USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Lincoln > Town Report on Lincoln 1956-1959 > Part 36
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The findings and recommendations on this aspect of the consultants study may be summarized as follows:
The most appropriate categories of nonresidential development for the town of Lincoln are light production and research, with the addi- tion of commercial enterprises in the Mill Street area. Many factors from both the Town's and the prospective nonresidential developers' view points militate against heavy industry in Lincoln.
Only two possible areas within the Town, totaling approximately 150 acres, are considered suitable for light industrial or commercial development.
1. The first area, comprising about 85 acres, is located on the Bedford Levels at the end of the southwest runway of the Air Base. This area is already isolated and unsuit- able for residences because of the flight easement appurt- enant to the southwest runway of the Air Base. It adjoins an area in the Town of Concord which it is believed the Concord Planning Board is now considering for light in- dustry. If Highway 2 should be relocated along the route which the consultants recommend and if the Historic Park becomes a reality, a barrier will result between those sections of Lincoln lying between the Bedford Air Base and the Historic Park and the remainder of the Town. A new
approach road would have to be built to service this area.
2. The second area, comprising about 65 acres, is located west of Mill Street and south of Route 2A. This area is suggested as the one that would most logically lend itself to development as a limited commercial adjunct to the pro- posed Historic Park. If the Park is established, this area in the consultants' words 'would have a special at- traction for commercial uses serving the Park - restaurants, motels, automotive needs, gift shops - as an area in which displaced commercial facilities may be relocated. ' The
95
PLANNING AND PUBLIC WORKS
consultant primarily responsible for this section of the report sees a potential for light industrial development of this area even without the establishment of the Park. He believes that, with proper zoning controls, its non- residential development would not affect existing resi- dential development to the east and south. However, the Planning Board feels that such a suggestion should be ap- proached with the greatest caution, since the proposed Park, and Highway 2 in its recommended new location south of the Park, would be the chief barriers to protect resi- dential properties in North Lincoln.
The consultants further state that each of these areas is large enough to be self-contained and to offer opportunities for several enterprises.
They believe that rezoning, for non-residential development, if properly circumscribed by controls, can be accomplished without im- pairment of the essentially residential character of the remainder of the Town. These controls are: 'No change of zoning to 'industrial' is suggested without the prior application of a particular enterprise. This is because no general zoning change, however carefully worded, can be relied upon to give the protection desired. Also experience in other communities has demonstrated the necessity, prior to re- zoning, of advance formulation of high performance standards and proper zoning controls and of agreement by the proposed developer to absolute compliance with those controls and standards. However, the Board feels that the consultants' report should have contained more facts concern- ing the potential effect that industrial zones have on surrounding residential areas and on the values of the town in general.
The consultants further feel that detailed site studies of both areas by the Planning Board must be undertaken to determine the cost to the Town of additional capital outlays necessary to provide the requisite municipal services such as roads, water and fire and police protection, before it can be accurately known what net tax revenue the Town can expect to realize from each of the areas mentioned. The nature of the services required are, of course, dependent upon the type of nonresidential development involved.
The consultants believe that the possible gross tax revenue from a light industrial development on the Bedford Levels site can be esti- mated only in a general manner. Under admittedly ideal conditions, with a 10% design factor for streets and with construction limited to 20% coverage to permit ample space for parking and aesthetic appear- ance, there would be potentially 650,000 square feet of available floor space with a construction value of about $6,500,000, not including land. If this were assessed at 50% of its construction value, the net in- crease in the tax base of the Town would be appreciable. The present limitations of water supply would not be aggravated by development on
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PLANNING BOARD
this site since no industry requiring water for processing would locate here, and domestic use would approximate that of residential develop- ment. However, the Board takes a conservative attitude toward this estimate, realizing that capital outlays would be involved which would reduce the net gain.
The consultants further point out that the experience of other towns, such as Needham, indicates that while non-residential revenues can contribute to and temporarily stabilize a town's tax base, this may not prevent tax increases in the long run.
The annual increase in total assessed valuation of real estate in the Town has averaged about $400,000 per year over the past decade. So long as this rate of growth continues, the Town can absorb annual increases in operating expenses of about $30,000 at a stable tax rate of approximately $75.00. Until 1957 a projection of a continued rate of growth at this level could have been made with some degree of assurance. However, the reduced amount of new residential construc- tion in 1957 and 1958, as evidenced by lower building permit values, makes it extremely doubtful that the Town can count upon the assessed valuation increasing at this rate. It may be still too early to draw conclusions in this regard, since a number of causes can be offered to explain the reduced level of building. 80,000 sq. ft. zoning is, of course, a factor, but other reasons such as unavailability of land and lower economic activity on a national level may also be important.
Without the benefit of revenue from nonresidential sources or increased state contribution, the consultants foresee a continual rise in the Town's tax rate in the predictable future. This rise is an inevitable result of growth and the consequent need primarily for new capital facilities for education and secondarily for other town ser- vices. But it should also be noted that a reduced level of new build- ing may reduce expenses for school and other services.
The Planning Board has reviewed these findings and has come to the following conclusions :
1. The two areas recommended are the only suitable ones for light industrial or commercial development.
2. The matter of timing in rezoning, as the consultants sug- gest, is most important. The Planning Board is fearful that a pre- mature establishment of nonresidential zones in the locations proposed might endanger the accomplishment of the Preliminary General Plan presented by the consultants. The Planning Board has unanimously agreed to a policy that no action should be taken by the town to re- zone areas that might in any way jeopardize the establishment of the National Historic Park and the relocation of Highway 2 beside the park, for the Board feels that the Historic Park alone or much better
97
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TOWN OF LINCOLN, MASS. PRELIMINARY GENERAL PLAN TOWN PLANNING BOARD OF LINCOLN
MORTON B. BRAUN PLANNING CHARLES W. ELIOT CONSULTANTS
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EXISTING PARKS & RESERVATIONS
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10
PLANNING AND PUBLIC WORKS
the Park and the suggested Highway 2 are the last chance the Town will have to prevent the spread of undesirable developments from the Bed- ford Airbase with the resulting deterioration of real estate values between the Airbase and Highway 2.
3. The Town should not be asked to act upon a proposal for re- zoning these areas until it can be assured that the zoning controls and performance standards will be adequate and that the prospective developer unqualifiedly can meet the standards of those controls and standards."
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BOARD OF APPEALS
BOARD OF APPEALS
Thomas B. Adams Henry B. Hoover William N. Swift
Hans Van Leer
Charles Y. Wadsworth
Hearings were held on eighteen petitions to the Board during the year 1958. Set forth below is a summary of the decisions:
Petition filed by Frank Pino to alter a building on a non- conforming lot on Concord Turnpike. Petition granted.
Petition filed by Maurice Leslie to allow rental of building off Concord Turnpike. Petition denied.
Petition filed by Winifred Sullivan for a variance to allow con- struction of a single family dwelling on a lot on Winter Street having less than required frontage. Petition granted.
Petition filed by Hildur Sorenson for variance to use her property on Route #2 for business purposes. Petition granted.
Petition filed by Ruth Barbarow for variance to add to a non- conforming dwelling on Old Sudbury Road. Petition granted.
Petition filed by Ferdinand Troisi for variance to add to a non- conforming dwelling on Old Sudbury Road. Petition granted.
Petition filed by Margaret and Paul Marsh for permission to use barn on Winter Street for a Nursery School. Petition granted.
Petition filed by Thomas Diamond, Administrator, for permission to alter non-conforming dwelling on Cambridge Turnpike. Petition granted.
Petition filed by McKnight's Nursery and Landscape Service on South Great Road for permission to sell grass seed, fertilizer, peat moss and insecticides. Petition granted.
Petition filed by Thomas W. Coan for permission to sell a strip of land from his property on Lincoln Road thus making his remaining lot non-conforming. Petition granted.
Petition filed by Arthur Witham for approval of non-conforming division of building lots on Beaver Pond Road. Petition granted.
Petition filed by Jacqueline M. Ferro to remodel non-conforming dwelling on Lincoln Road. Petition granted.
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PLANNING AND PUBLIC WORKS
Petition filed by Norman W. Hoar for variance to allow. continu- ance of temporary kitchen in home on Lincoln Road. Petition granted.
Petition filed by R. Langdon and Ruth W. Wales for a variance to permit construction of a single-family dwelling twenty-eight feet eight inches from the side lot line instead of the required thirty feet on Lot 5, Brown's Wood, Moccasin Hill. Petition granted.
Petition filed by Richard Halloran of Newton, Massachusetts, for a permit to conduct a landscape nursery business on the property of Peter Helburn located on the south side of North Great Road in Lincoln. Petition denied.
Petition filed by Robert M. Malloy for a variance to permit the erection of a commercial building, with a 40-foot setback, on Lincoln Road. Petition granted.
Petition filed by Robert M. Malloy for a variance, if necessary, and for a permit in any event, to remove fill from residentially zoned property adjacent to the commercial property on Lincoln Road to provide for a septic tank field to service the proposed commercial building. Petition granted.
Petition filed by The First Parish in Lincoln for a variance to allow construction of a residence on a legally constituted lot owned by the First Parish off Bedford Road not having the required amount of frontage on a public way. Petition granted.
BUILDING CODE BOARD OF APPEALS
Walter Belanger William Halsey Donald Loveys
Robert Bygrave
Stephen Herthel
Lawrence Anderson, Chairman
The Building Code Board of Appeals was organized for the year 1958 with Mr. Lawrence Anderson as Chairman, and Mr. William Halsey and Mr. Stephen Herthel as the other regular members of the Board. Mr. Belanger, Mr. Bygrave and Mr. Loveys serve as associate members.
Three cases were heard by the Board, in 1958, as follows :
Petition of the Massachusetts Audubon Society for a variance under the building code to allow for omission of 12 inch bolts, 8 feet on center. The petition was denied.
Petition of Benjamin Drisko for a variance under the building code to allow substitution of wallboard for metal lath and plaster in
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HIGHWAY DEPARTMENT
his garage. The petition was granted.
Petition of Marc Comjean for a variance under the building code to allow the omission of wire lath and plaster from the inside ceil- ing of his garage. The petition was granted.
HIGHWAY DEPARTMENT
Raymond F. Maher, Superintendent
The Town with its accelerating growth demands more and more of its Highway Department in the way of additional and better roads. The traffic load through the Town by commuters has reached the point where the Town must take a new look at its highways with respect to the safety of pedestrian children, school buses, and motorists. School bus drivers frequently report dangers at "squeeze points" along their routes. Wherever school buses travel, the Town should supply a road width not less than twenty-four feet including pavement and shoulders. This would allow room off the pavement in case of emergency and for snow removal.
During 1958 many of the more critical spots of the Town's road network were resurfaced. There were a number of subdivisions that required only a seal to put them back in excellent condition. A number of culverts were reset in order to relieve standing water on abuttor's property. In addition there was the regular seasonal work of snow removal, sweeping the streets and cleaning catch basins after the winter months, cutting roadside brush, post and cable con- struction, and correlated work with the Tree and Cemetery Departments.
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PLANNING AND PUBLIC WORKS
INSPECTORS OF BUILDING, PLUMBING AND WIRING
William M. Dean, Building and Wiring Inspector Daniel J. Murphy, Plumbing Inspector
Building permits issued during 1958:
New residential buildings 18
New non-residential buildings 7
Alterations and additions 42
Buildings demolished 5
Permits renewed 4
Buildings moved 1
Fees collected $1,009.00
Plumbing permits issued during 1958: 48
Fees collected $ 790.00
Wiring permits issued during 1958: 84
Fees collected $ 459.00
102
WATER COMMISSIONERS
WATER COMMISSIONERS
Russell P. Mahan Edward S. Taylor Sumner Smith, Chairman
The Board organized with the choice of Russell P. Mahan, Secre- tary, Edward S. Taylor, representative on the Executive Steering Com- mittee, and Sumner Smith, Chairman. Eighteen meetings were held during the year.
On April 14 the Board visited the Concord gate houses and Main Station, with the Superintendent of the Concord Water Works. The meters and remote control of the pumps were observed and investigated, and it was considered best to continue checking the level of the Lincoln Reservoir in person. The method of measuring the Pond level was also observed.
During April and May the Board was working on plans and specifi- cations to carry out the vote passed under Article 20 at the last Annual Town Meeting. This is the first time the Board has per- formed its own engineering without outside professional aid and super- vision, and conservatively saved over $7000.
Greenough Brothers, whose bid of $36,575 was the lowest of nine contractors interested, was awarded the contract. The Water Works borrowed $50,000, which was supplemented by about $25,000 from Water Works funds, and bought all the pipe, hydrants, gates, valves, etc., necessary for the installation.
The road surface on Old Sudbury Road and South Great Road will be repaired in the spring.
The section on Concord Road (Route 126) was not renewed because winter was too close to start that work, but it will be started in the spring.
New copper screens with cypress frames were installed in the pond gate house. The Dayton-Dowd pump was repaired by installing new shaft bearings and vanes. The shingles on the reservoir gate house were renewed. Unnecessary deciduous trees were removed around the reservoir, and evergreens set, to complement those already thriving.
Maps of new pipes and services are being brought up to date.
1957 was the driest in many years and 1958 the wettest. Conse- quently, the pond is at a high level.
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PLANNING AND PUBLIC WORKS
Your chairman wishes to take this opportunity to advise that he has enjoyed about forty years' association with the Water Works as a member of the Board, and about twenty more as a juvenile interested bystander at the Pumping Station and around the Pond. I am happy to have worked for such a fine employer, but the time has come for me not to be a candidate again.
The Superintendent and his assistant are to be complimented for their interest and efficiency in maintaining the operation of the Water Works.
Water Department Statistics, January 1, 1958
Pipe in use
31.0 M.
No. of hydrants in use
242
No. of stop-gates in use
286
No. of blow-offs in use
27
Range of pressure on mains
40 - 100 1bs.
Total gallons pumped
101,280,300
No. of services added
11
No. of services renewed
51
No. of services in use
997
No. of meters in use
992
LONG-TERM CAPITAL REQUIREMENTS COMMITTEE
Charles P. Kindleberger, Clerk
Maurice E. Shank
Ernest F. Leathem
Alan McClennen (for the
Warren F. Flint (for the Selectmen)
Planning Board)
William N. Page (for the Finance Committee)
A separate report has been prepared and distributed setting out an evaluation by the Committee of proposals for capital expenditure by various boards and committees of the Town.
104
CEMETERY COMMISSIONERS
CEMETERY COMMISSIONERS
Warren F. Flint James DeNormandie Arnold MacLean, Chairman
The three cemeteries have been improved during 1958.
Head- stones were repaired where damaged by weather and accident. The hedge has been replanted on the north side of the Arbor Vitae Cemetery and the diseased elms removed. A beginning has been made on a long term project of properly surfacing the roads in the New Cemetery on Lexington Road. There has been some regrading done in all three cemeteries. This will be continued each year and will greatly im- prove the general appearance and simplify maintenance. All cemetery records are now available at the Town Hall.
There has been no consistent policy in recent years about re- quiring a deposit of funds for perpetual care by purchasers of ceme- tery lots. This has caused a situation to develop where a majority of lots have been sold without perpetual care funds for maintenance. It should be pointed out that the income from perpetual care funds can only be used for maintenance of the lots for which the funds were donated. This creates a difficult situation for the Commissioners, who have found it extremely difficult to allocate amounts running from $3.87 to $78.25 to particular lots, with the result, rightly or wrongly, that for the past few years, these funds have been allowed to accumulate while all maintenance has been paid for by the town. The Commissioners believe they can properly expend these funds for maintenance of perpetual care lots during the next few years. How- ever for the future, a policy of higher initial prices for lots to cover maintenance with no perpetual care deposit has been adopted. This will assure an equitable contribution for maintenance depending on lot size, and the funds so acquired can be spent, on appropriation by the Town, on total cemetery expenses without regard to particular lots. This will eliminate the problem of additional perpetual care funds and will give flexibility to the cemetery maintenance and devel- opment program. This policy has the full approval of the Finance Committee.
There were twelve interments in 1958.
The Commissioners wish to express their appreciation to Superin- tendent Raymond Maher and the Highway Department and to Mrs. Howard Snelling for their cooperation during the year.
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PLANNING AND PUBLIC WORKS
HARTWELL SCHOOL BUILDING COMMITTEE
Elizabeth J. Snelling
Gerard C. Henderson, Jr.
George H. Kidder, Chairman
Andrew J. Dougherty Ernest P. Neumann
The Hartwell School Building Committee reports that the school is essentially complete and that classes have been held since the start of the present school year. During the previous school year, a group of sixth graders undertook a study of possible appropriate names, as a result of which the school has been called after William G. Hartwell, one who contributed richly to the Town's early history.
At the 1958 annual meeting, the Committee advised the Town that it would not require the use of the $50,000 of funds authorized to be borrowed, and by an appropriate article and vote the use of this borrowing capacity was returned to the Town.
Because of certain changes in the traffic requirements for the access roadway requested by the School Committee and the present Superintendent, the Committee has contracted for an additional parking area for twenty cars between the tennis courts and the bus loading dock. The grading and paving for this will doubtless not be com- pleted until the spring of 1959, as will be the case also for final grading of the kindergarten play area near Lincoln Road.
Funds previously authorized by the Town are anticipated to be entirely sufficient to defray any final items before the Committee can consider its work done. The usual number of adjustments to be expected in any new building have been accomplished and the Committee is informed by the Superintendent that the administrative staff is well pleased with all aspects of the building.
Final certification of the cost of the building will be made to the State School Building Assistance Commission in the spring of 1959 and the exact determination of what assistance the Town may expect to receive will then be determined.
The Committee wishes to record its appreciation for the patient and effective cooperation of N. D. C. Construction Co., Inc., the general contractor, during all stages of construction. To our architects, Messrs. Anderson, Beckwith & Haible, may we express our gratitude for our pleasurable association on this project. They have given immediate attention to our every request in a manner that was always understanding, cheerful and effective.
106
SCHOOL NEEDS COMMITTEE
LINCOLN SCHOOL BUILDING NEEDS COMMITTEE
Andrew J. Dougherty
Helen B. Gilfoy
Gerard C. Henderson, Jr., Co-Chairman
Eugene D. Mellish
William N. Swift, Co-Chairman
The Lincoln School Building Needs Committee submits herewith its first interim report. This Committee was appointed by the Moderator pursuant to the vote of the Town under Article Seventeenth at the Annual Town Meeting held on March 17, 1958. It was originally authorized and directed to investigate and report as to the building needs of the Town's Elementary School System. Early in its delibera- tions, the School Committee urged this Committee to concentrate its efforts towards providing additional instructional space for primary grades to be ready for use by the fall of 1960. According to the School Committee's census tabulations and educational programing, every presently available classroom will be in use for the school year starting in the fall of 1959, and by the fall of 1960 there will be a shortage of at least four classroom spaces.
As a result, this Committee has been unable to make any long range studies with respect to future building needs. It did, how- ever, recommend to the School Committee that the School Committee should organize a long range planning committee to make an overall master plan for school building needs. This recommendation has been implemented by the School Committee, and a long range planning com- mittee is now at work on the problem.
Upon investigation, this Committee found that there were alter- natives which would eliminate the necessity for a new building by the fall of 1960. These alternatives, however, involve a major change in or the elimination of part of the educational program of the schools. This Committee believes that any such decision must be made by the Town as a whole rather than by a small committee. According- ly, it intends to present plans for additional classroom space for the primary grades at the 1959 Annual Town Meeting and request an appropriation for the construction thereof . It will also point out to the Town what some of the alternatives are. The Town can then make an intelligent decision.
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