Planning Board approves Browning Lane plan, queues floodplain and ADU bylaws

LINCOLN — October 8, 2024 — Lincoln Planning Board clears Browning Lane plan and previews floodplain and ADU rewrites. The board unanimously approved a revised site plan for 12 Browning Lane after the applicant relocated a construction trailer and rerouted driveways to save cedar and hemlock trees, with engineer Jim Henderson promising the driveway would "just skirt the edge of its drip line." Town Planner Paula and Conservation Director Michele Grzenda previewed a new floodplain bylaw built on a FEMA model, with Building Commissioner Mark Robidoux designated as floodplain administrator and a joint public hearing targeted for February. KP Law attorney Jonathan Murray briefed the board on Chapter 150 of the Acts of 2024, which requires by-right approval of ADUs up to 900 square feet starting Feb. 2, 2025 and bars owner-occupancy requirements. Co-Chair Lynn DeLisi opposed extending the no-owner-occupancy rule to Lincoln's existing 1,200-square-foot tier, warning it would invite "rental duplexes" on two-acre lots; member Margaret Olson disagreed. Lincoln currently has 80 accessory apartments against a 138-unit cap.