Lynn ZBA to discuss row houses

LYNN – The Zoning Board of Appeals will take up a plan Tuesday that could add six row houses on a small lot on Green Street and the neighbors are expected to protest.”I still have some serious concerns,” said Robin Rogers, whose backyard abuts the site.Rogers and a handful of neighbors turned out for the first hearing held in May to protest the project that puts three townhouses directly in Joel and Shelia Demoshene’s backyard. According to the original plan, three additional townhouses will go into an adjacent paved lot creating an L-shaped complex. The hearing was continued.Councilor at large Daniel Cahill said he believes the plan that will be presented Tuesday, when the hearing resumes, may have been altered slightly. Cahill, along with Rogers and a small group of residents, met with developer Sean Crowley late last week to try and find some balance.”I was hoping they’d find some common ground,” he said. “It’s an important issue for everyone in the neighborhood.”Rogers has said previously the only plan she could support would be a putting a single family home on the lot. She said it didn’t make sense to wedge six townhouses in between two historic homes. She also said she believed the project, if approved as is, would negatively impact property values in the neighborhood and “it just sends the wrong message. It says we don’t care and we’ll do whatever we want.”Cahill said ultimately it will be in the hands of the ZBA.”I know it won’t make everyone happy, I don’t expect everyone to agree 100 percent but it will go before the board and it will make the final decision,” he said.The hearing will be held in room 302 in City Hall at 7:30 p.m. and is open to the public.Click on each box for more informationView Green Street town home proposal in a larger mapChris Stevens can be reached at [email protected].