Observations & questions based on Utile’s 1/5/2024 Planning Board presentation

Assuming that Mall septic issues will be dealt with by negotiating with TCB, the number of units in the potential Mall buildout will be controlled by parking availability and open space requirements.

1. Utile’s Existing Conditions Plan indicates that commercial space at the Mall comprises a total of 55,093 square feet, inclusive of the USPO and the Tack Room.
   
   

2. According to the Existing Conditions Plan, the Mall currently has 156 parking spaces.
   
   

3. Utile’s Proposed Phase 1 Buildout plan shows 174 spaces for commercial and residential combined,  only 18 spaces more than the Mall currently has for commercial alone.
   
   

4. The current Lincoln Zoning Bylaw calls for 1 parking space/250 sf of commercial floor area, or 4 spaces/1,000 sf. (See Zoning Bylaw, Section 15.3.2 (e) )
   
   

5. The Utile Phase 1 model uses a metric of 2.5 spaces/1,000 sf commercial floor area. Is the bylaw being changed to reflect reduction in commercial parking required in Lincoln? How can this reduction possibly promote a viable commercial area, when commercial parking is already fully utilized?
   
   

6. Phase 1 model matrix has 52 residential units and a total of 52 residential parking spaces. (15 of the spaces designated for Phase 1 residential use are in the setback behind Donelan’s.)
   
   

7. If more parking spaces are to be added later to bring the total Mall residential buildout to 100 units, 48 more residential parking spaces will have to be found.
   
   

8. Subtracting proposed Phase 1 residential spaces from the total proposed parking space count leaves a total of 122 spaces for commercial use for the Donelan’s, the USPO and Tack Room building, and commercial in the proposed Phase 1 development.
   
   

9. What is the square footage proposed for commercial in the proposed development? It seems that the Planning Board is not planning to promote commercial activity in Lincoln, which is part of the Board’s mission, according to its page on the Town website: “The broad mission of the Planning Board is to further the welfare of the citizens of Lincoln by helping to create and preserve a healthful, convenient, efficient and attractive community environment. The physical as well as the social and economic community is a single organism, all features and activities of which are related and interdependent.”
   
   

10. Again, without any minimum commercial parking requirement in the HCA, it’s hard to see how much commercial enterprise can survive at the Mall.
    
    

11. It would be good to hear from the Planning Board what the long-range plans are for the Mall’s 

    1. • Commercial viability

       • Green open space as an amenity – how much green open space will be required on this site?

       • Safe emergency access

       • Setback integrity

12. We understand that Utile’s proposed Phase 1 Buildout Plan is conceptual only, but it should reflect the outdoor spaces and elements necessary for the buildings and their uses. For instance, the Phase 1 plan shows the utility area behind Donelan’s as a newly paved space converted to parking and vehicular circulation. Three concerns: 

    1. • Donelan’s uses that turfed utility space in its operations. How will Donelan’s operations – including its very large dumpster and dumpster access -- be affected by the elimination of its utility space?

       • Parking shown in that utility space is within the site setback. According to Lincoln’s Zoning Bylaws, 
“…parking areas in all districts shall be provided with curbing, wheel stops, or other devices to prevent motor vehicles from being parked or driven within required setback areas or onto the required landscaped open space.” (LZB, p.68, Section 15.3.3.2 Construction.)

       • Paving the proposed building courtyard and the Donelan’s’s utility space eliminates virtually all green open space from the site, leaving only impermeable surfaces (buildings, paving) throughout the site. A number of residents have expressed anticipation that the new development will have welcoming, pleasant open green space as an amenity; the proposed building development and resulting parking needs eliminate that possibility.

         
         

13. Utile’s plan appears to be an idealized depiction of the site, which leaves off critical functional elements in order to maximize site parking counts. It would be good to have Utile incorporate the required functional spaces required for any large-scale development to give a more realistic parking count:

    1. • Existing and proposed trash storage and removal access – please show

       • Shopping cart depot: please show on the Existing Conditions Plan and on Phase 1 plan (not counted as parking spaces)

       • Safe pedestrian access from the heart of Lincoln Woods – please show on existing conditions plan and proposed plan (Phase 1 plan shows access eliminated and replaced with parking and vehicular circulation)

       • Accessible parking (HP) spaces – shown on Existing Conditions Plan for Donelan’s only, but must also be shown for the USPO, Tack Room, and any proposed Phase 1 development, with affiliated loading spaces (which do not count as parking spaces)
         
         

14. Two-way circulation around the new U-shaped building appears unlikely, given the turns required to maneuver around parked cars and past building corners.
    
    

15. Access and maneuvering for fire vehicles into the new development’s parking court looks difficult/impossible, unless no cars are parked in that area. Has the Fire Department done a safety review of the Phase 1 plan, to ensure it is in compliance with safety access requirements? This should be done in the zoning stage, given the expectation that what is shown for a zoning model is compliant.

    
    

16. Despite climate change, snow removal/storage remains an issue, and will have to be accommodated or the parking courtyard and the parking alley behind Donelan’s.
    
    

17. The suggestion to add diagonal parking spaces to Lincoln Road is concerning. It will:

    1. • Eliminate the existing mature oak trees along the road, and possibly the stone wall.

       • Create a significant hazard both to drivers parking in diagonal spaces (who must back out into Lincoln Road’s southbound travel way) and drivers traveling along Lincoln Road.

       • Reduce further any green open space at the Mall.


       • If diagonal parking is done as currently proposed, how will the bike/ped path connect from in front of Lincoln Woods? How will St. Joe’s parishioners and Ryan Estate residents cross safely to access the Mall?
         
         

18. It would be very helpful to see how Utile envisions the space between the proposed building and Lincoln Road; this area is left essentially blank in the proposed Phase 1 plan, and elements in this area will certainly affect the look of the streetscape along Lincoln Road. Please include the stone wall and all the existing trees on the existing conditions plan, and in dashed lines on the proposed plan.
    
    Chris Bibbo, DPW Director, has confirmed that the RLF survey is accurate, so Utile’s drawings should show the accurate property line location, and reflect the actual setbacks mandated in the revised bylaw.


    
    

19. Parking numbers and notes shown on Utile’s proposed plan slides are confusing. The parking count of 52 (or 53) spaces for proposed residential construction is clear, but the designation “All Commercial” is not – does this count include the USPO and Tack Room, as well as commercial to be included in the proposed Phase 1 development?

    
    

20. How does the Lincoln bylaw change mesh with the HCA requirement that no commercial parking be required in a mixed-use development? The implication of the HCA requirement is that once the Mall is zoned for “by-right” development, commercial interests will be edged out.
    
    

21. The USPO and Tack Room have to date been excluded from discussion about the Mall sale. Does RLF intend to maintain ownership of this building after the Phase 1 buildout, or will it also be replaced with housing?