Board still appeals to Calnan after 41 years

LYNN – The woman who stormed out of the Zoning Board of Appeals meeting had a few parting words of profanity for board members, but Pat Calnan was more worried about her handbag.?I thought she was going to take a swing or two at me,” Calnan recalled.In 41 years serving as a volunteer member on the board that reviews exceptions or variances from city zoning codes, Calnan has seen and heard his share of dissatisfied people.?Every case is different. You have to be very fair with neighbors, but it?s got to be in the best interest of the city,” Calnan said.The 86-year-old Meadow Court resident said he serves on the zoning board for a very simple reason.?Lynn has been good to me,” he said.A Lynn native who grew up on Hoag?s Court in West Lynn before urban renewal erased the street, Calnan and his brothers worked as bricklayers and stone masons, learning a trade that took Calnan into contracting, teaching him the ins and outs of construction work.Calnan?s sense of service reflected his brothers? commitment to the city. His brother Edward served in the Community Development department, and his late brothers Frank and Bill served in the Building Department and the Housing Authority, respectively.Former Mayor David Phillips appointed Calnan to an open seat on the Zoning Board of Appeals in 1974, and Calnan said a desire to give back to a city that has been good to him sustained his interest in zoning codes and residents? and developers? requests for code variances.He recalled a variance request that resulted in a property owner jacking up and moving a building several feet to comply with zoning codes, and he said the Lynnway Starbucks opened earlier this year only after board members made sure entrance and exits serving the coffee franchise met public-safety and traffic-flow requirements.?He?s a detail guy,” said Jeanne Curley, who has served on the appeals board with Calnan for 13 years.Calnan said the number of people generally pleased with board decisions outnumber the woman with the big handbag and other people leaving board hearings without getting what they wanted.Calnan?s fellow board members, family and friends organized a May 11 surprise party at Old Tyme Italian Cuisine to honor Calnan?s service.?The place was dark when I walked in. They threw the lights on and I spotted my daughter, Catherine, and asked, ?Who?s this for?? She said, ?You,?” he said.Calnan and his late wife, Kathleen, are the parents of John, Joseph and the late Patrick Calnan and daughters, Pauline, Patricia, Priscilla, Maura and Catherine.Only one commission or board member has outpaced Calnan?s service to the city. Walter Proodian served on the Cemetery Commission for 46 years until 2010, according to city records, and he currently serves on the Water and Sewer Commission. The late Louis Panakio served on the zoning board for 45 years.Calnan thinks interest among Lynn residents to serve on boards and commissions has not declined during the decades he served.?There?s always openings and there always will be interested people,” he said.