Lynn officials: Zoning ordinance needs overhaul

LYNN – The city’s zoning ordinance turns 88 this year and some think it’s time for a face lift.”The only updates were when the downtown was rezoned in ’03 and the waterfront in ’10,” said Inspectional Services Director Michael Donovan. “Everything else is the same as in 1925, when it was written.”In a short speech delivered during the Lynn Area Chamber of Commerce’s Annual Dinner last week, newly elected president David Solimine Jr. said it was essential that work begin on establishing a new zoning ordinance for the city.”I think there is still something in there about buggy whip manufacturers,” he quipped. “It needs updating.”The Chamber’s Government Affairs Committee has made rewriting the zoning ordinance an agenda item, Solimine said Friday.”I think everyone agrees it needs to be overhauled,” he said.Sticking points in the current zoning ordinances are different for everyone, but the length of time it takes for a business to apply for a special permit is high on nearly every list.Any business looking to open in an area that is not specifically zoned for the business or that doesn’t conform to certain parameters must seek a special permit from the City Council.Donovan said that means any retail shop that wants to open on Boston Street between Chestnut and Washington streets, which is arguably one of the city’s largest retail strips, must seek a special permit because it is zoned for light or heavy industry.”That is because in 1926 it was all shoe factories,” he said. “But that was a long time ago. Manning Field wasn’t even there then. That didn’t come along until 1930.”Solimine said he would like to see some areas of the city rezoned for “by-right use,” which means businesses that fit a certain profile wouldn’t be subject to an often cumbersome approval process.That might be a hard sell to the City Council, however, because it would mean it would have to relinquish some power over businesses seeking to build or move into the city.”It takes the politics out of it,” he said.Chamber Vice President and John’s Roast Beef owner Taso Nickolakopoulos is chairman of the Government Affairs Committee and agrees with Solimine that the council needs to give a little when it comes to permitting.”The best thing they could do is remove themselves from the business permitting process,” he said during the Chamber dinner.He called the permitting process long, slow and outdated, and said the chamber needs to engage the council to “get on board.”City Council President Timothy Phelan said he would not shy away from the Herculean task of rewriting the zoning ordinance. He said he believes it needs to be a collaborative effort among the chamber, council and Donovan’s office.Donovan said he would like to see a serious effort made at reworking the city’s ancient codes.”It takes 90-120 days to get a special permit,” he said. “That may or may not need a site plan review, which would drag it on even longer, then there’s 20 days in case anyone wants to challenge it if it’s approved.”He said he understands some things will always need a special permit but opening a pharmacy in what is already largely a retail district on Boston Street shouldn’t be one.Kennedy and Solimine both noted that there are also new industries, such as self-storage units and most recently, medical marijuana dispensaries, that are not mentioned in the old regulations.”The city has changed over time,” Phelan added. “Downtown was different 25 years ago, Boston Street was different, Wyoma Square was different, and I think some changes need to be made.”Solimine said he believed a modern working zoning ordinance could reasonably be ready for adoption by 2014 but the first steps are to figure out exactly what the process is for revamping.”Other communities have updated theirs, and we can do this,” he said. “We’ll be left behind if we don’t address this.”Chris Stevens can be reached at [email protected].