ITEM PHOTO BY OWEN O’ROURKE
Mayor Judith Flanagan Kennedy speaks with The Item in her office at Lynn City Hall.
By THOMAS GRILLO
LYNN — Starting this summer, Lynn will no longer be the state’s largest municipality without a city planner.
Mayor Judith Flanagan Kennedy has proposed to fill the planning position that has been vacant for nearly 25 years.
“I’ve wanted to get a planner for a long, long time and now’s the right time,” she said. “A planner will update zoning citywide and determine land usage as we plot the city’s future.”
The job, which is expected to cost up to $100,000 annually, comes as a recent study by RKG Associates Inc. in Boston called on the city to improve planning, regulatory and zoning functions by creating a planning office led by a professional to institute permitting that is transparent, streamlined and fair. Other consultants have called for the establishment of a centralized planning division that would lead the city’s redevelopment efforts.
Kennedy said the impetus to create the job followed a conversation with James M. Cowdell, executive director of the Lynn Economic Development and Industrial Corp. (EDIC), the city’s development bank. The two discussed how the city once employed a grant writer that was paid for by EDIC and the city’s Department of Community Development.
“We thought maybe we could do that for the planner,” she said.
Kennedy has asked EDIC and the Community Development office to each come up with 50 percent of the salary.
Cowdell said the addition of a planner to City Hall is a positive step that he supports.
When he was hired in 1987, Cowdell said there was a full planning department. Since it disbanded in 1990, the city has spent money on consultants to fill the void.
“The department dissolved when the planning director retired and the agency’s functions were integrated into other departments,” he said. “It makes sense to hire a planner. It will be a welcome addition to the city.”
While the job description has not been written, the new hire will be responsible to determine land use, he said.
“Our zoning ordinances are outdated and the planner will take that on as a project,” he said.
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Jason Denoncourt, economic development director for U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.), praised the city for the decision.
“A planner is an essential piece of the puzzle,” he said. “It’s great they are considering it and smart planning will pay for itself.”
Gordon R. Hall, president of The Hall Co., and chairman of the Lynn Business Partnership who also serves as a director of The Daily Item, said, “This is something we’ve wanted for the city for a long time; we applaud the decision by the mayor.”
James Marsh, community development director, said he welcomes the chance to add to his team and fill the planning role in-house.
“Whether it’s assisting us in laying out public space around a new development, participating in design review or working on transportation concepts, we will lean on a city planner from day one.”
Thomas Grillo can be reached at [email protected].
