Published in the May 24, 2017 edition
Editor’s note: After the Villager went to press, Peabody’s mayor contacted Danielle Berdahn, the neighborhood advocate who brought this matter to the attention to the Lynnfield Board of Selectmen. According to Berdahn, the mayor said he would recommend to the Peabody City Council that the zoning boundaries of Peabody’s medical marijuana facilities be revised so as not to impact Lynnfield streets such as Green Street and the surrounding neighborhood. The public hearing will be held by the Peabody City Council and Planning Board on Thursday, May 25. The location of the meeting is the Frank L. Wiggin Auditorium at Peabody City Hall, 24 Lowell St.
By MAUREEN DOHERTY
LYNNFIELD — A proposal by Peabody to locate its medical marijuana zoning district in a section of that city accessible only through a Lynnfield neighborhood has drawn stiff opposition from both residents and the Board of Selectmen.
A joint public hearing on this rezoning proposal will be held by the Peabody City Council and the Peabody Planning Board on Thursday, May 25 at 7:30 p.m. which Selectmen Chairman Chris Barrett said would “allow medical marijuana facilities on a location off Route 1 North in South Lynnfield and the only access is through Green Street, a Lynnfield residential street.”
Barrett said, “In the voting booth Lynnfield voted loud and clear about our opposition” to both medical and recreational marijuana facilities, “and at Town Meeting I supported the vote in the voting booth.”
A letter outlining the town’s “strong opposition” to this proposal was drafted by Town Administrator Jim Boudreau at Barrett’s request. The chairman sought the support of fellow Selectmen Phil Crawford and Dick Dalton on the content of the letter, which Barrett intends to deliver to the Peabody City Council and Planning Board when he attends this public hearing.
“Green Street has dealt with a lot,” Barrett said, including a digital billboard located in Peabody that shines directly into residential Lynnfield homes 24/7.
Boudreau explained that the zoning process in Peabody “follows the same one as we have here. It has to be notified, published and in their case it goes before the City Council.”
“They are rezoning an area that is completely cut off from Peabody, from Peabody neighborhoods, from any impact on the (city) of Peabody,” Boudreau said.
Boudreau added that from Peabody’s point of view, it’s logical “to put something that you don’t want near your neighborhoods (where it can only be accessed) through the Lynnfield neighborhood.”
However, the T.A. stressed, “I don’t think what they are doing is fair to Lynnfield. … They are asking our residents to bear a burden that they’re trying to spare their residents from having to take,” Boudreau said.
Selectmen’s letter
The content of the letter to Mayor Edward Bettencourt was approved 3-0 by Barrett and fellow Selectmen Dick Dalton and Phil Crawford.
The letter states:
“Dear Mr. Mayor:
I am writing on behalf of the Lynnfield Board of Selectmen and the residents of the Green Street neighborhood in Lynnfield to express our displeasure and strong opposition to Peabody’s proposal to locate a zoning district allowing marijuana facilities in your BR1 district, a district that can only be accessed through Green Street in Lynnfield, a quiet residential neighborhood full of families with small children.
“We understand Peabody’s desire to locate these facilities away from residential neighborhoods in Peabody in order to spare those neighborhoods from the burden of this type of facility, including traffic, trash and, potentially, crime. We would ask that you give the Lynnfield residents abutting this proposed zoning district the same consideration you are giving your own constituents and find a location that does not impact any residential districts, whether in Peabody or in a surrounding town.
“This neighborhood has already been adversely impacted by the erection of a large, electronic billboard that towers over their homes and sheds lights in their windows 24 hours a day. The residents of Green Street have suffered enough with the traffic, lights and noise from the abutting business district in Peabody. They should not be asked to suffer additional impacts from the proposed marijuana district.
“Thank you in advance for your consideration and attention to this matter. I look forward to hearing from you.”
Town counsel consulted
Additionally, Barrett said he and Boudreau asked Town Counsel Tom Mullen to look into other opportunities “the town has within our means to protect that neighborhood and review those options with the town administrator.”
Dalton stated, “I fully support sending the letter and hope our town counsel can come up with something beyond a very strong letter from abutters
“We are unified in opposing this,” Crawford said.
“I did speak to one of the medical marijuana vendors about this a few months ago. They were trying to get into Lynnfield and they needed a letter from the board for them to go to the state. I told them I was strongly against it and I didn’t have any desire to bring it to anyone in Lynnfield.”
“If you put in a medical marijuana dispensary, if they ever had the opportunity to do a retail facility, they’d want to put it in the same location,” Crawford added.
“We don’t know what the state is going to do for legislation on retail (marijuana sales). That’s another reason to fight this and show our displeasure with the location (Peabody has) chosen and keep in mind if the state does allow retail, they would be looking to also have a retail location off Green Street, which would make matters much more detrimental to that neighborhood.”
Crawford requested that the city councillors in Peabody also get copies of the board’s letter sent to them.
Barrett added that state Rep. Brad Jones has also sent a letter to the Peabody City Council and mayor opposing this location.
Danielle Berdahn of Green Street thanked the selectmen for being “supportive of us.”
“This doesn’t only affect Green Street; it also affects other neighborhoods,” Berdahn said, including Monroe, Fairview and Witham Street. “We have 31 residents who signed a petition for this not to go forward,” she said.
“I don’t think the burden should fall on Lynnfield taxpayers to be policing this area,” Berdahn said.
After the meeting, Berdahn told the Villager that she had “called Mayor Bettencourt’s office several times, sent two emails and visited his office last Thursday without a response from him or his staff.”
In a copy of an email to the mayor that she shared with the Villager, dated May 18, Berdahn noted that she understood Bettencourt’s family time was “precious” following the birth of a new baby. She requested 15 minutes of his time “to discuss the impact the marijuana facility would have on our neighborhood” over coffee during a visit to her home and neighborhood prior to the May 25 public hearing and promised to be “flexible and work with your schedule.”
Berdahn also reached out to state Rep. Theodore Speliotis as well as the mayor’s secretary without a response. She noted that City Councillor Joel Saslaw had responded on a Facebook post in a followup email to him dated May 17.
Berdahn said Bettencourt “has a responsibility to the neighboring residents of Lynnfield to address their concerns before re-zoning the area.”
Berdahn letter
Berdahn’s May 16 letter, in its entirety, is reprinted below:
“Dear Mayor Bettencourt,
“We would kindly ask you to reconsider your decision to recommend the area bordering our Lynnfield neighborhood for the proposed Marijuana facility. We are a neighborhood of young families and this would pose a significant risk to the health and safety of our children.
“This zoning area would be directly accessed through our small, private street and there are school bus stops within 500 feet of the proposed area.
“We ask that you consider moving this zone to a space that does not have residential neighbors, such as Centennial Drive. I have attached a map of the impacted residents within 1,000 feet of the proposed area as well as a map of the Centennial Drive area that would not impact residents.
“This proposal would greatly change the essential character of our neighborhood and as in most families our homes are our largest asset and this would dramatically decrease our home’s value as well.
“We ask that you have compassion and consideration for our families and move the zone to be bordered by strictly commercial facilities. Thank you for your time and thoughtful consideration of this matter.”
