By DAN TOMASELLO
LYNNFIELD — A proposal to build an over-55 townhouse development on Ramsdell Way has been scrapped from Spring Town Meeting.
Atty. Tim Doyle submitted Article 16 on behalf of developer Said Abu-Zahra of Spring-L Realty, LLC for Spring Town Meeting, which will take place on Monday, May 16 at 7 p.m. in the Lynnfield Middle School auditorium. The proposed warrant article sought to rezone 4.189 acres of Ramsdell Way from Single Residence B to Elderly Housing. If Spring Town Meeting approved Article 16, it would have allowed an over-55 townhouse development comprised of 16 units to be built.
Doyle informed the Select Board and Town Moderator Joe Markey on Thursday, April 21 that Said Abu-Zahra’s son, Sheriff, requested that Article 16 “not be considered nor any action be taken at Town Meeting.”
“I have been working with the new leader of the Abu-Zahra family to assess the Ramsdell Way project,” said Doyle in a statement emailed to the Villager. “He, along with his development team, concluded that the project will not be ready for presentation at the May Town Meeting. We will continue to work with the community and town boards to develop a comprehensive plan for consideration at the Fall Town Meeting.”
Assistant Town Administrator Bob Curtin said during Monday’s Select Board meeting that Article 16 will still be appearing on the Spring Town Meeting warrant.
“Mr. Doyle informed us that the developer no longer wishes to proceed,” said Curtin. “The article cannot be taken off the warrant because it has already been posted. He is seeking is that no action be taken on the warrant article. If they want, they can come back at another time with the same proposal.”
The Select Board unanimously voted to recommend that no action be taken on Article 16.
“It will be on the warrant, but no action will be taken,” said Select Board Chairman Phil Crawford.
The Zoning Board of Appeals awarded Said Abu-Zahra a Chapter 40B Comprehensive Permit for the Grandview Estates development in 2010, which allows the developer to build 40 structures. Doyle recently told the Select Board the first component of the project entails building 22 units, which are in the process of being finished.
The second component of the Grandview Estates development entails building 18 units. Abu-Zahra submitted the nixed warrant article in hopes of building 16 market rate townhouses instead of the 18 units that were originally approved.
If Spring Town Meeting approved Article 16, the ZBA and the state Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) would have needed to sign off on rezoning the property because Said Abu-Zahra was awarded the Comprehensive Permit.
Doyle noted during a recent Select Board meeting that Said Abu-Zahra submitted Article 16 because the Grandview Estates development is “financially underwater.”
“Right now with the Comprehensive Permit, it is not a viable project,” said Doyle. “He has tried to sell it three times, and the prospective buyers have walked away all three times because they couldn’t get financing from their lenders. There is nothing to hide here. It is just a path forward for my client.”
Crawford and Select Board member Dick Dalton both expressed concerns about the Ramsdell Way elderly housing project earlier this month.
