Lincoln Planning Board endorses Farrington Memorial lot split, advances Housing Choice zoning

LINCOLN — July 11, 2023 — Lincoln Planning Board endorses Farrington Memorial ANR and sets building-height framework for Housing Choice rewrite. The board voted 4-0 on July 11, with Co-Chair Gary Taylor recused, to endorse the Approval Not Required plan splitting 74.6 acres at 295 Cambridge Turnpike into a 7.6-acre conservation parcel and a 67.06-acre remainder; the plan was drawn by Snelling & Hamill. The board then coalesced around a 36-to-40-foot height for residential buildings and 42 feet — possibly 45 — for mixed-use buildings with required ground-floor retail, framed as an incentive paired with a density bonus. Town Planner Paula reported that KP Law has been retained to draft the zoning bylaw, and a separate consultant is studying whether Lincoln can require 15 percent affordable rather than the state's 10 percent floor. "You can't legislate taste," Co-Chair Taylor said during a debate over design controls. The board's preferred "Option 7" district covers Lincoln Woods, Codman Road, a Lewis Street mixed-use band, and the mall, capturing more than 50 percent of required units near the train station.