The Lynn Planning Board and City Council both opted Tuesday not to move forward with a vote on zoning changes that would have affected more than 100 parcels.
Both panels were scheduled to hold separate public hearings and potentially vote on a proposal, introduced by the City Council, that would have amended the city’s zoning map by expanding the Central Business District.
However, the proposal was shelved Tuesday afternoon following a legal opinion from City Solicitor George Markopoulos, who said that proper notice was not given for either public hearing.
“Following a review of the notice provided with respect to this proposed zone amendment, this office has confirmed that the amendment was not posted for a full 14 days in a conspicuous place in Lynn City Hall,” Markopoulos wrote in his opinion, which was addressed to City Council President Darren Cyr.
“Notice was also not sent to the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development, the Metropolitan Area Planning Council and the planning boards of all abutting municipalities. As such, it is the opinion of this office that neither the public hearing before the Lynn Planning Board nor the public hearing before the Lynn City Council may proceed as notice is defective.”
At the Planning Board meeting, chairman Robert Stilian said the panel was “not going forward” with the zoning changes on Tuesday, but did not elaborate other than to say the proposal had been withdrawn and he wasn’t sure if it would come before the board at a later date.
Under the proposal, more than 100 parcels would have been changed from their current zoning to be included in the Central Business District.
The change would have affected parcels on a number of streets, including Broad Street, Brownville Avenue, Dexter Street, Essex Circle, Essex Court, Essex Street, Farrar Street, Friend Street, Green Street, Greenwood Place, Johnson Street, Lawton Avenue, Lloyd Street, Joyce Street, Mount Hood Terrace, Rockaway Street, Rogers Avenue, Smith Street, Suffolk Street, Union Street, Washington Street and West Green Street.
According to the city’s zone ordinance, the CBD allows mixed-use street level developments, churches, artist live/work spaces, fitness centers, and microbreweries by right, and apartment houses, mixed-use multi-level developments, multi-family residential high rise buildings, and hotels by special permit.
Several residents who live in the same 32-unit building at 589 Essex St., in one of the neighborhoods that would have been impacted, were most concerned about the potential for a high-rise development on their street when speaking with The Item about their opposition to the proposed changes.
The three residents — Rolf Flor, Son Wooten, and Kimberly Smith — were also upset about the zoning changes coming before the Planning Board and City Council and potentially being “pushed through” before neighbors were properly informed.
“They want to put high rises in residential (areas),” said Smith, adding that she felt such a change would be inappropriate to her neighborhood.
A high-rise building would block their residential view and change the structure of their street, they said, with Flor noting that the proposed zoning change made them feel angry and anxious.
“I wish (the city) would stop going in the direction of development only and just think about the (community),” said Wooten.
Although the public hearing was listed on the City Council’s agenda, the proposed zoning changes were not mentioned and no action was taken. It remained unclear if the changes would be considered at a future meeting.
Before Tuesday’s scheduled meetings, City Planner Aaron Clausen said he felt there should be more of a public process before a zoning amendment of this size — approximately 37 acres of the Central Business District — was considered.
Typically, before a zoning amendment is up for approval, there has been an extensive analysis of conditions, and a number of variables have been considered, such as how the changes would affect open space and neighborhood character, Clausen said.
“My issue is not really the substance of what’s being proposed, it’s the process,” said Clausen. “What I’d want to see before a zoning change of this scale is a full publicly engaged process.”
