LYNN — In a last-minute surprise vote by the City Council Tuesday night, council members approved the Housing Lynn plan released by the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) earlier this year.
The plan, which is not a binding resolution but a roadmap for new development, sets a goal of 10 percent of new development consisting of affordable units for households with incomes at or below 50 percent of the area median income (AMI) and 5 percent affordable for households at or below 80 percent AMI.
The plan has been in the works since 2020 and was released in March, and was first set to be formally presented to the council last month but was canceled by the MAPC due to the city’s lack of a mask mandate at the time and issues with holding the meeting virtually. The presentation was rescheduled for last week, but canceled again due to a death in the family of one of the presenters.
The vote was not scheduled for Tuesday’s council meeting, but was moved forward by Council Vice President Buzzy Barton during the “new business” portion of the meeting.
“I know each of the members of the Lynn City Council have each had an opportunity over the past six months to read the proposed housing plan for the City of Lynn,” Barton said. “I believe we all know the contents of the plan and have made up our own minds.”
Ward 2 Councilor Rick Starbard spoke vehemently against passing the plan, saying that there had not been enough notice and that the plan would cause more overcrowding in the city’s schools. He said that currently, almost 17 percent of Lynn’s population is enrolled in its schools, much higher than any nearby community.
“If you’re going to vote for this you’re going to vote to exacerbate the overcrowding in our school system the way we have it right now, to open up affordable housing and bring in more families from outside so Lynn is the landing zone for everybody that can’t afford to live someplace else,” Starbard said. “When we continually add affordable senior housing in a responsible way we take care of those that have lived here for years, take care of those that have built this city, take care of those that have no ability to supplement their incomes and instead open it up for everybody to further exacerbate the overcrowding of our schools.”
Ward 7 Councilor John “Jay” Walsh disagreed, noting that earlier in the meeting, the council had voted to approve a development of 181 mostly market-rate units.
“We did that. Nobody blew up about that,” Walsh said. “You’re going to add kids to the school system no matter what … I can’t sit here and say it’s not a problem for 181 market-rate units, but if they’re 60 percent AMI I don’t want them. It’s ridiculous.”
Starbard also expressed concerns that the plan, which identifies several lots throughout the city in areas zoned for single-family homes that could be developed for affordable housing, does not mention any compensation for other residents in those areas.
“People pay a premium to bring up their families in quiet, less densely-populated neighborhoods … I want to know where the money is to pay these people for their losses in value,” he said. “Your vote can turn their neighborhood upside-down. Your vote can turn their investment in their property upside-down.”
Council President and mayoral candidate Darren Cyr also opposed the plan, saying that it would deter developers from coming to the city.
“There are things in there that none of us would benefit from, especially if you own rental properties, but if you think this is going to help bring development into the city it absolutely isn’t,” he said. “When you say you want the AMI to consist of 50 percent or 60 percent, you are not going to see any development come into Lynn at all on the scope we’re talking about.”
Other councilors, however, supported the plan, and said that it was important to help the people already living in Lynn.
“I have known a lot of people who love to stay here and have been here for 30 or 40 years,” said Councilor-at-Large Hong Net. “They work so hard, two or three jobs. They try to buy homes in a good neighborhood, but they still can’t afford to do it because the price is too high, so they decide to move.”
Walsh acknowledged that although he supported the plan, there were also components of it that he didn’t like, and reiterated that the plan is simply a guide for the city, not a hard policy, and that there would be plenty of room for further discussion on how it was implemented.
“This is a roadmap,” he said.
Starbard and Cyr voted against implementing the plan. All other councilors, with the exception of Wayne Lozzi, who was absent, voted in favor. The plan passed with a 8-2 vote.
