Nuisance evictions on hold in Lynn

LYNN – The City Council has voted to table a controversial nuisance tenant eviction law that the Ordinance Committee unanimously approved Tuesday.Opposition to the law was raised by Lynn Economic Opportunity and by Neighborhood Legal Services during a public hearing before the meeting of the whole council. The Lynn Area Chamber of Commerce also told councilors the law could negatively impact business.Although the ordinance was adopted by the committee, Ward 5 Councilor Brendan Crighton requested that no emergency preamble be attached to it, a measure which would have allowed the law to become effective immediately if passed by the council.Crighton had hoped to gain time so that additional residents would have an opportunity to voice their concerns about the law’s impact.Ward 3 Councilor Darren Cyr, the Ordinance Committee chairman, and Ward 6 Councilor Peter Capano, among the law’s strongest supporters, agreed to table the council vote.”The matter is now tabled in council,” said City Clerk Mary Audley. “At some time in the future, a motion could be made to take it from the table. If that happens, the council can then vote for or against it. But there will be no public hearing.”The proposed ordinance, as it stands, cannot be substantially amended, according to Audley. If the present version is voted down by the council, a different tenant nuisance ordinance can be introduced.Most of the opposition to the ordinance focused on its vague language and concerns that innocent tenants might be evicted along with those committing illegal acts.”We thought it was all over, but with the ordinance tabled, we may get another chance to have our say,” said Darlene Gallant, community services director at LEO.