing this entire package to a vote at this time"Viewpoint:
Video Tutorial on Why Article 3 Threatens Retail at the Mall
Learn How Voting for Article 3 Will Allow 100 Apartment Units at the Mall to Replace Retail Like Donelan’s, Twisted Tree, Etc...Viewpoint:
Viewpoint: The Real Housing Crisis is AffordabilityViewpoint:
HCA in Lincoln—Managing Risks and Finding SolutionsViewpoint:
Sarah Postlethwait Announces Planning Board CandidacyViewpoint:
Reasonable Concerns about Retail Survival at the MallViewpoint:
My Take on HCA Zoning Bylaws and Special Permit to Reduce Retail
Meeting Summaries and Outcomes
Summary:
Warrant Articles for the March 2024 Annual Town MeetingOutcome:
Jan 30 • "Village Center" Design Guidelines DraftOutcome:
Jan 24 • Approved Draft of HCA Zoning Bylaws AmendmentSummary:
Jan 5 • Planning Board
Important Meetings:
Click here for links to posted recordings and minutes of past meetings about consequential rezoning decisions leading up to Town Meeting.
Also, visit The News page for attendee-written meeting summaries and meeting slide decks that may not be posted elsewhere yet.
Watch how the Planning Board Recently Received and Responded to Public Questions:
Town Meeting
Saturday, March 23 at 9:30 AM
Donaldson Auditorium, Lincoln School Campus
Doors Open at 8:00 AM. There will be a 30 minute lunch break. Bring a lunch.
VOTE!
"Have faith, but tie your camel."
There are big conversations happening at meetings about zoning that will impact Lincoln now and in the future.
For the longterm well-being of the town, may the Planning Board be proactive and put preemptive commercial protections in its new Mixed Use Zoning Bylaws and Guidelines, due to the nature of the HCA's "by right" development rules.
What will prevent a future owner or developer—financially incentivized to maximize residential space and minimize retail—from squeezing out the Mall's commercial tenants in the interest of more profitable residential units, to the detriment of the town's general interest? Article 3 (aka Option C) allows for 100 new housing units and parking for each unit at the Mall. There is only so much space. May common sense prevail.
Has there ever been a "Phase 1" without the expectation of subsequent phases?
Memories are short, and zoning is for the long term, so it behooves the Planning Board to have phased commercial center development plans available for residents to understand what’s likely to be developed at the Mall in the next few years and beyond based on the Bylaws and Guidelines it is writing now.
Background information on HCA rezoning in Lincoln:
Would you like to better understand the HCA and how it relates to Lincoln? Watch a video of the Option E Info Session presented on 11/28/23 for a recap of its details.
The Lincoln Residents for Housing Alternatives is a housing advocacy group in Lincoln, MA. This website exists to share the findings of these resident-volunteers who have tasked themselves with understanding the Housing Choice Act and its guidelines, model, and application in Lincoln. It seeks to include and educate all Lincoln residents about the challenges, pitfalls, and opportunities available for HCA compliance and engage residents in dialogue about this consequential rezoning issue.
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