By DAN TOMASELLO
LYNNFIELD — Better late than never.
With the town facing a Dec. 31 deadline to adopt a multifamily zoning district in order to comply with a controversial state law, the MBTA Zoning Committee voted 4-1 on Sept. 18 to select three overlay zoning sub-districts that will be brought to Fall Town Meeting in November.
Former Gov. Charlie Baker signed an economic development bill into law in February 2021 that amended the Zoning Act by requiring MBTA Communities to have at least one zoning district of reasonable size in which multifamily housing is permitted as of right. While the town does not have an MBTA station, the law classifies Lynnfield as an “MBTA adjacent community” because the town borders municipalities with MBTA stations such as Lynn, Reading and Wakefield. Lynnfield is currently classified as being in “interim compliance.”
The Massachusetts Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities defines an overlay district as “a type of land use zoning district that lies on top of the existing zoning and potentially covers many underlying districts or portions thereof.”
Planning and Conservation Director Emilie Cademartori said Barrett Consulting Group senior planner Sarah Maren, who is providing technical assistance to the MBTA Zoning Committee after the town was awarded a state grant, reviewed two different options for overlay sub-districts.
Cademartori said Option 1 entails placing overlay sub-districts over MarketStreet Apartments, Michael’s Landing and Lynnfield Commons because those apartment complexes already exist. She also said Option 1 includes four parcels located on the existing Herb Chambers Cadillac dealership property and one parcel on a Kelly Automotive dealership property on Route 1 North.
“The three sites together get us the 40 acres that we need along with the 607 units,” said Cademartori.
Cademartori said Option 2 was similar to Option 1, but it did not include MarketStreet Apartments. In order to reach the state’s requirements, she said both car dealerships would have to be included in Option 2.
There are 200 units at Lynnfield Commons, 180 units at MarketStreet Apartments and 68 units at Michael’s Landing.
“It would not result in any change,” said Cademartori about placing an overlay district over the three apartment complexes.
Cademartori said between 145 and 150 new multifamily units could be built if Option 1 was selected and later developed while Option 2 could result in 325 new multifamily units being built if those parcels were developed.
With the exception of MBTA Zoning Committee member/Planning Board Vice Chair Kate Flaws, the committee has supported identifying locations that would comply with the law, but would ensure either no or very few multifamily units would be built.
MBTA Zoning Committee Chair Page Wilkins, who also chairs the Planning Board, said a number of municipalities are following a similar approach to Lynnfield by “rezoning what is already there.” She said it will be “unlikely” that either dealership will sell the parcels that have the MBTA Communities overlay sub-district placed over them.
In response to a question from Flaws, Cademartori said Maren did not look at potentially rezoning parcels adjacent to Michael’s Landing. Flaws requested that Maren examine those parcels in August.
MBTA Zoning Committee member/Zoning Board of Appeals Chair Anthony Moccia asked if placing an overlay district over MarketStreet Apartments would affect the town’s development agreement with National Development.
Wilkins said she discussed the MarketStreet Apartments overlay sub-district proposal with representatives from the state’s Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities that oversee the Chapter 40R program. MarketStreet Lynnfield is classified as a 40R District. She also said Town Counsel Tom Mullen believes the state will approve that component of the plan if Fall Town Meeting approves it.
“There is nothing that needs to be changed in the development agreement to do a zoning overlay that complies with the MBTA Communities law over the already built apartments,” said Wilkins. “We don’t believe there will be a problem.”
Fernway resident David Basile, who previously served on the Finance Committee, expressed concerns about the financial “impact of more students coming in” if more apartments are built.
Town Administrator Rob Dolan said the 96 students living in the 491 multifamily units in town are “spread out” over all four schools. He stressed that the town has a “legal and moral obligation” to provide a public education to children who live in both homes and apartments.
“Absolutely,” said Basile in response.
Dolan said the MBTA Zoning Committee is looking to put an overlay district on “buildings that already exist and have been built” because “no one in their right mind is going to tear them down and rebuild them.”
MBTA Zoning Committee member/Select Board Chair Dick Dalton recalled that Basile has aired a number of concerns about MarketStreet Lynnfield over the years. He asked Basile if he supported placing an overlay district over MarketStreet Apartments.
“Who wouldn’t be?” said Basile. “If (the state) made the rules, we meet the rules, they accept the plans and we hit the deadline, why wouldn’t we include things we already approved in the past?”
Flaws said she supported placing an overlay district over The Ship Mall on Route 1 South that is adjacent to Michael’s Landing instead of the two dealerships because both dealerships generate more tax revenue than the strip mall. She noted that there are Lynnfield High School teachers currently living out of state because they are having a difficult time finding housing in Massachusetts.
“People need a place to live,” said Flaws. “A household has to earn $300,000 to buy a house right now. A tiny studio apartment in Woburn is $1,600 a month. I hope that we don’t portray this as a threat to our way of life. Sixty apartments or 100 apartments would be a boon to our community.”
Moccia said Option 1 allows “some room for additional units.”
“We are not pitching a shutout,” said Moccia.
MBTA Zoning Committee member Richard O’Neil, who also serves on the Board of Assessors and previously served as the Planning Board’s chair for many years, said he supports using the dealerships as an overlay district instead of The Ship Mall because it would be “less impactful.” He compared the state-mandated law to “The Sword of Damocles.”
Dalton said Option 1 is “the best solution.” He also said the MBTA Zoning Committee is an advisory committee to the Select Board, and said the Select Board has the authority to amend any plan put forward.
“The number of units that would be exposed to the town is absolutely minimized,” said Dalton about Option 1.
After the discussion, Dalton, Wilkins, Moccia and O’Neil voted to select Option 1 that includes the three different apartment complexes and the five parcels located on the two dealerships. Flaws voted no.
Locksley Road resident Mary Lu Medonca was disappointed with the MBTA Zoning Committee’s decision and approach throughout the process.
“There is a housing affordability crisis in the state,” said Medonca. “I am disappointed that you went with the option that has the least likelihood to actually result in more housing. I am a little bit conflicted on whether I am going to support this at Town Meeting, but thank you for your work.”
