News
Viewpoint: Lincoln is NOT Milton: We Have Options
Planning Board Candidate Explains Why Voting No on Article 3 Will Not Get Lincoln Sued
By Sarah Postlethwait
Originally Posted on Lincoln Talk. Posted here with permission of the author.
The Massachusetts Attorney General has filed a lawsuit against Milton for not complying with the HCA. (Reminder- their deadline for compliance was December 31, 2023).
Milton is a perfect example of what happens when a town refuses to have all sides sit down at a table and work out a plan that will make everyone happy and alleviate the grave concerns of its citizens.
Brookline is a perfect example of a town that was divided and chose to get all parties involved together and work on a plan that gained overwhelming support at its town meeting. 86% in favor.
Milton chose the same path that Lincoln is currently walking down, and it resulted in Milton’s residents showing up in droves at the polls to overturn its previous yes vote. Since their deadline to comply was December 2023, the AG has now decided to file a lawsuit against the town for noncompliance.
If the AG wins (a very big if), everyone in Milton loses because the state is trying to designate its own multifamily district in Milton with this lawsuit.
How does this apply to Lincoln?
At last night’s planning board meeting, two members of the Planning Board, Ephraim Flint and Lynn DeLisi bravely spoke up and urged the board to consider giving the HCA article more time before we bring it to town meeting. It needs more work and they do not believe the town understands the full extent of what this HCA rezoning will allow.
They asked that the planning board designate a committee with 10-12 Individuals representing both those in favor of the current proposal and those against it- and let them work together to make a proposal that the whole town can get behind.
The majority members- Margaret Olson, Gary Taylor and Craig Nicholson, voted to approve the bylaws and send the HCA to March town meeting. However, Ms Olson did recognize that the town is deeply divided, and she said the only way that they can negotiate and work on another proposal is to vote down the current HCA proposal at town meeting in March. If the town votes no, the message will be loud and clear that this is not the path towards HCA compliance that is right for Lincoln.
The good news
We have plenty of time to come together and craft a better HCA compliance solution before a lawsuit from the state or loss of grants becomes a necessary concern for Lincoln. We are in compliance until December 31, 2024 and we have over 10 months to agree on an HCA proposal (the town only developed the current proposal 6 months ago!)
No one is suggesting that we do not comply—but many see Milton's situation as a cautionary tale and are urging the town to find a better path to compliance involving collaboration and compromise between differing sides as occurred in Brookline.
By Voting NO on Article 3 in March, we will get to YES together by December.