ITEM PHOTO BY OWEN O’ROURKE
Leahy Landscaping Inc. has outgrown its current location at 56 Sanderson Ave. in Lynn.
BY GAYLA CAWLEY
LYNN — Despite resistance from officials, the city is one step closer to approving a contractor’s yard for the Lynnway.
The Zoning Board of Appeals voted 4 to 1 last week to approve the latest proposal of Leahy Landscaping LLC to move its contractor’s yard from their Sanderson Avenue location to the Lynnway. The company, owned by Matthew Leahy, would lease the land from owner Kenneth Carpi.
Before the vote, the board had to support the withdrawal of the previous petition from the company they approved in March. The ZBA had given the green light for the contractor’s yard with a stipulation that its use by limited to Leahy Landscaping.
In response, the Planning Board unanimously voted to file a lawsuit in April, challenging the ZBA variance, naming the panel and landlords as defendants in that lawsuit.
James Cowdell, executive director of the Economic Development & Industrial Corp. of Lynn said ZBA vote was to allow a contractor’s yard on the site. The matter is scheduled to be heard by the City Council today. The petition that was granted by the ZBA two months ago was incorrectly worded, so Leahy withdrew it and resubmitted the application, he added.
Cowdell said the lawsuit will now be dropped by both parties because of the withdrawal. Despite the approval, he is against the yard.
“We moved the power lines so that we could have real development along the waterfront and to put a contractor’s yard there, it’s such a horrible use,” he said. “We need to raise the bar. The Beacon site, $80 million, is the type of development we should be pursuing. There’s no other city that would allow a contractor’s yard along the waterfront.”
Mayor Judith Flanagan Kennedy echoed those sentiments in a letter to the ZBA in opposition to the contractor’s yard. She said the city invested $4 million to relocate power lines, which hugged the coast and precluded development. She also cited the Beacon site, dormant for nearly 30 years, as moving forward with a project that will create 355 apartments. She wrote that the city is working with the Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development on a $79 million project at a nearby lot owned by Joe O’Donnell.
“All of these projects have one thing in common,” Kennedy wrote. “They fit into the master waterfront plan and our vision. Allowing a landscaping company to locate in that area with 50 large vehicles and piles of loam does not fit into our vision and will hurt our efforts of encouraging millions of dollars to be invested.”
Patrick Calnan was the lone dissenting vote for the ZBA. He acknowledged that contractors have a difficult time finding areas they can operate in the city, but said everything needs to be considered with the decision.
“What’s in the best interest for the city of Lynn?” Calnan asked.
Not all officials oppose the contractor’s yard.
City Councilor Peter Capano said he favors Leahy Landscaping’s move to the Lynnway site temporarily with the contingency that they would have to leave on a year’s notice if there is proposed development there. He said the owner has agreed to that stipulation. It’s not his vision for the Lynnway to have a landscaping yard, but the site is vacant and the company can use it until something better comes along, he added.
City Council President and state Rep. Daniel Cahill declined to say how he will vote.
“I understand that the city and petitioner are negotiating a number of stipulations to the special permit that I look forward to reviewing prior to voting either to approve or deny,” he said.
Carpi’s lawyer, Thomas Demakis said Leahy’s business has outgrown its location and needs to expand, according to minutes of the March ZBA meeting. He told the board in March that the property is barely visible on the Lynnway. He noted that Leahy would display plants, trees and shrubs in front of the property for people to see driving by looking to purchase.
Demakis declined comment on the ZBA approval.
Matthew Leahy, Kathryn Brown, ZBA chairwoman, and Michael Donovan, Inspectional Services Chief and Building Commissioner, did not return calls seeking comment.
Gayla Cawley can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @GaylaCawley
