Hello, hello!

I hope you’re having a wonderful week and staying cool. I want to put a plug for the wading pool at Simonds Park, where I’ve been spending most of my time for the last week. If you haven’t already, you can get your pass at the Recreation Department office by showing your ID, and you’re off to the races. The hours are kind of weird because of the summer camp at Simonds Park, but I’m not going to complain: Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, it opens at 10; Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday it opens at 3. It closes at 8 daily. For the first 2 weeks of August, the closing time moves up to 7 and then the hours get even weirder for the last 2 weeks before school starts. You can find them, and all other recreation department information, in the recreation department brochure.

Missing 15-Year-Old Last Seen Near Burlington; Search Ongoing

In case you haven’t seen this information already – 15-year-old Emily Cotrina is still missing. She was last seen in person in Lynn, but her cell phone was last pinged in Burlington, near 128 and Middlesex Turnpike (think, over next to the mall, possibly over next to the Dunks and hotels by Wheeler Road).

Emily is very short – 4’10”, and has several tattoos on her arms, legs, and chest. She has a dark complexion and very short, dark hair.

Areas of Interest:

• Lynn
• Burlington
• North Attleboro
• Salem
• Boston (downtown)

If you have seen Emily or know anything about her whereabouts, please contact Lynn police at (781) 477-7075 or Dan Collins at Level Investigations of New England at (617) 797-1879.

Lab Space at Burlington Mall?

Recently there have been stories circulating that the Lord & Taylor space at three different local malls, including Burlington, will be converted into laboratory space, with tenants able to move in toward the end of 2023. It’s easy to take away from these headlines (in the Globe, the Patch, and elsewhere) that there will soon be lab space at the mall.

That interpretation puts the cart about a mile before the horse. The company that owns the space, HBC, is indeed planning to make renovations, and apparently they want to make this space “lab-ready.” However, when HBC approached the Planning Board a while back, they were granted a permit to put office space and some accessory retail and/or a small restaurant there. That’s it. Regardless of HBC’s long-term vision, under current zoning, that space would not be eligible to become a lab.

The way zoning works is that the proponent (the owner of the property who would like the zoning change, in this case HBC) would need to work with various groups in town (in this case, Planning Board, Zoning Bylaw Review Committee, and – importantly – Board of Health) to create a zoning change. That would then have to be approved by Town Meeting. Then, they’d need to get a bunch of special permits granted by the Board of Health to do that kind of work. To my knowledge, even the first step of this process – speaking to the various boards in town about this change in plans – hasn’t been done yet.

The process is long and, even if the special permits could be granted (which would likely be narrow in this space) a petition to rezone would be entirely in the hands of Town meeting – i.e., residents.

Look out for more information about this in the coming months. If there is a proposal to make this zoning change, you’ll know – especially if you read the Buzz regularly. You’ll also have a chance to provide input. Planning Board and Board of Health meetings are open, and public participation is welcomed, either in person or via WebEx.

Today in Burlington

Some interesting meetings going on in town today:

• 4:00 PM – Board of Assessors will have their regular meeting, and members of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee will speak during public participation.
• 6:00 PM – Diversity, Equity, Inclusion Committee will discuss their second quarterly report as well as the progress of nailing down a date for the community leaders program with the Select Board and discussing mission statements with the various town Boards and Commissions. (Join via webex)
• 6:30 PM – Zoning Bylaw Review Committee meets to discuss some potential amendments, including signage, accessory structures, Town Center Multifamily (this was the only article to not be passed during Town meeting this May, so I’m curious what changes they’ll make to make it more palatable, or what direction this discussion takes), groundwater, and the definition of  a smoke shop. (Join via Zoom)
• 7:00 PM – Ways and Means meets to reorganize the Committee and discuss some year-end transfers. (Join via webex)

Alright, I won’t keep you any longer. Have a great day!

Nicci