LYNN — The City Council has approved two new housing developments, one with 12 units and one with 181, to be built in the city.
The larger development, at 50 Friend and Silsbee streets, was approved at Tuesday’s council meeting with the stipulation that the developers reserve 5 percent of the units as affordable for residents at 60 percent of the area median income (AMI).
The building will include 181 two-bedroom, one-bedroom and studio units as well as approximately 1,000 square feet of commercial space on the ground floor, which will most likely be used as a convenience store. The project required zoning relief for the commercial space, which was less than the required amount by the city.
“It’s not conducive to have too much commercial space down below there, because it’s right across the street from Harrington (Elementary) School,” said attorney Vincent Phelan, who represented the developer, K & K Development Corporation, at the meeting. “That would alleviate the parking and the traffic that goes on during the pick-up and drop-off time for kids in the school, but the convenience store that would be there would be convenient for everyone.”
Neighbor Isaac Hodes, an organizer with advocacy group Lynn United for Change who spoke at the meeting in opposition to the project, said that while he was not opposed to development in the area, he did not think that the city should allow the developers to break the rules if there wasn’t a benefit to the community.
“The rules should apply to everyone, whether you’re rich or not,” Hodes said. “There’s some good reasons for these kinds of rules about having certain amounts of commercial activity on the first floor. People who are experts in urban planning and design can speak to that better than I can, but it has to do with creating an engaging space, activating the area, et cetera.”
The development was approved unanimously by the council.
Later in the meeting, the council also approved a 12-unit building on Ocean Street, which would have two units designated for seniors ages 62 and over. The 2.5-story building at 56-58 Ocean St. would have underground parking for its residents.
Two neighbors spoke against this development, saying that they had not had adequate notice about the public hearing and that it would cause more traffic on the congested street.
“I am not opposed to the project in general. I’m opposed to the size and scope. It’s too big of a footprint for that property,” said Marla Dolan, a direct abutter to the property. “We’ve lost parking spots in the neighborhood little by little by little. It’s a very congested area. On my street, on Ocean Terrace, people have started putting cones out now to save a spot so they can park somewhere near their house.”
Council President Darren Cyr, who represents the ward where the project is located, spoke in favor of the development, saying that it had plenty of parking and that the property owners were not responsible for providing parking to other residents nearby.
“When the project was first brought to me it was on a much larger scale than it is now. I told them if they wanted to get my support, they had to downsize it,” he said. “It’s not their responsibility to provide parking for the buildings that don’t have enough parking … Unfortunately, those buildings were built when the zoning laws were a lot different than today.”
All council members who voted were in favor of the development (Councilors Dianna Chakoutis and Wayne Lozzi were absent; Councilor Brian Field abstained).