Planning Board continues wetland-bylaw hearing to Feb. 24

LINCOLN — February 10, 2026 — Lincoln Planning Board delays vote on deleting 1973 wetland zoning section. The board unanimously continued the public hearing on Article 34 — which would strike Section 12.2, the W-Wetland and Watershed Protection District, and amend the Zoning Map accordingly — to 7:01 p.m. Feb. 24 after member Susan Hall Mygatt asked for more time. Planning Director Paula Vaughn-MacKenzie said the section is "based on outdated wetlands maps from 1968," redundant with Conservation Commission and state permitting, and creates conflicting authority with the Zoning Board of Appeals. Resident Buzz Constable urged caution, saying the Conservation Commission "can only issue an order of conditions" while the Planning Board has "far more tools at its disposal." The board also spent more than an hour on a Dark Skies subcommittee draft that proposes a 900-lumen per-fixture cap and a 9,000-lumen per-property limit; members will submit written comments by Friday for a revised draft on Feb. 24.