State OKs shift of Lynnway lines

LYNN – The state Department of Public Utilities (DPU) on Thursday gave National Grid and city officials permission to relocate power lines along the Lynnway that currently impede development of the waterfront.The permits were the last major obstacle preventing the relocation of the electricity transmission towers, according to James Marsh, director of the city Department of Community Development.Mayor Edward J. Clancy Jr. announced the news Thursday.The DPU approval was contained in a 40-page decision in which the agency recognized that the relocation of the two power lines would allow for nearly 6 million square feet of mixed-use development along the harborfront.Construction along the water is expected to generate millions of dollars in taxable revenue, Marsh said.With permits in hand, city officials will meet with National Grid to finalize a construction schedule and ground breaking. According to Clancy, the actual relocation of the power lines will take approximately four months.The project, re-introduced by Clancy in 2002, is funded by a $2.6 million state grant coupled with a $4 million bond approved by Lynn voters and up to $1 million in contributions from National Grid.During spring 2008, the mayor and top National Grid executives began negotiations in earnest, resulting in a written agreement that hinged on obtaining adequate funding, land acquisition and the necessary government permits.James Cowdell, executive director of the Lynn Development and Industrial Corp., said news that the power line relocation permits had been approved “dovetails nicely” with an announcement earlier this week that Lynn will receive $8.4 million in federal economic stimulus money to assist with creating a Lynn commuter water ferry.The ferry terminal would be based on the Lynnway, a project which requires dredging, dock improvements, construction of a parking lot and other facilities.The DPU report released Thursday notes that the city’s Waterfront Master Plan is focused on 305 acres along the South Harbor. The district is described as “made up of contiguous parcels of land that are currently not developed to their fullest potential as a waterfront location, but serve the needs of some industrial facilities, including a scrap iron yard, light industrial uses, automobile-oriented businesses and big-box retail. The waterfront district also includes a regional sanitary sewer treatment plant and a capped municipal landfill that is no longer in operation.”The report further notes that “historically, this land was used for a large variety of industrial uses, ranging from active maritime commerce to power generation. However, in the last 50 years, a substantial number of industrial uses have relocated elsewhere.”The city attributes the lack of development and public access along the waterfront for the past 50 years to the existing transmission lines, according to DPU.The land impacted by the power lines relocation extends northward roughly from the General Edwards Bridge to Marine Boulevard. The power lines will be moved to the opposite side of the Lynnway and strung from a new series of towers. The option of burying the lines was deemed too expensive. At least nine relocation routes were considered.