Tell us a little about yourself. You can include your personal background, family, outside interests that are important to who you are as a person and a candidate.
I am the person who brought forth the Citizen’s Petition for Special Town Meeting to amend the zoning bylaw enacted two years ago. I am deeply concerned about the future of Lexington.
I have lived here since 1978, having chosen Lexington for its location, excellent schools and educated population, and its historical character and open space. My husband and I raised our family here. I am a retired technical writer, with graduate degrees in philosophy and business, so I have an idealistic and a pragmatic side.
My main “work” in retirement has been to help families who have experienced a death of a loved one, which has honed my listening skills. My avocations are reading, enjoying outdoor activities, and singing. I perform in three singing groups: an a cappella group which performed at the Lexington Farmers Market, Porch Fest, and recently at the VA Hospital in Bedford; Commonwealth Chorale in Newton; and the Temple Isaiah choir.
I am the Lexington representative to the Safety Committee at KSQ Therapeutics, a biotech company on Maguire Road.
Why are you running for Town Meeting?
I am running because I want to have a voice in Lexington’s future, and I want to be able to vote for Article 2, which I initiated. Two years ago, Town Meeting voted to rezone 253 acres of land for multi-family housing with no limit on the number of housing units that could be built per acre, and minimal dimensional controls. In this response to the MBTA Communities Act, Town Meeting went to an extreme, by created 10 times the housing capacity that the State required, potentially doubling the number of housing units in Lexington, which would ultimately double the population. I am strongly in favor of Lexington doing its share to alleviate the housing shortage in the Boston area, but I also want the Town to consider the consequences of going to such an extreme.
In a short time, developers have submitted application for nearly 1,100 housing units, already close to the MBTA Act’s target of 1,231, with many more waiting in the wings. Building has started, with other projects due to start this spring and fall. We now know that development will happen faster than anyone expected, and Town Meeting needs to slow down the pace of development, so that the Town has adequate time to plan for the greater amount of services and infrastructure needed for our new residents. I want to help Lexington lead the State in having good government that does proper planning and that balances the needs of all residents, new and current.
How has your past experience — whether in your professional life, elected office, or as a community leader — prepared you for a role in Town Meeting?
When I first moved to Lexington, I joined Pre-School PTA (now called LexFUN), and later became president. At that time I noticed that there was inadequate equipment in the Center Playground. Our group raised money to buy the materials to make wooden playground equipment, an architect donated his design expertise, and I asked the head of carpentry at Minuteman High School if he and his students could collaborate with us to build the new playground equipment. This was a win-win for everyone. The equipment was later moved to Kinneen Park when the community playground was built in the Center Playground.
Today I am the Lexington resident representative, along with a member of the Lexington Public Health Department, of the Safety Committee for KSQ Therapeutics on Maguire Road. This committee monitors safety procedures to make sure that people living and working in Lexington are not exposed to any toxic agents.
I am co-chair of the Bereavement Committee at Temple Isaiah in Lexington, a member of the Board and of their Finance Committee.
My participation in the Greater Boston Interfaith Organization’s listening campaign made me aware of the great need for affordable housing in the Boston area. Article 2 will continue to provide more multifamily housing in Lexington, with larger projects having an affordable component. I am committed to having a diverse population in Lexington.
By listening to constituents, I expect to learn what their reasons are for their views. When people have opposing views, there has to be some give and take, and finding a balance. Through dialog, I hope to reach consensus, but if consensus cannot be reached, I will try to find a solution that is best for the Town.
My collaboration with Minuteman High School to build new playground equipment for Center Playground is an example of my ability to work with others in a creative way.
My bereavement work has made me a good listener, and has involved dealing with many sensitive issues. I do not shy away from difficulties, and respect differences in approach.
I am currently collaborating with many advocates for changing Lexington’s zoning that was created in response to the MBTA Communities Act. Together we gathered more than 400 signatures in just a few days in order to have a Special Town Meeting. I am working closely with several highly experienced Town Meeting members who are on my steering committee, and we are listening carefully to the many people who have made comments of all sorts, and responding with reasoned arguments and careful analysis. I believe that community outreach is an essential part of good government.
What is the most important issue in this election to you personally, and what ideas do you have about how to address this issue?
There are two important issues this year, zoning and the high school. I have chosen to tackle the problem of zoning by creating a Citizens’ Petition to address Lexington’s over-compliance with the MBTA Communities Act. The Act required each town to increase multifamily housing capacity. Our target capacity was 1,231, a 10% increase in our housing units. Town Meeting voted to increase our housing capacity by 100%, doubling our existing housing units. This was not well understood at the time, because Town Meeting was told that only 400–800 units would be built in 8–10 years. The developers have rushed in, and nearly 1,100 units are already in the pipeline, with more to come.
A substantial increase in population will require more Town services and infrastructure, and planning needs to be done. The idea of the petition is to slow down the growth until we can do better planning. The way this will be done is to limit both the acreage and the number of multifamily housing units per acre that can be built. The limit of 15 units per acre was the requirement of the MBTA Act. Building many units close together (density) is very profitable for developers, and this is what has caused the incredible flood of applications to build.
Meanwhile, the Town needs to plan for the extra services that will be needed, such as planning personnel, police and fire personnel, and teachers; plus, more infrastructure will be needed, such as parks and fields, roads, traffic controls, water and sewer capacity, etc. Good government means adequate planning for the future, taking expenses and revenues into account.
The other part of the motion that will go before Town Meeting is a resolution to create more community involvement in what will be done going forward. Many people have told me that they had no idea about the implications of the rezoning. We need to create better vehicles for getting information about critical issues to as many members of our community as possible. Every person needs to feel that they are truly heard.
The issue of fostering community involvement is very important, and a high priority for me. I would like to create consensus, and lessen the divisions that have occurred within our community.
I am advocating that Town Meeting pass the article we are presenting at Special Town Meeting. Let’s slow down the incredible rate of growth that is on the way, due to Town Meeting not having full information about how much new housing the MBTA zoning would create. Time is of the essence, because the developers are filing plans to lock in the current zoning. Without this article being passed, you can be sure that Lexington will have growth at a pace that is unmanageable for planning Town services and supporting infrastructure.
I am also advocating for better processes to bring the input of more residents into decision making, especially when such major changes are concerned. Let’s be the leaders in good government, and show how a balanced approach with extensive community involvement will make Lexington the best it can be.