Tom Shiple
A Balanced approach
Tom’s Priorities
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A vibrant town exudes a sense of growth, excitement and energy. There should be room in Lexington for singles, young families and seniors, and Tom favors increasing the availability of housing that is practical for people in these different stages of their lives. But, he also understands that growth must happen incrementally, so that we don’t inadvertently put stress on municipal services or adjoining neighborhoods. To this end, he is in favor of scaling back the number of acres available for multifamily housing. This step-wise approach is nothing new for Tom. In 2023, he co-authored an amendment to phase in districts for MBTA-Communities zoning, and was among the Town Meeting members who filed an amendment that would have significantly lessened both the number of acres available for development and the height of new buildings where they adjoin residential neighborhoods.
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Tom believes we should encourage high-value commercial activity in Lexington. Commercial properties lighten the tax burden on residents, help fund future capital projects and provide local jobs. Sometimes our housing objectives can interfere with our commercial development objectives, so it’s important to encourage mixed-use development to mitigate the impact. Tom favors removing the multifamily housing overlay from our prime commercial districts to encourage more commercial growth. As a Planning Board member, he will scrutinize our policies to look for ways to streamline project approval to encourage commercial growth.
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Lexington has a well-established commitment to the use of technologies that lessen our carbon footprint: heat pumps, solar panels, and adapting the state’s stretch building code for energy efficiency. In its role, the Planning Board can also make a difference by developing new rules that extend open space minimums in residential and commercial developments and by assuring that submitted projects comply with all conservation, tree-bylaw, and native planting requirements.
UPCOMING EVENTS
January 26, 10-11:30PM Coffee Hour
Starbucks, 60 Bedford Street
February 6, 7:30pm South Lexington Civic Assoc Candidate Forum
Brookhaven, 1010 Waltham Ave
February 8, 3pm Meriam Hill Assoc Candidate Forum
St Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church, 17 Meriam St
February 13, 7pm League of Women Voters Candidate Night
Clarke Middle School
February 22, 1pm Lexington Candidates Forum
(IGIG, IAL, CALEX, Lex Lyceum)
Lexington Community Center