LYNN — City Council President and mayoral candidate Darren Cyr voiced his opinions for two new developments on Blossom Street and Essex Street during last week’s Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) meeting.
The meeting drew a crowd of people opposed to the construction of condominiums at 150 Blossom St., which features 75 one-bedroom units and 15 two-bedroom units.
The developer, Patrick McGrath, and his attorney Paul Keating, were in front of the ZBA seeking permission to implement fewer parking spaces than what is required by the city’s zoning ordinance.
Based on the ordinance, the development requires 135 parking spaces, but the current plan only calls for 104.
While many neighbors spoke in opposition to this request due to the current lack of parking in that area, Cyr voiced his support.
Cyr said the current property, formerly North Shore News’ distribution center, has long been vacant and is an “eyesore to the brickyard neighborhood.”
He said he is in favor of this development — as are Ward 6 Councilor Fred Hogan and the Executive Director of Economic Development & Industrial Corporation James Cowdell — because he believes it will be good for the city.
Despite the lack of parking in the development’s plan, Cyr said there is at least one on-site parking space for each unit; he also suggested implementing angled parking spaces on the street.
Another development brought in front of the ZBA last week for a similar request, 122 Essex St., involved a lack of required parking spaces as well.
The latter building’s developer, Irving Development LLC., and its attorney, Lisa McGloinen, said the property is short two parking spaces. The proposed dwelling would contain nine two-bedroom units and three one-bedroom units.
Cyr mentioned 122 Essex during the ZBA meeting, but this time in opposition.
The mayoral candidate said he was trying to inform the developer that the neighborhood is too condensed to support 21 bedrooms, encouraging him to incorporate primarily one-bedroom units.
“He didn’t have the frontage (and) he didn’t have the land area to do what he wanted to do and nor did he have the parking,” Cyr said. “He wasn’t willing to bend, No. 1, and No. 2, Essex Street is so skinny and it’s all residential.”
Although the development on Blossom Street would similarly have inadequate parking according to this metric, Cyr said there is more space on Blossom Street and it is in more of an industrial neighborhood, so the lack of parking is not as much of an issue as it is on Essex Street.
“What the Blossom Street project is, is that it’s redeveloping that entire neighborhood,” Cyr said. “I think there is a way to make it happen and, if you think about it, the street is wide enough to support angled parking.”
Cyr said he wasn’t opposed to the Essex Street development just because of the lack of parking; his opposition was also due to the fact that the developer wasn’t upfront with his plans.
“He was looking to add value to his property so he could financially benefit from it, and he never disclosed that to me,” Cyr said. “So that’s another reason why I was opposed to it.”
He also said he was opposed because there would have been no landscaping at 122 Essex St. as well as nowhere to put the snow; he also didn’t like the fact that Irving Development was looking to put 21 bedrooms there.
“That neighborhood just can’t support that kind of development,” Cyr said.
The ZBA denied the parking petition for 122 Essex St., so Cyr said the developer now cannot go in front of the zoning board for another year.
The ZBA voted to continue discussing the petition for 150 Blossom St. so that its developer and area residents can discuss and work together on an agreeable parking situation. The Blossom Street development is on the agenda for the ZBA’s Aug. 17 meeting.
