LYNN — The City Council voted 9-2 Tuesday evening to adopt a zoning ordinance that requires affordable housing units to be included in new residential developments. The ordinance is designed to spur economic development, especially on the waterfront.
The inclusionary zoning section of the ordinance requires that 10 percent of new residential units be reserved for those whose income is no more than 60 percent of area median income (AMI). The package formalizes one of the main recommendations of the Housing Lynn Plan, while encouraging growth by making commercial and industrial uses easier to bring forward.
Mayor Jared Nicholson opened discussion on the ordinance in City Council Chambers, stressing that the proposed ordinance intended to bring economic growth to the city in a way that could benefit everyone. Principal Planner Aaron Clausen and Economic Development and Industrial Corporation (EDIC) Executive Jim Cowdell spoke in support of the amended zoning ordinance as well.
“This is a huge step forward and the culmination of years of work and thinking about one important tool we have to promote positive growth that benefits our community,” Nicholson said. “We are committed to helping our residents afford to stay here and creating opportunities for good-paying jobs. This is about delivering on our top priority of inclusive growth. There is a lot in this package that encourages commercial and industrial growth within the innovation economy.”
In addition to the life sciences, the City seeks to attract clean tech or high tech companies, such as the textile manufacturer Soliyarn, which is moving into a building on Farrar Street.
“One of the assets that we want to be able to provide these companies is the workforce,” Nicholson said. “That’s a challenging issue for a lot of companies, so having affordable places for our residents to live is going to help us with that.”
The ordinance alters zoning regulations in order to preserve space for industrial and commercial uses. Provisions allow by-right research and development uses in light industrial and waterfront districts as well as development in high industrial and waterfront districts by special permit. The package also allows light manufacturing in waterfront districts by special permit, rezones properties along Federal Street to light industrial, and removes residential land uses from industrial districts.
The ordinance eliminates multi-family use by right in the waterfront district, and includes the ability for small manufacturing companies to have ground floor retail spaces, according to City Planner Aaron Clausen.
Waterfront districts in Lynn formerly had open space requirements of 30 to 35 percent. The new ordinance lowers the minimum open space requirement to 10 percent, which, according to Clausen, is more in line with an urban center such as Lynn.
“This amendment will allow commercial and industrial development that facilitates a broader range of job opportunities for Lynn residents, and preserves land that is currently zoned for industrial and commercial uses for those purposes instead of allowing multi-family residential in those districts,” Clausen said.
The inclusionary zoning section of the ordinance exempts individual single-family residential units and provides for in-lieu-of payments by developers to the Affordable Housing Trust Fund for fractional units and, at the discretion of the City Council, in lieu of the required on-site whole units in special circumstances.
“We recognize that the projects still need to be financially viable,” Nicholson said. “Our consultant conducted an in-depth analysis and tested project feasibility against local market conditions to continue to welcome private investment. We believe we have struck the right balance in setting the appropriate target for affordable housing.”
Nicholson said the City is limited by the state MBTA Communities regulations that restrict its ability to establish a higher percentage of affordable units without the analysis to support it.
“Our zoning ordinance is a very important tool, but it’s just one component of our strategy to deliver inclusive growth,” Nicholson said. “This amendment complements other steps we’ve taken, such as the creation and seed funding of our Affordable Housing Trust Fund, to address cost of living, as well as our momentum in promoting industrial growth through avenues like our life sciences developer tour.”
Ward 2 Councilor Rick Starbard and Ward 1 Councilor Wayne Lozzi both voted to oppose the amendment. Starbard said that while he supports the innovation and economic development side of the zoning, he does not think that the city can safely and efficiently manage the boosts in population that would come with the increased waterfront development.
“I’ve said this countless times in the chamber — I’ve said it multiple times in my newsletters to my constituents — that I feel when it comes to housing, the trajectory that the city is on is unsustainable. While I am in favor of some of the language, preserving commercial property for commercial uses, but presently, our school department has over 16 percent of Lynn’s population,” Starbard said.
“We keep continually putting up these buildings down on the Lynnway and the waterfront without any plans for staging public safety equipment, or police and fire substations somewhere in close proximity to the Lynnway. That’s a catastrophe waiting to happen. As a city, we’re obligated to provide three things: public safety, public works and public education. I’ve said this numerous times, we’re struggling with all three.”
Lozzi said that he voted “no” on the ordinance because, while he was in favor of the commercial and economic development side of the amendment, he did not think that the affordable housing requirement would be a sustainable option.
“I’m in favor of the commercial and economic development portion of this amendment, and I’m happy to support that portion. However, this is all inclusive in one, so I’m skeptical of requirements on new development that acquires affordability factor or payment to a housing trust. I don’t think the positive aspects will accomplish enough to overcome the unsustainable inaccuracy effect that will have on the city both in the near future and down the road,” Lozzi said.
Nicholson said the population of the City, which at more than 101,000 is at or near an all-time high, will continue to increase, with or without inclusionary zoning.
“Inclusionary zoning doesn’t impact the number of units, it impacts how many of them will be affordable for Lynn residents,” he said.
“I appreciate the hard work and collaboration of the Planning Department, EDIC and the Law Department, as well as my fellow councilors and the mayor in getting this significant zoning amendment passed,” said City Council President Jay Walsh. “Economic development, job creation and housing are all interrelated, and tonight we adopted ordinance changes that impact each in such a way that is going to move Lynn forward in an inclusive and thoughtful manner.”
EDIC/Lynn Executive Director James Cowdell said the zoning ordinance will bring jobs to the City.
“When we had that developers tour, we had 70 people come because of the activity that’s here. We want life sciences, we want other companies, we need jobs,” Cowdell said. “This makes it easier for companies to locate here. I think it’s a good step forward.”
