Vision Lynn is the City of Lynn’s comprehensive plan. It captures the vision and values of our community and outlines the development, infrastructure and strategies we will need to achieve them. Learn more about the plan at LynnInCommon.com/vision-lynn
Our Vision page 56
• Lynn will be a city where people feel safe and comfortable to live, work, learn, and play.
• Lynn will be a city where all community members have the housing, transportation access, social connections, and educational or economic opportunities to live a fulfilling life.
• Lynn will be a city to be proud of, with strong, diverse, and connected communities that take care of our shared spaces, natural resources, and each other.
Growth in Lynn page 70
Vision Lynn articulates why we need growth, what we expect from new development, and where we are comfortable accommodating new development. The end result is our Degree of Change Map.
Implementation Priorities
page 136
The plan identifies numerous infrastructure needs to help accommodate the community’s vision and ends with key implementation priorities for moving forward:
• Build high-quality educational facilities for our students
• Push forward on workforce development
• Build affordable housing, particularly for low-income households
• Continue championing artists, makers, and entrepreneurs
• Invest in coastal resilience
• Implement zoning reform
• Support the transformation of the waterfront
• Continue to enhance Downtown Lynn
• Set the groundwork for enhancing Market Square
• Implement existing plans, continue planning as needed, and assess progress
Degree of Change Map page 99
Enhance:
Find opportunities to improve and elevate places without totally changing them.
Transform:
Explore a large-scale, holistic transformation that could change the character of the place, informed by neighborhood-level plans.
Maintain:
Maintain existing infrastructure, open space, streets and public realm, and continue to improve as we see fit through public and private support.
Vision Lynn, en resumen
Vision Lynn es el plan integral de la Ciudad de Lynn. Captura la visión y los valores de nuestra comunidad y describe el desarrollo, la infraestructura y las estrategias que necesitaremos para lograrlos. Obtenga más información sobre el plan en LynnInCommon.com/vision-lynn
Nuestra visión página 56
• Lynn será una ciudad donde las personas se sientan a salvo y cómodas donde viven, trabajan, aprenden y se divierten.
• Lynn será una ciudad donde todos los miembros de la comunidad tengan vivienda, acceso al transporte, conexiones sociales y oportunidades educativas o económicas para vivir una vida plena.
• Lynn será una ciudad de la cual estemos todos orgullosos, con comunidades fuertes, diversas y conectadas que cuiden nuestros espacios compartidos, recursos naturales y se cuiden mutuamente.
El crecimiento de Lynn página 70
Vision Lynn articula por qué necesitamos crecer, qué esperamos de los nuevos desarrollos y dónde pensamos que deberían ubicarse los nuevos desarrollos. El resultado final es nuestro Mapa de Grado de Cambio (Degree of Change).
Prioridades de implementación página 136
El plan identifica numerosas necesidades de infraestructura para ayudar a que se adapten a la visión de la comunidad y finaliza con prioridades clave de implementación para seguir adelante:
• Construir instalaciones educativas de alta calidad para nuestros estudiantes
• Impulsar el desarrollo de la fuerza laboral
• Construir viviendas asequibles, particularmente para las familias de bajos ingresos
• Continuar promocionando artistas, creadores(as) y emprendedores(as)
• Invertir en la resiliencia en las costas
• Implementar una reforma de la zonificación
• Apoyar la transformación del malecón
• Continuar mejorando el Centro Urbano de Lynn
• Establecer las bases para mejorar Market Square
• Implementar los planes existentes, continuar con la planificación según sea necesario y evaluar el progreso
Mapa de
Grado de Cambio
(Degree of Change) página 99
Mejorar:
Encontrar oportunidades para mejorar y elevar los lugares sin cambiarlos por completo.
Transformar:
Explorar una transformación holística a gran escala que podría cambiar la personalidad del lugar, informada por planes a nivel de vecindario.
Mantener:
Mantener la infraestructura, los espacios abiertos, las calles y el ámbito público existentes, y seguir mejorando según creamos conveniente a través del apoyo público y privado.
Vision Lynn é o plano diretor da Cidade de Lynn. Ele abrange a visão e os valores da nossa comunidade e descreve o desenvolvimento, a infraestrutura e as estratégias que precisaremos para alcançá-los. Saiba mais sobre o plano no site LynnInCommon.com/vision-lynn
Nossa visão página 56
• Lynn será uma cidade onde as pessoas se sintam seguras e confortáveis para viver, trabalhar, aprender e se divertir.
• Lynn será uma cidade onde todos os membros da comunidade tenham moradia, acesso a transporte, relações sociais e oportunidades educacionais ou econômicas para viver uma vida plena e gratificante.
• Lynn será uma cidade da qual se orgulhar, com comunidades fortes, diversificadas e que interagem e cuidam umas das outras, além de zelar pelos nossos espaços compartilhados e recursos naturais.
Desenvolvimento de Lynn página 70
Vision Lynn articula o motivo pelo qual precisamos de desenvolvimento, o que esperamos dos novos desenvolvimentos e onde acreditamos que os novos desenvolvimentos devem ocorrer. O resultado final é o nosso Mapa de Grau de Mudança (Degree of Change Map).
Prioridades
de implementação página 136
O plano identifica inúmeras necessidades de infraestrutura para ajudar a comportar a visão da comunidade e termina com as principais prioridades de implementação para avançar no(a):
• Construir instalações educacionais de alta qualidade para nossos estudantes
• Impulsionar o desenvolvimento da força de trabalho
• Construir moradias acessíveis, especialmente para famílias de baixa renda
• Continuar promovendo artistas, criadores e empreendedores
• Investir na resiliência costeira
• Implementar uma reforma de zoneamento
• Apoiar a transformação da orla
• Continuar a melhorar o centro de Lynn
• Definir as bases para melhorar a Praça do Mercado
• Implementar os planos existentes, continuar planejando conforme necessário e avaliar o progresso
Mapa de Grau de Mudança (Degree of Change Map) página 99
Melhorar:
Encontrar oportunidades para aprimorar e elevar lugares sem alterá-los totalmente.
Transformar:
Estudar uma transformação holística em larga escala que pode mudar o caráter do lugar, informada pelos planos desenvolvidos no âmbito dos bairros.
Manter:
Manter a infraestrutura existente, os espaços abertos, as ruas e o espaço público, e continuar a melhorar conforme acharmos adequado por meio de apoio público e privado.
Vision Lynn se plan konplè Vil Lynn la nèt. Li gen ladan l vizyon ak valè kominote nou an epi li esplike devlopman, enfrastrikti ak estrateji n ap bezwen pou akonpli yo. Jwenn enfòmasyon sou plan an nan LynnInCommon.com/vision-lynn
Vizyon Nou paj 56
• Lynn pral yon vil kote moun ap santi yo an sekirite epi konfòtab pou viv, travay, aprann, ak jwe.
• Lynn pral yon vil kote tout manm kominote a gen lojman, aksè transpò, koneksyon sosyal, ak opòtinite edikasyonèl oswa ekonomik pou viv yon lavi ki bay satisfaksyon.
• Lynn pral yon vil ki bay fyète, ak de kominote ki solid, ki gen divèsite, epi ki byen konekte, k ap pran swen espas nou pataje yo, resous natirèl yo, epi youn lòt.
Kwasans nan Lynn paj 70
Vision Lynn esplike poukisa nou bezwen kwasans, kisa nou atann de nouvo devlopman, epi kote nou konfòtab pou akomode nouvo devlopman. Rezilta final la se Kat Jewografik Degre Chanjman an (Degree of Change Map).
Priyorite nan Enplemantasyon paj 136
Plan an idantifye anpil bezwen enfrastrikti pou ede akomode vizyon kominote a epi li fini ak priyorite kle ki pou enplemante pou sa vanse:
• Bati entitisyon edikasyon siperyè pou elèv nou
• Avanse devlopman mendèv
• Bati lojman abòdab, espesyalman pou fwaye ki gen revni ba
• Kontinye sipòte atis, moun ki kreye, ak antreprenè
• Envesti nan solidifye bòdmè a
• Aplike refòm zonnaj la
• Bay transfòmasyon bòdmè a sipò
• Kontinye amelyore santral lavil Lynn
• Kòmanse travay debaz ki pou amelyore Market Square
• Egzekite plan ki egziste deja yo, kontinye planifye kòm sa dwa, epi mezire pwogrè yo
Kat Jewografik Degre Chanjman (Degree of Change Map) paj 99
Amelyore:
Jwenn opòtinite pou amelyore epi elve de zòn san yo pa chanje yo totalman.
Transfòme:
Eksplore yon transfòmasyon gwo echèl, konplè, ki ta ka chanje karaktè kote a baze sou plan ki fèt nan nivo katye yo.
Antretyen:
Antretni enfrastrikti ki egziste deja, espas ouvè, lari ak domèn piblik, epi kontinye amelyore sa nou wè ki bezwen li atravè sipò piblik ak prive.
Vision Lynn
Tóm tắt Vision Lynn
Vision Lynn là quy hoạch tổng
trị của cộng đồng chúng ta, đồng thời phác thảo sự phát triển, cơ sở hạ tầng và các chiến lược mà chúng ta sẽ cần để đạt được những kết quả đó. Tìm hiểu thêm về bản quy hoạch tại LynnInCommon.com/vision-lynn
Tầm nhìn của Chúng tôi trang 56
• Lynn sẽ là một thành phố nơi mọi người cảm thấy an toàn và thoải mái để sống, làm việc, học tập và vui chơi.
• Lynn sẽ là một thành phố nơi tất cả các thành viên trong cộng đồng có nhà ở, phương tiện đi lại, kết nối xã hội và cơ hội về giáo dục hoặc kinh tế để sống một cuộc sống viên mãn.
• Lynn sẽ là một thành phố đáng tự hào, với các cộng đồng vững mạnh, đa dạng và được kết nối, chăm sóc các không gian chung, tài nguyên thiên nhiên và chăm sóc lẫn nhau.
Tăng trưởng ở Lynn trang 70
Vision Lynn nêu rõ lý do chúng ta cần tăng trưởng, những gì chúng ta mong đợi từ sự phát triển mới và những khu vực chúng ta cảm thấy thoải mái khi tiếp nhận những dự án phát triển mới. Kết quả cuối cùng là Bản đồ Mức độ Thay đổi (Degree of Change Map).
Những Ưu tiên trong Quá trình Thực hiện trang 136
Bản quy hoạch xác định nhiều nhu cầu về cơ sở hạ tầng để giúp thúc đẩy tầm nhìn của cộng đồng và kết thúc bằng các ưu tiên chính trong quá trình thực hiện để tiến lên phía trước:
• Xây dựng các cơ sở giáo dục chất lượng cao cho học sinh/ sinh viên của chúng ta
• Đẩy mạnh phát triển nguồn nhân lực
• Xây dựng nhà ở có giá cả phải chăng, đặc biệt cho các hộ gia đình có thu nhập thấp
• Tiếp tục ủng hộ các nghệ sĩ, nhà sản xuất và doanh nhân
• Đầu tư vào khả năng phục hồi của khu vực ven biển
• Thực hiện việc cải cách về phân vùng
• Hỗ trợ quá trình chuyển đổi của khu vực tiếp giáp mặt nước
• Tiếp tục nâng cấp khu vực Downtown Lynn
• Đặt nền tảng cho việc nâng cấp Market Square
• Triển khai các kế hoạch hiện có, tiếp tục lập kế hoạch khi cần thiết, và
Bản đồ Mức độ Thay đổi (Degree of Change Map) trang 99
Nâng cao:
Tìm cơ hội để cải thiện và nâng tầm các địa điểm mà không thay đổi hoàn toàn.
Biến đổi:
Khám phá một sự chuyển đổi toàn diện, quy mô lớn mà có thể thay đổi đặc điểm của địa điểm, dựa trên các bản quy hoạch cấp khu phố.
Duy trì:
Duy trì cơ sở hạ tầng, không gian mở, đường phố và khu vực công cộng hiện có, đồng thời tiếp tục cải thiện như cần thiết phù hợp thông qua sự hỗ trợ công và tư.
Letter from the Mayor
Dear Lynner,
You know from your own experience that planning for the future is not easy. That holds true for planning for the future of a community with more than 100,000 unique individuals.
That’s why a comprehensive plan like the one you are reading is not a guarantee or even a prediction about the future. Rather, it reflects who we are today, including our strengths and challenges and our values. It makes a statement today about the Lynn we want to be in the future: who Lynn is and who Lynn ought to be.
This is the product of a tremendous amount of work from our Planning Department, the Vision Lynn Steering Committee, and most of all community members, who generously shared their input online, on maps with pushpins, through art projects, and at our in-person events.
Our hope is that we have accurately captured in this document Lynn’s most valuable asset and strength: you. Our people. Our ambitions, our diversity, our story.
We continue to grow as a community and, in order to be there for our people, we need our schools, our job base, our housing stock, and our infrastructure to grow too. As we grow, Vision Lynn will hopefully provide us with guidance and a reminder of who we want to be – a thriving city that is a beloved home for all of us. Not just a successful place, but an open, connected community of people that have the opportunity to participate in that success across the board. Whether you participated in the conversations that contributed to the themes outlined in this plan or if this is your first introduction to Vision Lynn, thank you for your time. It is an honor to work with you to deliver this vision.
Sincerely,
Jared C. Nicholson Mayor
Photo Credit: John Andrews, Creative Collective
Acknowledgements
Thank you to the 1,000+ Lynn community members who filled out surveys, chatted with us over video calls, shared our materials with friends, and met us at our community events. The stories you shared and thoughtful feedback you offered made this plan possible.
We would also like to thank Bent Water Brewing, Boston Lobster Wholesalers, Durkee-Mower, GE, Old Neighborhood, Lynn Ladder and Scaffolding, Solomon Metal Recycling, Traditional Bread, and Wayne Alarm for taking the time to show us your facilities and share your perspective as employers.
City Staff
Aaron Clausen, Principal Planning Director
Lauren Drago, Associate Planning Director
LaCrecia Thomson, Arts and Culture Planner
Jared Nicholson, Mayor
Mike Bertino, Chief Financial Officer
James Cowdell, Economic Development and Industrial Corporation (EDIC)
Michael Donovan, Inspectional Services Department
Charles Gaeta, Lynn Housing and Neighborhood Development (LHAND)
Chris Gaeta, Assessor’s Office
Andy Hall, Department of Public Works
Jamie Marsh, Community Development Department
Daniel F. O’Neill, Lynn Water and Sewer Commission
We are particularly grateful to Steven Foley for donating his time and expertise in video production to help us get the word out about Vision Lynn.
Thank you also to Meaghen Hamill, Jean-Marie Minton, Charlie Patsios, Michelle La Poetica Richardson, Creative Collective, The Food Project, Grace United Methodist Church, Market Basket, R.A.W. Arts, and all of the vendors, volunteers, and City staff who helped make Lynnside Out a success.
We’d also like to thank Fatima Elhali, Jean Michael Fana, Raeanna Hughes, Anthony Marino, Eda Matchak, Lisa Nerich, Linda Nor, Berta Tavares, Jeff Weeden, and the entire Lynn Public Library staff.
Tetra Tech, Infrastructure & Site Engineering Advisory
Jason Hellendrung
Brown, Richardson + Rowe, Landscape & Open Space Advisory
David Andrews
Introduction
Planning for Lynn’s Future
Lynn is a vibrant, diverse, and strong community of over 100,000 residents. With the expansive Lynn Woods on one side and the Atlantic Ocean on the other, Lynn hosts both a bustling downtown near the commuter rail station and quieter residential neighborhoods. Our community includes our residents–both life-long Lynners and New Americans–our independent small businesses and large employers, and the many community-based organizations that call Lynn home. Lynners have a proud history of hard work and strong, supportive communities, as well as a deep tradition of advocating for a better future.
Now is the time for Lynn to take stock of our many assets and consider our own future: What vision do we share for Lynn? Vision Lynn is the City’s first-ever comprehensive plan, which lays out a strategic path for the community over the next 20 years, informed by the voices of our community members.
Why plan now?
Lynn is at a pivotal moment in its story. Our population is changing, growing 12% from 2010 to 2020 and approaching its all-time population peak from the 1930s, while also becoming increasingly diverse and international. After years of disinvestment, there have been high-profile renovations and new construction projects like the Gateway North and the Caldwell as well as a substantial pipeline of thousands of more units. These developments provide much-needed housing units and jobs in Lynn, but they also will reshape our community and challenge us to identify what is most important.
Vision Lynn and Typical Comprehensive Plans
A comprehensive citywide plan, sometimes referred to as a master plan, is a document that provides “a basis for decision making regarding the long-term physical development of the municipality,” according to Massachusetts General Law (M.G.L.). Many communities include exhaustive chapters about each topic required in M.G.L. in their comprehensive plans.
Although Vision Lynn touches on all required topics, it also refers to existing community-driven plans—such as the Safe Streets for People Playbook (2022), Housing Lynn: A Plan for Inclusive Growth (2021), the Open Space & Recreation Plan (2016), and the Waterfront Open Space Master Plan (2019)—that have dealt more extensively with these topics.
On topics or geographic areas where more planning is needed, Vision Lynn serves as a foundational document and overarching vision for the community that inform these separate, future planning efforts.
We know that Lynn will change over the next two decades. Vision Lynn provides guidance on how to manage that change in a way that supports an inclusive community, equitable outcomes, and places that put people first. It captures the vision, values, and goals of our community and outlines the development and infrastructure we will need to achieve them. Built from robust public engagement and expert insights and deep data analysis, Vision Lynn should be a guiding document for City staff, elected officials, and other community leaders to ensure different stakeholders are working toward shared goals over the long term.
Vision Lynn has 3 main sections
Vision, Values, & Strategies for Change
This section captures what’s most important to the Lynn community and considers the kinds of improvement and change we want to see. What are our greatest strengths worth preserving? What is important to our community? Where would we like to be in twenty years?
Land Use & Urban Form
56
66
In this section, we explore how to achieve our vision through development and investment in our community. Where are we comfortable with more development? What areas should stay the same? How can we encourage development that meets our goals and is consistent with our values?
Infrastructure & Implementation
114
This section considers what kind of infrastructure improvements are needed to make the rest of the plan possible. Where do we need improved roads or intersections? How can we protect ourselves from climate change? What kinds of parks, transportation, or water management will we need to support the vision we’ve created?
Assembling a Vision
How we developed Vision Lynn:
Previous plans and reports
Lynners have already participated in key planning activities and community engagement processes in recent years. We carefully reviewed what we heard already.
Community engagement
The voices of residents, workers, and employers are crucial in any comprehensive plan. Vision Lynn utilized a steering committee of 30+ members with rich ties to Lynn. The committee helped us strategize on how to gather detailed input from a wide variety of community members, ensured we incorporated the feedback we heard in our work appropriately, and pushed us to stay true to the community’s vision.
Existing conditions analysis
The project team created a lengthy dataoriented analysis of Lynn, Lynn Today, which helped provide quantitative detail to the topics the community highlighted as important.
Step 1: Learn and Listen to the Community
Prioritize key infrastructure improvements and next steps to implement the Vision Lynn plan!
Test our vision and ideas for growth in key places across Lynn
Our Community Voice
Hundreds of Lynners helped to shape Vision Lynn by sharing their unique perspectives on what makes Lynn a great place to call home and how it can evolve to be even better.
that empowers - closing the engagement loop
Media Outreach including instagram and video production
Community surveys and interviews
Community Engagement at Utile
Vision Lynn + Raw Artworks
Community
Link: Vision Lynn Video Vision Vision Lynn + Steven Foley (local videographer) Community
Link: Vision Lynn Video Vision Vision Lynn + Steven Foley (local videographer)
Our visioning surveys collected over a thousand responses online, over text message, at 12 in-person events, and through trusted community leaders in eight languages.
Aaron Clausen learns how Lynn’s historic emergency alert network worked during an interview with Wayne Alarm
Our Vision Lynn video spread the word about the plan and captured our hopes for the future. Special thanks to Steven Foley Media Productions!
Community events and workshops
Learn more about Vision Lynn’s community engagement efforts and takeaways on page 144!
Over 750 community members attended the Lynnside Out / Lynn Al Revés bilingual event and engaged with the Vision Lynn team and other City departments Lynners came together over hot choclate and coffee to workshop ideas for the future at the Vision Lynn Open House held at the Senior Center
Photo Credit: John Andrews, Creative Collective
Lynn Today
A few key themes emerged during our analysis of existing conditions.For more data and analysis about existing conditions in Lynn, download the full report at: lynnincommon.com/vision-lynn
Lynn is a growing and global city.
With one out of three Lynners born in a foreign country, we have the pleasure of hosting a variety of different cultures and backgrounds in our community. Most of our foreign-born residents (71%) originally hailed from Latin America, contributing to the fact that nearly half (44%) of all residents identify as Latino. When we talk about international immigration, it’s typical to imagine someone newly arriving to U.S. soil; it’s worth noting that the majority of foreign-born Lynners (70%) have been here since before 2010, over ten years. This richness of diversity—both in terms of nationality, as well as race and ethnicity—is one of Lynn’s core strengths. Lynn youth will grow up having been
exposed to many different cultures and languages, which will better prepare them for our increasingly diverse and interconnected world. Business districts like Union Street can provide cuisine or showcase art from nearly every continent in a short walk, inviting visitors and residents to come and try something new. The dynamism that defines multicultural communities, when allowed to thrive, is a cornerstone to the creation of vibrant, exciting and innovative cities. And, of course, Lynners see the importance of diversity too: 40% of survey respondents identified “diversity” as one of the things they love most about the city.
Flags displayed in the office of Mayor Jared Nicholson. Photo credit: Utile
Population Over Time
Lynn’s population is growing faster than anyone expected—and we are probably under-counted! Lynn is approaching its peak population from 1930.
The official population is near its earlier (1930) peak.
Source: US Decennial Census, 1800 – 2020
Population Over Time
Under-counting among communities of color and immigrant communities means the population is likely higher than the official
One out of three Lynners was born in another country, and most Lynners speak another
language besides English.
“Diversity. Seriously, my closest friends in Lynn are from Zimbabwe, Philippines, Dominican Republic, and the South Shore! Neighbors are from Romania, Guatemala, native Lynn. I’m a Jewish guy from Swampscott. My life could so easily have been nothing but people exactly like me. Very happy it isn’t.”
— Vision Lynn Survey response
Photo Credit: John Andrews, Creative Collective
Lynn is a majority-minority community, boasting strong diversity. The city is becoming more diverse as Lynn’s communities of color grow. The share of people of color has increased by 60% since 2010. The share of Latino/a/x or Hispanic population has increased by 52% since 2010.
Two or more races
Other
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander
Asian
Indigeneous American
Source: US Decennial Census, 2000, 2010, 2020
Place of Birth
Lynn is a truly international and multilingual community. The majority of Lynners (53%; 50,000) were born in Massachusetts, but more than a third were foreignborn. An estimated 48% of Lynners (42,000) primarily speak English at home, though issues with Census Bureau survey results suggest the proportion of English speakers is likely less than this. Spanish is the next most popular primary language. While an estimated 37% of Lynners (32,000) speak Spanish at home, over half of LPS students (53%) speak Spanish.
Foreign-born
Race and Ethnicity Over Time
Communities of color have been growing larger, while the White community grows smaller.
Race and ethnicity over time
Latinos compose nearly half the population, gaining 28,000 people since 2000.
Place of Birth
The majority of Lynners were born in MA, but more than a third were foreign-born
Native-born in another state, territory or abroad
Born in Massachusetts
Source: American Community Survey, 2016 –2020 5-year estimates and Lynn Public Schools, 2021. 46 additional languages were spoken by fewer than 1% of the student population.
Non-Latin White people went from nearly 2/3 of the city to just over 1/3, losing 21,000 people since 2000.
The majority of Lynners were born in MA, but more than a third were foreign-born
Place of birth Top languages in Lynn public schools
Most other racial/ethnic groups grew, but at a relatively slow pace.
Compared to Greater Boston, Lynn draws more people in other countries, and fewer people born in other states.
Vision Lynn survey respondents share what about Lynn they’re proud of…
“Its diversity of culture and our collective resilience”
“I am proud of the sheer amount of diversity found in Lynn, as well as Lynn’s rich history”
“An undaunted spirit of justice that stems from our union roots in the factories, and continues in the incredibly diverse populations of immigrants who deserve to live freely, safely, with access to opportunities.”
Photo Credit: John Andrews, Creative Collective
Housing remains one of the biggest challenges for Lynners
Our community feedback has been loud and clear: housing affordability is one of the biggest issues facing Lynn at the moment. When we asked about topics Vision Lynn needed to address, 60% of participants selected housing affordability. It was the only theme selected by a majority of participants. Data from both the Lynn Today and the Housing Lynn: A Plan for Inclusive Growth (2021) show that the quantitative data clearly supports what the community is saying.
Lynn used to be a community of comparative affordability in the Boston region, but rising costs— including for new construction and older units,
Learn more about:
Housing Lynn: A Plan for Inclusive Growth (2021)
The City of Lynn, through the Lynn Housing Authority & Neighborhood Development and the Mayor’s Office, worked with the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) to facilitate a community-driven process beginning in September 2019 and extending into 2021 focused on development of an Affordable Housing strategy. Housing Lynn fulfills all requirements of a Housing Production Plan, and is intended to complement and augment the City’s market-rate residential development efforts. With this plan, the City and Lynn community have set a clear agenda for the type, amount, and location of housing development and housing policy over the next five years.
Research for this plan revealed that:
• Demand for housing in Lynn is growing and changing.
• Much of Lynn’s existing housing stock is older, and a large portion of it needs code improvements.
• New housing production has not kept up with population growth.
• Many Lynn residents cannot afford Lynn’s market-rate housing.
• Lynn’s current Affordable Housing stock does not sufficiently meet the present need, and some units are expected to be lost without intervention.
• Many Lynn residents face the risk of displacement.
Learn more about Housing Lynn at: mapc.org/resource-library/housing-lynn
single-family homes and multifamily apartments and condos—are changing the narrative here. Whether it’s a family overcrowding into a too-small unit in a state of disrepair trying to make ends meet, a fixed-income senior resident struggling to cover taxes on their single family home, a household displaced to a different community by rising rents, a homeless individual unable to find a path to stable housing, or a young adult who would continue to live in Lynn if only they could afford it, it seems that most Lynners have a story about how housing costs have affected them or a loved one.
When we asked about topics Vision Lynn needed to address, 60% of participants selected housing affordability. It was the only theme selected by a majority of participants.
Home Values, Jan 2013 - Mar 2022
Home values, Jan 2013 – 2022
Home values have more than doubled since 2013.
Housing Cost-Burden
Housing Cost-Burden
Housing cost burden
Costs for housing are increasing universally.
Like other cities in the greater Boston region, Lynn has seen significant increases in housing costs. Rising rents and home values are putting pressure on residents, who face a widening affordability gap with housing costs increasing faster than incomes.
Lynn
Brockton
Framingham
Lynn
Revere
Brockton
Salem
Framingham
Chelsea
Revere
Greater Boston
Salem
Chelsea
Greater Boston
Source: Zillow Home Value Index, 01/31/2013 –03/31/2022, values are set to 100% for each city in 2013.
A majority of Lynners are housing cost-burdened. More than half of renters and 40% of owners pay more than they can afford for housing in Lynn. The federal government defines “housing cost-burden” as paying more than 30% of your income for housing. Many households who pay this much are forced to make tough spending choices, weighing housing against food and healthcare.
Owners without a mortgage
Owners with a mortgage
Renters
Source: American Community Survey, 2016 –2020 5-year Estimates
Housing stock doesn’t necessarily support Lynn households.
44% (15,000) of Lynn’s 35,000 homes are “family-sized” (3+ bedrooms) but 65% of households are family-based, and the average family size is 3.5 people. Family households are most prevalent in the areas adjacent to Downtown and in parts of East Lynn, West Lynn, Pine Hill, and Ward 1.
Source: American Community Survey, 2016 –2020 5-year estimates
Household Types
Household Types
Units by Number of Bedrooms
Units by Number of Bedrooms
The Mosaic building under construction at Baldwin and Union Street, abutting two historic buildings housing independent local businesses, including April’s, a beloved local hang out.
In Action:
“(We need) a variety of quality affordable housing that considers how high current market prices and how much money people are making, including disabled housing, micro-housing, larger family housing, transitional housing”
— Vision Lynn Survey response
• The Mayor introduced and the City Council passed an inclusionary zoning ordinance, which will generate new subsidized units.
• The City Council passed a rental inspection ordinance, which will help improve safety in the housing stock.
• The City increased property tax relief for seniors in 2022 this Spring.
• The City has also established an affordable housing trust fund and is exploring how to turn public land into affordable housing. All of these initiatives will help implement the recommendations of Housing Lynn.
Housing staff at the Lynnside Out festival. Photo Credit: John Andrews, Creative Collective
Lynn needs to maximize economic opportunities for residents
Lynn offers about 24,000 jobs within its borders, many at independent small businesses or long-established, Lynn-loyal employers. Employers cite workforce and location as key reasons to locate and remain in Lynn, but said that cost of real estate was a big threat, either because workers couldn’t afford to live nearby or because the business couldn’t find a feasible way to expand. Although employment rates in Lynn are strong, many Lynners are stuck in relatively low-wage positions that can’t accommodate the ever-increasing cost of
living in the region. Lynn specializes in many industries that are likely to grow, like healthcare, educational services, and manufacturing, as well as food manufacturing, repair and maintenance, and many aspects of construction. However, opportunity exists to bring more high-paying jobs—and workforce training programs to help Lynners fill them—in industries like advanced manufacturing and the sciences.
“My Vision for Lynn is… a city that embraces its past as an economic engine of Essex county by welcoming 21st century businesses to participate in building Lynn’s future for all its citizens”
— Comment card response at Lynnside Out Event
“We need more opportunities in the form of good paying jobs that the school system prepares the youth for”
— Vision Lynn survey response
Healthcare and social assistance is Lynn’s biggest employer. Healthcare and Social Assistance organizations have the most jobs in Lynn, but wages are lower than 72% of other jobs. By contrast: Manufacturing and Education employers have many jobs in Lynn, and among the highest wages.
Sectors by Average Monthly Employment and Wages (Ranked)
Source: Massachusetts Labor Market Information, Employment and Wages (ES-202)
3 of the 5 biggest sectors in Lynn pay relatively low wages.
Sectors by employment and wages
Average employment, % rank
Average wages, % rank
Manufacturing Establishments and Employment, 2001-2021
Manufacturing: Change in Employment over Time
The manufacturing sector remains under threat
The number of manufacturing businesses declined over the last 20 years, but increased between 2020 and 2021. Average monthly employment has declined in tandem with the decline in manufacturing businesses. Declines were faster in the first decade of this century than in the last 10 years.
Establishments Employment
Source: Massachusetts Department of Economic Research, ES-202. 2021 data only draws from the fourth quarter of the year.
With low education levels compared to Massachusetts, workforce development programs are increasingly important to prepare Lynners for contemporary job opportunities. 29% of Lynn’s 62,000 residents 25 or older have a bachelor’s or graduate degree. While college degrees are not necessary for many professions, like those in manufacturing and building trades, they are required to enter other professions in the region with decent pay and benefits.
Graduate or Professional degree
Bachelors degree
Associates degree
College, no degree
High school diploma or GRE
High school, no diploma
Less than 9th grade
Source: American Community Survey. 2016 –2020, 5 year estimates
In Action:
• The City is conducting a workforce development plan to better understand existing programs and ensure they are aligned to contemporary economic trends.
• The City utilized a MassDevelopment grant to better understand demand for industrial land in the context of regional economic shifts.
• The City is working to attract life sciences and cleantech companies by becoming a MassBio Platinum Community, hosting developer tours, and building partners with statewide advocacy organizations and workforce development entities.
Educational attainment
Learn more about:
2021 Downtown Rapid Recovery Plan
In spring 2021, the City of Lynn in partnership with the Lynn Economic Development and Industrial Corporation (EDIC), the Greater Lynn Chamber of Commerce (Chamber), and Lynn Main Streets was awarded a Rapid Recovery Plan Program grant for the Downtown Lynn Cultural District. The Downtown Lynn Cultural District Rapid Recovery Plan (LRRP) examines market and physical conditions, as well as feedback from community leaders and business owners in order to identify strategic projects to support a sustainable and equitable recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Review the DRRP at https://lynnincommon.com/dtlcd-recovery-plan
Lynn needs balanced growth to ensure fiscal sustainability
Lynn Today takes a chapter to explore fiscal sustainability, which is particularly important as we consider the costs of what Lynners have identified as priorities: improved infrastructure, more modern school facilities, and better-maintained natural resources and amenities. The $450M budget Lynn has to tackle these worthwhile priorities is raised partially through property taxes (34%), with most of the remainder coming from state aid (61%). Looking closely at property taxes, we see 90% of Lynn’s total tax value comes from residential property, which is a higher share than any of our comparison communities (Brockton, Chelsea, Revere, Salem, and Somerville). This ratio puts a significant burden on our residential property owners.
A healthy fiscal outlook requires new growth (in other words, property taxes from new development) each year, but a stronger ratio of commercial or industrial tax value in the long term will create a stronger, more
resilient, tax base. This shouldn’t be strip-mall style retail—which takes up a lot of land and contributes comparatively little to the City’s bottom line—but instead major employers in advanced manufacturing, research and development, and or other businesses in growing industries, like life sciences and clean energy. The forthcoming arrival of Soliyarn, a smart textile planning a move to Lynn, is a testament that this is not just a pipe dream. Mixed-use development that effectively brings these types of employers together, along with housing and retail in a balanced way, can provide a stronger tax base delivering needed services while addressing other objectives like better access to housing and jobs.
However, as we look to new development to meet our community needs, we will also need to manage the realities of what new housing units and jobs will mean for our municipal services and infrastructure.
Learn more about:
Improvements happening throughout the city by visiting: https://cityoflynn.maps.arcgis.com/apps/instant/basic/index. html?appid=af4cebf626654de4bcfd7195cf9f531b
Spending per capita, Budget uses
Revenues by Source, FY 2023
Revenue by Sources
Lynn has increased its spending per capita 71% over the last ten years. Lynn’s spending per person has grown over time, and most of the local budget goes to schools.
Other departments
Public works
Fire
Police
General Government
All other
Schools
A majority of Lynn’s budget comes from state aid. State aid has increased by more than $80 million or 42% since FY 2019.
Property taxes
State aid
Local receipts
Other
Most of Lynn’s property tax value comes from residential development. Ideally, someday more of our tax value will come from increased commercial and industrial properties.
Class 1
Class 2
Class
Personal property
Source: City of Lynn budgets, FY2019 – FY2023
Some development types contribute more per acre to the City’s budget than others. Different property types have different impacts on the tax base. This map shows the value of each parcel divided by the number of acres it is. Darker, taller parcels indicate higher assessed value per acre.
The downtown and dense neighborhoods tend to produce higher value per acre. Commercial developments along Boston St and the Waterfront provide jobs and services, but not a high value per acre.
Source: Department of Local Services, FY2022 Assessed Values by Class
In Action:
• A new Development Review Committee of City staff is providing more structured review to development proposals.
• The City’s CFO is implementing improved capital budgeting processes to assist with sound fiscal planning.
• The City’s process of allocating federal ARPA funds helped steer monies to community-identified priorities and projects like parks, housing, water and transportation infrastructure, education, and public safety.
Vision Survey respondents expressed concern with the poor road conditions in Lynn: “Street safety should be a priority not only for vehicles but also for people on bikes, scooters, walking and using transit.”
Environmental resilience and health needs to be addressed in future planning
Lynn is caught between the environmental hazards of its industrial past in the form of contaminated properties and the threats of climate change in the future. Flooding is a major problem for many residents and businesses during major rain events today, and Lynn’s proximity to the coast means it will have to contend with sea level rise as well. Climate change will have a big impact on Lynners, both because of its vulnerabilities and because environmental justice communities tend to bear a disproportionate burden of climate change impacts. Necessary infrastructure improvements will be expensive and take time to fund and implement.
However, the City can collaborate with people and organizations in the city and beyond to achieve ambitious infrastructure improvements and public realm modifications. The City has taken a number of steps to plan for and mitigate effects of Climate Change with the creation of the Hazard Mitigation Plan and the planning support for the Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) Program. Mitigation strategies are underway to mitigate flooding with the Boston Street Green Infrastructure pilot, and Barry Park Green Infrastructure Project.
In Action:
• The City Council adopted PACE (Property Assessed Clean Energy) to provide a resource for building owners to fund building improvements.
• The Planning Department and EDIC/Lynn have applied to the federal E.P.A. for brownfields funding that would help assess and clean up contaminated properties in the city.
Flooding is a real risk in Lynn, especially as climate change brings higher sea levels and more extreme storms. Areas most likely to flood are along the southwestern waterfront, along the Saugus River, and near other water bodies. These places have a 1% chance of flooding in any given year. Other places, like along Boston Street, have a 0.2% chance of flooding in any given year. Some areas prone to flooding are low-income, raising environmental justice concerns. Other areas have plans for significant new development.
Source: Federal Emergency Management Administration via MassGIS
What is a ‘1%-probability flood’? A ‘1%-Probability flood,’ commonly called a‘100-year flood,’ is a flood that has a 1% chance of taking place in any given year. While properties within the 100-year flood plain are generally required to purchase flood insurance, properties outside this zone can still be subject to the effects of rain and overflow.
Creating a safe Lynn requires focus on both violence and unsafe roads.
Although reported crime rates are trending downward overall in Lynn, gun violence remains a major concern, particularly since over a third of aggravated assaults involve the use of a firearm. In our community engagement, we heard about the need to continue efforts to establish an unarmed response unit, to ensure we have a well-supported, fully-staffed police force, and to continue supporting our youth. Another major threat for Lynners is our streets themselves: with
14 traffic fatalities in the last five years, we need to tame aggressive driving, improve our road and intersection designs with functioning, modern signal equipment, and promote a safe experience for everyone, including drivers as well as pedestrians and bikers. Part of this work will also include making travel outside of a vehicle, whether by walking, bike, bus or train, a safe, reliable, and convenient option, which can ultimately help reduce vehicular traffic congestion.
Reported crime rates are trending downward, but improved safety remains a priority
Number of Select Crimes Per Year
The number of incidents logged by the Lynn Police Department decreased 36% from 2017 to 2021. However, some types of incidents, like larcenies and assaults, increased in 2021. On average, 35% of aggravated assaults each year have involved the use of a firearm. Survey respondents identified improved public safety as a major priority for Lynn. Many said they felt unsafe downtown (108 respondents), on the streets (56), or everywhere in the city (42).
Source: Lynn Police Department
In Action:
• The City is working to establish an unarmed crisis response team that would serve as a complementary alternative to policing. This initiative was brought forth by the Lynn Racial Justice Coalition back in 2020, and a major goal of the team will be to address mental health needs and systemic racism throughout the city.
• Commercial Street will be the first priority project highlighted in the Lynn Safe Streets for People Playbook (2021) to be implemented, with improvements that will preserve freight truck use while creating a safer environment for vehicles, bikers, and pedestrians.
Transportation safety is an ongoing concern.
The City worked with MassDOT, community stakeholders, and the public to identify priority streets for safety improvements and develop strategies for creating a safe street network for all users, with an emphasis on walking, biking, and taking transit. The Lynn Safe Streets for People Playbook mapped the top intersections for vehicle crashes, as well as clusters of crashes involving bicycles and pedestrians.
Top 200 intersection crash clusters (Statewide 2014 – 2016)
Bicycle crash clusters (2008 – 2017)
Pedestrian crash clusters (2008 – 2017)
Source: Lynn Safe Streets for People Playbook
• The Department of Transportation’s USDOT’s Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) Grant Program awarded $20M to the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) and MBTA for the Lynnway Multimodal Corridor Project. This will help reimagine Lynnway to improve safety for all users, meeting a priority identified in the Lynn Transit Action Plan (2019).
Our Vision, Values, & Strategies for Change
Our Vision
As the very first step of the Vision Lynn process, we asked Lynners what they loved about their community and what they wanted to change. We reviewed the 900+ responses we received and generated a list of possible vision statements that attempted to capture what folks said. Then, we surveyed nearly 800 more people to identify the top three that captured our shared vision. This is what we heard:
Lynn will be a city where people feel safe and comfortable to live, work, learn, and play.
Lynn will be a city where all community members have the housing, transportation access, social connections, and educational or economic opportunities to live a fulfilling life.
Lynn will be a city to be proud of, with strong, diverse, and connected communities that take care of our shared spaces, natural resources, and each other.
Planning Values
In addition to the three vision statements, certain values played an important role in the planning process and will continue to be important in the plan implementation.
Equity
Equity means ensuring equal access to opportunities and resources that fit the needs of each individual. For our planning to be successful, we must be mindful about how our work can provide the tools Lynners need to be successful, and adjusting those tools as needs change overtime. In every project, we should be thinking about equity both in our process—ensuring that different communities have equal access to participate in our planning efforts—as well as the outcomes of what our plans achieve. We should try to be proactive about articulating and assessing how benefits and burdens of proposed initiatives are likely to be distributed throughout our community, and remain mindful of how historic dynamics affect our communities today.
Compassion
Planning activities must always put the people first, ensuring that efforts to get input or feedback meet people where they are. We must ensure we are listening carefully and patiently to as many different perspectives as possible, treating our community members and their time respectfully, and approaching even the most heated discussions with a sense of generous curiosity.
Resilience
When we’re talking about long-term planning, it’s important to be thinking not only about how to solve today’s challenges, but how to withstand and recover from unexpected shocks. Economic shifts, natural hazards, climate change, and global pandemics are just a few topical examples, but good planning will require us to be thoughtful about how to set Lynn up for long-term success in the face of both known and unanticipated threats.
Responsibility
As Vision Lynn developed, and as future planning work gets underway, it is essential to balance the aspirational with the feasible and to ensure we are being mindful of the impacts of our work in both the near- and long-term.
Livability
At the heart of all planning work is the goal to make Lynn an even better place to live for all.
Strategies for Change
With a clear vision in place and planning values to anchor our approach, the next step is to consider the strategies for how we move toward that shared vision.
As a twenty-year plan, Vision Lynn isn’t trying to identify an exhaustive list of tasks, but rather articulate the theories of change we think will make a difference. By using a “Doing X will achieve Y” structure, we hope to emphasize the intended outcomes rather than focus on a to do list. Our hope is that this will lead to creative approaches with a shared sense of what success would look like for our community. We received
feedback from over 100 respondents, including City staff, elected officials, policy experts, community leaders, and interested individuals to help us craft this list of 43 strategies that should frame and guide work for both professionals and community members moving forward. We have roughly organized these strategies into three buckets based on our community vision statements.
Photo Credit: John Andrews, Creative Collective
Lynn will be a city where people feel safe and comfortable to live, work, learn, and play.
Strategies for Change
• Changes to our roads and improvements to our transit system will make our streets safer, accessible, and more pleasant for pedestrians, bikers, and drivers.
• Empowering and protecting tenants in conjunction with inspecting rental units can help us improve living conditions in Lynn’s housing.
• Ensuring Lynn has a strong healthcare ecosystem, including an emergency room, addiction recovery services, mental health support, and other healthcare initiatives will make our community healthier and safer.
• Protecting the rights of and providing opportunities to immigrants will help everyone feel safe in our community.
• Ensuring our routes to school and surrounding public realm are safe and well-maintained will improve safety for students and all Lynners.
• Establishing an unarmed response team will help us address community needs like mental health, substance use, homelessness and other quality of life matters with an approach rooted in racial justice and cultural competency.
• Investing in public infrastructure like trees, cooling zones, and splash pads will help make the city more comfortable in hot weather.
• Supporting union labor and worker’s rights will improve safety in the workplace.
• Implementing the Safe Streets for People Playbook, which offers design solutions to make our streets safer for pedestrians, bikers, as well as drivers, will reduce crashes on our streets.
Lynn will be a city where all community members have the housing, transportation access, social connections, and educational or economic opportunities to live a fulfilling life.
Strategies for Change
• Adding new housing units, including permanently affordable units for low-income households, is necessary to ensure households of all types, sizes and income levels can find safe, high-quality, affordable, and accessible housing.
• Fostering a strong workforce development ecosystem that provides training and education for adults, youth, and immigrants will help open up economic opportunities for Lynners.
• Preserving existing affordable housing units and ensuring they are well-maintained is an essential component of meeting affordable housing demand.
• Collaborating with local, state and federal agencies to increase public transit options, upgrade existing facilities, and enhance operations will improve transportation access, reduce vehicular congestion, and drive economic development.
• Ensuring we have workforce development programs in growing industries will help us attract more jobs to Lynn.
• Investing in and championing our schools will ensure that all Lynn students get an excellent education that sets them up for social and economic success.
• Supporting new and existing local businesses will provide entrepreneurial opportunities for residents and support our vibrant commercial districts.
• Creating neighborhoods that offer access to a variety of goods, services and amenities within a 15-minute walk will make Lynn communities convenient and accessible.
• Investing in a coordinated ecosystem of food programs will ensure that all Lynners have access to healthy, fresh, and culturally appropriate food.
• Planning for new school buildings that eliminate overcrowding and incorporate modern learning facilities is essential to providing all students with a high-quality education.
• By making our schools more inclusive to students regardless of language, ability, and background, instruction will become more powerful and the social-emotional needs of students will be supported.
• Expanding access to early childhood education will help us prepare students for long-term success.
• Eliminating the digital access gap and building digital skills in our community will increase educational and economic opportunities for Lynners.
• By proactively bringing more employers in growing industries to Lynn, we can maximize job opportunities for Lynners, diversify our economic base, and create a more fiscally healthy city.
• Creating opportunities and providing spaces for Lynners to build social ties with each other will strengthen community resilience.
• Building connections across different communities and organizations will help us tackle Lynn’s biggest challenges.
• Promoting redevelopment in areas of existing activity that have access to transit, infrastructure and amenities will help us create places where people want to be.
• Implementing the Housing Lynn plan will help expand affordable housing in Lynn and prevent displacement.
Lynn will be a city to be proud of, with strong, diverse, and connected communities that take care of our shared spaces, natural resources, and each other.
Strategies for Change
• Balancing new development with careful planning about the infrastructure and services required is essential in offering a high quality of life.
• Hosting unique events, sports and other cultural and recreational activities, and businesses that offer things to do will make Lynn a more fun place to live and help attract visitors to our community.
• Ensuring that Lynn is fully staffed with culturally competent, trauma-informed, and professionally trained municipal workers, police officers, and fire fighters will help the City provide effective, highquality services for the community.
• Preserving our historic assets and telling our histories helps us connect our communities and highlight what makes Lynn special.
• Telling a positive story about Lynn will help us drive economic development in a way that honors what’s great about Lynn.
• Providing youth with activities, gathering spaces, and opportunities to participate in civic life will support our youth and make our city safer.
• Investing in trash cleanup will make our streets and parks more beautiful and enjoyable places to be and build community pride.
• Protecting our ecological resources, reducing pollution, restoring our environmental resources, and cleaning up contaminated properties will make Lynn a healthier place to live.
• Ensuring that all community members have access to the parks, playgrounds, and desired recreational amenities will make Lynn a great place to live.
• Exercising responsible, long-term fiscal planning is necessary to meet community needs, leverage private investment, and ensure a financially sustainable and economically resilient city.
• Reducing greenhouse gas emissions and preparing to adapt to climate change will be essential to protecting our community members in the future.
• Ensuring City Hall is accessible, transparent, and communicative to all will help residents feel more comfortable utilizing government services and advocating for themselves and their communities.
• Ensuring that city governance is responsive to the evolving multilingual needs of the community is necessary to better serve Lynners.
• Maintaining our existing civic spaces, natural resources, and infrastructure will help us improve the quality of life for Lynners.
• A robust arts, music, and culture ecosystem can help us continue the Lynn tradition of wellconnected, supportive communities and drive economic development.
• Establishing design standards will help us shape future development that is equitable, sustainable, and compatible with existing development patterns in Lynn.
Land Use & Urban Form
Places that put people first
With a clear vision of what matters to the Lynn community, the next step is to consider how Lynn’s physical places can bring us toward that vision. How can we encourage development that meets our goals and is consistent with our values? Where in the city are we comfortable with development, and where do we want to keep things how they are? What policy changes need to happen to encourage these results? This section will translate our community vision and values into an equitable and sustainable approach for land use and urban form throughout the City.
Why focus on land use and urban form?
The rules we set around how our 13.5 square miles of land is used are one of the most important mechanisms for managing change and growth in Lynn.
As articulated in the previous section, there are many different strategies that will be necessary to advance towards our shared vision. A comprehensive plan, however, is specifically focused on the roles that land use policy and urban form plays. Land uses are the types of activities that are allowed to occur in a particular location, while urban form includes the physical shape of buildings, streets, parks, infrastructure and how they work together to create a sense of place for the community.
Strategic decisions around land use and urban form can help us create safe and comfortable places for all, provide access to jobs and educational opportunities, expand housing availability and choice, support improved transportation networks, protect our critical resources, and mitigate climate impacts. Without planning for these outcomes, however, there is a risk that new development of land will focus solely on private profit to the detriment of our community life.
Land uses in Lynn today Lynn has a mix of land uses, and the patterns of uses help to form spatial “structures” like corridors and districts. Most of Lynn’s land area is dedicated to residential use and open space (largely due to Lynn Woods and Pine Grove Cemetery).
Open space
Institutional
Residential
Mixed-use
Commercial
Industrial
Smaller water bodies
Autocentric urban form
Autocentric vs Walkable: What kind of urban form works better for Lynn?
Autocentric urban form is designed for the vehicle. It dedicates land for building wide roads and large surface parking lots, and is often defined by single story or low density development of similar use. This kind of urban form encourages heavy car use and creates conditions that are unsafe and uncomfortable for pedestrians and also harmful to the environment. Walkable urban form is built for people. This kind of urban form encourages concentrating a mix of uses that are easily accessible and accommodates a broader range of transport options by designing safe, desirable, and convenient conditions for walking, biking, transit and private car use.
Walkable and mixed-use urban form
Urban Form and design can have profound impacts on how we use our everyday spaces and enrich our quality of life. Thoughtful urban form and design can shape how buildings, streets, parks, and infrastructure landscapes come together to sustain future living and foster a sense of place. Good urban design can help to mitigate negative externalities of development including undesired outcomes for access, safety and public health.
Growth in Lynn
It’s not always easy to think about how you want a place you love to change. Seeing new construction can be an exciting prospect: a sign of prosperity, new customers for local businesses, and much-needed housing. But it can also be scary. Will new development increase my rent and force me to move? Are the things I love about Lynn under threat? Can our schools and streets and infrastructure really handle more people?
The truth is, change is coming to Lynn one way or another, but we have an opportunity through Vision
Lynn to make the most of that change. Lynners have made clear: new development should serve the interests of our community. This is our chance to maximize the benefits we get out of new development and to consider how to create equitable outcomes and process for residents who have historically been marginalized, like communities of color, low-income communities, and immigrant communities.
The Mosaic building begins to take shape behind the historic Stern Building on Union Street
What can growth do for us?
Let’s be explicit about what growth can do for Lynn. It can help us pursue housing affordability for Lynners, provide new job opportunities and cultivate vibrant economic activity, and support fiscal sustainability for high-quality public infrastructure and services.
Housing for all Lynners
When we asked about topics Vision Lynn needed to address, 60% of participants selected housing affordability. It was the only theme selected by a majority of participants. 56% of Lynn renters are housing cost burdened: they’re spending more than 30% of their income on housing. The housing crisis requires many different policies and programs to address housing needs, but building new housing that is affordable to a wide range of incomes must be a component of our path forward.
Jobs and vibrant commercial districts
48% of participants told us that economic opportunities was a key topic Vision Lynn needed to address. There is only one Lynn job for every 2 Lynners in the workforce, and 86% of Lynn workers are working outside of Lynn, typically in industries that aren’t located here. Many of the jobs in Lynn don’t pay enough to meet the high cost of living. New commercial and industrial development can provide good paying jobs for Lynners, provide educational opportunities at Lynn schools, and bolster daytime population that can support local businesses and vibrant commercial districts.
Fiscal sustainability to pay for what we need
Many survey respondents identified problems which would require increased funding or improved municipal services to solve, like better maintenance of our parks, roads, stormwater management, and other infrastructure. One of the key tools Lynn has to grow its revenues to pay for such services is to add new growth to the tax base. In particular, adding more commercial and industrial value into the tax base would boost revenues without requiring as much resources from the city to maintain.
How do Lynners define good development?
We kept coming back to this question throughout the process, and here’s what we heard.
Good development should honor who’s already here. Yes, growth means new residents and business owners, but it’s important to Lynn that we minimize displacement of the businesses and residents that are here today. Displacing out the people who call Lynn home and make it the vibrant community it is today is not a goal.
Good development should help us solve problems, not make new ones.
We know that development can provide housing, jobs, and fiscal resources to the city, but we also know that we can’t simply build without considering the limits of our schools, roads, and other infrastructure. If leveraged correctly, new development can help us manage these challenges.
Good development should be on our terms as a community.
Community members should be able to know about and comment on major development proposals, and City staff should be empowered to advocate for better results.
Good development should pursue equitable outcomes. As we watch new developments come to fruition, we should ensure that benefits and burdens are shared equitably.
Good development should create places that serve people.
Places that serve people are functional and even fun, providing a terrific experience for all who pass through. They should make daily life easier and, to the extent possible, help Lynn achieve our larger goals around housing, economic development, and community life.
What could good development look like for Lynn?
‘Complete streets’ that safely accommodate all
Street furniture.
Street trees provide shade and beauty.
Permeable surfaces and planting for stormwater management.
Protected bike lanes.
Active street walls.
users.
Wide, continuous and active sidewalks encourage walking and safety for all users.
Outdoor dining areas.
Mixed-use buildings where Lynners can comfortably live, work and play. Variety of housing options for all Lynners.
Affordable units to ensure all Lynners have safe, affordable, and accessible housing.
Buildings and materials that complement Lynn’s loved character and scale.
Places for public art cultural activities, celebrating Lynn!
Mix of existing and new businesses that cater to a variety of price points.
Clear signage and wayfinding.
Places where Lynners can meet and interact
Pocket plazas and parks for rest and play!
and
Accessibility for Lynners of all ages and abilities.
Curb extensions for increased safety and traffic calming.
High-visible signals
cross walks.
Lynn’s Places Today
Before considering where and how new growth might be best accommodated in Lynn, it’s helpful to start with a deep understanding of the way places function in the city now. One of the earliest tasks in this process was to begin developing with the Steering Committee and broader community a map of different place types in Lynn, a sense of the role different places play in the daily lives of Lynners, and an idea of what kind of changes might make sense in which areas.
To start, we looked at the road network, transportation access points, existing zoning districts and land uses, businesses, and community assets to better understand where people live, work, shop, and play in Lynn today. We then studied the physical characteristics of areas in the city and looked at how they connect and relate to each other. This process helped us identify and categorize the different “place types” in Lynn—which are essentially the physical building blocks that make up the City.
Place Matters
At the beginning of Vision Lynn, we launched a social media campaign, “place matters” to create a shared understanding of different places in Lynn and the roles they play in the community. Place types are categories that attempt to capture the unique characteristics that contribute to making a “place”—a location that is distinct from the areas around it. Lynn has a variety of places where people come together. These are places where we see family and friends, where we meet our neighbors, where we meet new people, where we gather in celebration or protest. Good places help us build community with people from across backgrounds and lifestyles.
From here, we worked to create a “mental map” of Lynn, a composite map that captures how different place types work together and in turn makes it easier for us to better understand their similarities and differences. The city is composed of different types of places—from neighborhoods to corridors, from Wyoma Square to the Waterfront, from Lynn Woods to the Downtown—and each plays an important but different role for the community. Together, these places define the physical and social infrastructure of our city. The Vision Lynn team worked with the community to learn more about each type of place and their unique characteristics that contribute to what makes them a distinct ‘place’ for Lynners. Place types will help us prioritize and strategically consider where and what kind of improvement or change we hope to see across Lynn.
Urban center
Neighborhood hub
Regional districts
Industrial areas
Corridors
Open Space
Medium density
neighborhood
Low density
neighborhood
Lynn’s Places Today
Urban Center
Urban Centers serve as a primary hub for civic, employment and cultural uses in the city. They contain a dense and dynamic mix of housing, commercial uses, public spaces, institutions, and infrastructure and have buildings that accommodate more than one use, such as residential with active ground floor retail or entertainment. Urban centers are vibrant and welcoming places that are easily accessible by transit, attracting residents, employers and visitors throughout the year.
Lynn’s urban center is its Downtown.
The Vault Apartments on Central Ave
Spring Street at Exchange Street
Munroe Street at Washington Street
Market Street
Regional Nodes/Districts
Regional nodes or districts bring together Lynners and other residents in the region for varied economic activities and are usually located by key roadways or corridors.
The three regional nodes in Lynn are:
• The area along the Lynnway and the waterfront
• Boston St between Washington St and Chestnut St
• The beginning of Western Ave
It is important to note that while all these areas act as regional nodes, they differ in physical characteristics and the kind of uses they contain and in turn require different strategies for future improvements.
Boston St between Washington St and Chestnut St has commercial and big-box retail uses.
The beginning of Western Ave has a mix of industrial uses, transportation services and smaller auto repair businesses.
The area along the Lynnway and the waterfront houses a wide range of conditions including industrial uses and large-scale commercial uses.
Lynn’s Places Today
Lynn’s
Neighborhood Hubs
Neighborhood hubs are areas of mixeduse activity located at the heart of a neighborhood, or connecting several neighborhoods, that bring residents and workers in the surrounding area together to live, work, play and gather.
Neighborhood hubs are ideally walkable and accessible by multiple modes of transportation for nearby residents.
In Lynn, neighborhood hubs serve as everyday activity spots and are characterized by small-scale, mixed-use dense development housing various essential businesses and community spaces including bodegas, barbershops, restaurants, recreational centers and more.
Lafayette Park & Lewis St Wyoma Square
Commercial St
Market Square
Neighborhoods
Medium density neighborhood
Low density neighborhood
Neighborhoods are primarily residential areas with small open spaces and community institutions such as schools mixed in. These places make up most of the city’s area and are where many Lynners live and spend much of their time.
Neighborhoods in Lynn are characterized by denser residential areas (darker orange on map) composed of small blocks and narrow streets containing diverse housing types including duplex, triple deckers and multifamily apartment flats, and more suburban type of residential areas (lighter orange) composed of medium to large lots containing single family homes, interconnected by wide and winding streets.
Diamond District: High density neighborhood
Ward 2: Low density residential neighborhood
Lynn’s Places Today
Lynn’s
Corridors
Regional corridor
Local corridor
Neighbood corridor
Corridors are connector streets that link Lynn communities and draw people from surrounding areas with our urban center, regional nodes and neighborhood hubs. There are places that we aim to better connect, make safer and more efficient for multiple users and modes of travel, and places we want to enhance and make attractive for residents, employers and visitors, especially where they interconnect with other important place types.
Corridor types in Lynn:
• Regional Corridor
• Local Corridor
• Neighborhood Corridor
The Lynnway: a regional corridor
Lewis St – Broad St: a local corridor
Broadway: a neighborhood corridor
Lynnfield St: a regional corridor
Industrial Areas
Industrial areas contain businesses active in manufacturing, wholesale trade, construction, and heavy commercial uses such as auto repair shops. Today, some of Lynn’s industrial areas are transitioning to alternative uses. While many industrial sites currently act as neighborhood barriers, there is ample opportunity for them to provide new jobs and forge new connections.
Note: Industrial areas are separately pulled out here as place types for their distinct uses, operational needs and environmental considerations and impacts to surrounding areas. Like corridors, the Vision Lynn team views industrial areas as intrinsically linked to and as part of regional economic nodes, such as the Lynnway/Waterfront area.
The Designated Port Area: DPAs are a tool in Massachusetts to preserve land for marine-based industrial uses. Lynn has a DPA that includes a portion of the Lynn Water and Sewer facility.
GE Aerospace: The GE facility remains a major component of Lynn’s economy
Industrial building, Sanderson Ave
Lynn’s Places Today
Open Space and Natural Resources
Lynn is fortunate to have substantial natural resources and recreational opportunities, but the local parks, playgrounds and ball fields are equally as important in providing recreation opportunities for all members of the community. Lynn’s open spaces include woodland landscapes, waterfront parks, neighborhood playgrounds, sports fields, community gardens, ponds, promenades, areas for outdoor parties and barbecues, and more.
Lynn Woods
High Rock Park
Cook Street playgrounds and community garden
Lynn Common
Photo credit: Alyson Fletcher
Photo Credit: Alex Koppelman
Our principles for growth
With an understanding of what Lynn wants from its development and how its places function today, the next step is to explore where and how we can accommodate good development in the city. Three principles guided us:
Help existing activity nodes prosper and evolve
Link activity nodes to maximize accessibility and convenience
Preserve existing industrial activity and foster new commercial opportunities
Help existing activity nodes prosper and evolve
Our existing activity nodes are the best places to support new growth. These include the Downtown, regional nodes and some neighborhood hubs. These are areas where people come together on a regular basis, and where many different activities (residential, commercial, civic and institutional) intersect. Many of these places already have existing transit stops and can help improve and grow our mobility network. These are also places where we can tap into existing infrastructure where possible, and invest in new infrastructure where needed to accommodate additional growth and development.
Adding opportunities for new housing, jobs, and services in these places will continue to anchor them as special nodes and centers in Lynn and encourage more concentrated activity and sustainable modes of transportation and development. The benefits will impact not only nodes, but surrounding neighborhoods as well. Where it most makes sense, we can also think about places that can become new activity nodes in Lynn to better service existing and growing neighborhoods. These could include large-scale underdeveloped or underutilized areas in the city, or areas where there is a desire to change or rethink existing activity.
Learn more about the ways we can support Lynn’s existing activity nodes in the Tying it All Together section on page 98 and the specific programs, policies and priority action steps to help us get there in the Infrastructure and Implementation chapter on page 114.
Urban center
Neighborhood hub
Regional nodes/ districts
Existing activity nodes
The Urban Center, our Downtown Downtown is a key activity area for Lynn. As the “city’s living room”, the Downtown is a place where people get together to socialize and where economic activities converge. This area has the potential to become an even more vibrant district for living and working, provide high-density development in a mixed-use, transit-oriented neighborhood, and attract more visitors.
Neighborhood Hubs
We can enhance our neighborhood hubs by promoting vibrant mixeduse activity, supporting local businesses, creating conditions for improved walkability and connectivity, supporting local services and adding significant new housing (affordable and at marketrate) through increased density.
Regional Nodes/Districts
These are key areas economically, because they tend to attract a broader customer base, but they could be doing more for our communities and our tax base. As shopping habits change due to e-commerce and consumer preferences, a different urban form in these areas might help us attract the amenities the communities wants, support additional priorities, and create places that are worth visiting beyond the quick errand.
Link activity nodes to maximize accessibility and convenience
Mobility issues are already top-of-mind for many Vision Lynn participants, who expressed concerns about vehicular traffic, downtown parking availability, unsafe driving, dated and unsafe traffic signal equipment, and unsafe conditions for pedestrians and bikers. The status quo is already not working for Lynners, so it is particularly important that new development helps us solve, or at least mitigate, these problems and not exacerbate them.
In terms of land use planning, we can help lay the groundwork by directing higher intensity uses—multifamily housing, commercial, and retail properties—into areas that are already hosting these uses and have the transit and infrastructure to support them. In addition, improvements to our street designs and transit systems can make it more attractive for people to walk, roll, bike, or take transit. Not everyone in Lynn will make every trip without a vehicle, but the
Lynn Safe Streets for People Playbook
The City worked with MassDOT, community stakeholders, and the public to identify priority streets for safety improvements and develop strategies for creating a safe street network for all users, with an emphasis on walking, biking, and taking transit. Our shared goals throughout the process were to build trust and connections among Lynn community members and stakeholders through the engagement process to carry forward project implementation; identify a network of priority streets for improvement that will create a safe, comfortable experience for Lynn street users of all ages and abilities and address conflict areas; and guide the City’s network implementation and cohesive prioritization of walking and biking with a tactical intervention toolkit, transition processes for permanent implementation, and a review of supporting policies and funding sources.
more that we can incentivize alternative transportation modes, the more mobile our community can be. For example, investing heavily in ensuring that our students have safe routes to their schools could encourage fewer families to drive for arrival and dismissal, which would have a huge impact on vehicular congestion at key parts of the day. Providing ample, easy-to-find, and centralized parking in places like downtown can minimize the amount of “cruising” cars do as they drive around seeking that perfect parking spot. Establishing a commuter ferry and electrifying our Commuter Rail would make getting to Boston or Logan Airport much easier and likely cut down on traffic in our key corridors. And making buses quick, reliable, and enjoyable to use would turn them into an easy way to get around the city, rather than the transit mode of last resort as it is to many today.
Photo credit: Alyson Fletcher
Commuting mode choice
66% of Lynners drive alone to work, with 12% more carpooling. Only 10% of Lynn residents use transit to get to work, according to Census Bureau data. Only 4% of residents walk to work, and only 4% use all other modes, including bicycling.
Commuting is not the only trip Lynners take, but it is the trip that has the most data on people’s choices. Data from the Lynn Transit Action Plan shows transit and walking are common for noncommute trips.
Source: American Community Survey, 2016 – 2020 5-year estimates. Note: This data may overcount drivers, due to the demographics of survey respondents.
Photo credit: Alyson Fletcher
Preserve existing industrial activity and foster new commercial opportunities.
Lynn needs more high-quality, well-paid jobs and the workforce training ecosystem to help prepare Lynners for those jobs. Although Lynn’s unemployment rate is normal for the region, many Lynners are working lowwage jobs in retail and healthcare or unpredictable gigbased work that can’t always keep up with rising costs of living. Our land use policy can play an important role in setting Lynn’s economy up for success in the longterm, providing increased economic opportunity for our residents, by protecting existing jobs and incentivizing the arrival of new jobs in growing industries. One of the challenges is that, because of how extreme residential demand is, commercial and industrial buildings often
lose out to the typically more lucrative residential land uses. One employer in Lynn we interviewed confessed that it might make more financial sense to close their business and redevelop the land as residential given how hot the market is. For new construction projects, commercial and industrial projects are riskier, especially when developers are pursuing them without a tenant in mind as speculative development.
Two approaches to our land use and urban form can help us support Lynn’s ongoing economic success: preserving existing essential industrial activity and encouraging new economic opportunities.
Existing commercial and industrial activity
Commercial uses are clustered along major thoroughfares in Lynn, such as Western Avenue, the Lynnway, Essex Street. Approximately 33% of commercial and industrial parcels are used for offices, retail, restaurants, and other general commercial uses. 38% of parcels are either for industrial uses (manufacturing, waste processing, and more) or heavy commercial (warehousing, auto repair, and more). 16% of commercial parcels are mixed-use, with commercial and residential uses.
Preserving existing essential industrial activity
One of the key assets Lynn has is a strong portfolio of industrial properties. Industrial properties can be used for a variety of business types, including many that are important to Lynn’s economy: manufacturing or production, distribution, repair, wholesale trade, transportation, and warehousing. Over the last ten years, industrial space in Boston has declined 3.5%, even as utilization has increased 6.5 percentage points over the same period1. As other communities lose industrial properties through redevelopment, Lynn’s industrial properties can become a stronger asset. Currently, the average age of construction for industrial buildings in Lynn is 1942, older than any other communities in the region; historically that meant Lynn’s industrial rents were more affordable, but these rents may increase as the industrial vacancy rate decreases in the region. However, since the industrial stock is fairly old, building owners might need help adapting their facilities for contemporary needs.
As a result, key industrial properties should be preserved, including the G.E. campus, and industrial corridors along Sanderson, Commercial Street, Western Ave, and Oakville Street. This also includes portions of the waterfront–in particular the Designated Port Area which must support water-dependent industrial uses and specific properties like 71 Linden Street.
Some key industrial areas include:
• The Designated Port Area: DPAs are a tool in Massachusetts to preserve land for marine-based industrial uses. Lynn has a DPA that includes a portion of the Lynn Water and Sewer facility, the commuter ferry pier, a commercial pier, and businesses like the Boston Wholesale Lobster Corporation, which uses ocean water for the live lobsters in their facility. Lynn will need to preserve industrial uses in the DPA based on guidelines from the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management. 1
• Other Waterfront Industrial Areas: Even beyond the DPA, there exists other industrial buildings, which house auto repair, beverage manufacturing, and other industrial activities mixed in with single-story commercial retail and restaurants.
• GE Aerospace: The GE facility remains a major component of Lynn’s economy, even if there are fewer employees today. Because GE Aerospace works on federal military contracts, they have specific requirements about their site layout and how it is controlled.
• There are a number of other industrial properties and corridors, including on Sanderson Ave, Boston Street, Linden Street, Commercial Street, Bennett Street, and Western Ave.
Encouraging new economic opportunities
Lynn will also need to attract other opportunities to bring more commercial and industrial uses into Lynn. In particular, the City would like to attract additional advanced manufacturing, life sciences, clean energy, and technology companies. These fields are promising because industries like life sciences and related biomanufacturing are some of the fastest growing sectors in Massachusetts, expected to add 40,000 net new jobs by 20242. Within these sectors, there are typically jobs available at a variety of education levels, usually with a livable wage.
The next pages highlight ways in which the city can support preserving essential industrial activity and encouraging new economic opportunities in Lynn.
Two approaches to our land use and urban form can help us support Lynn’s ongoing economic success.
Preserving existing essential industrial activity
Evolve industrial areas to accommodate a mix of uses:
In areas with critical industrial uses, existing industrial zoning should be reinforced. However in areas where existing industrial uses can operate next to other uses such as commercial or residential, zoning could be updated to guide the mix of uses to better integrate industrial uses to the surrounding neighborhoods, and enhance collaboration between certain manufacturing uses and complementary sectors.
Forge new connections between neighborhoods: Transform industrial areas that are acting as barriers between neighborhoods into connectors between neighborhoods, and ensure that industrial properties are managed appropriately to minimize conflicts with nearby residential, commercial, or recreational uses.
Invest in capital improvements to industrial areas: Industrial properties may require truck access or have other specific infrastructure needs. Ensuring that these needs are met is essential to supporting the long-term viability of industrial properties.
Ensure policy and programs support industrial property owners:
Lynn’s decision to adopt PACE1 and change zoning code to prevent residential uses from being by-right in industrial areas are both examples of policies that can help make industrial properties viable in the long term. Any other opportunities to help industrial properties modernize and attract tenants is important to preserve these uses.
Provide new types of land-use incentives to support the industrial economy through business development programs, incubators and new industrial businesses: We will also explore new mixed use industrial real estate models such as subletting or space-sharing, which open up possibilities for a larger range of industries to prosper.
Explore workforce development opportunities: Many of our industrial businesses opened in Lynn because of the workforce opportunities here. Our training programs can help ensure our existing employers have the human capital they need to be successful.
Existing industrial building on Linden St
Encouraging new economic opportunities
Support strategic job growth by encouraging the development of office, lab, and industrial spaces that respond to nearby industry clusters and citywide needs. The development of a range of types of commercial and industrial spaces to accommodate a variety of companies and workers—from large corporations and institutions to small start-ups and freelancers.
Utilize workforce development training as an asset to attract more businesses. We heard from many employers that Lynn’s workforce is why they originally located in the city; today’s businesses are considering the same factors.
Ensure new jobs benefit Lynners: The City can incentivize employers coming into new developments to prioritize the employment of Lynn residents, providing roles that require a range of levels of education and types of skills that align with Lynn demographics. In addition, the City can encourage job training programs that increase the alignment between the Lynn workforce and new jobs that result from new developments.
Create incentives in zoning for the development of light industrial space in mixed-use developments. Many light industrial uses can be happily accommodated in mixed-use developments. These could include food production uses, arts and crafts manufacturing uses, or research and development.
Continue making Lynn a great place to live: Major employers want to be where their employees want to be; investments in making Lynn a great place to live can also pay huge economic development dividends.
Lynn Life Sciences Developer Tour. Photo Credit: Ferns Francois
Photo Credit: Alex Koppelman
Tying it All Together: Our Framework for Growth
The way our community grows and changes will depend on a combination of several different strategies both small and large across various timeframes.
Growth will not look the same or need to occur to the same degree in all place types across Lynn. For instance, while regional nodes have similar characteristics like being close to important corridors or having larger development footprints for commercial activity, they differ in their use and how Lynners experience them. Similarly, Lynn has neighborhood hubs of all sizes, street layouts, and intensity of uses that Lynners of all backgrounds and needs call home. Our goals and visions for these areas, and the strategies we apply to achieve them should be context-sensitive and tailored to what makes most sense across the distinct place types.
The way our community grows and changes will depend on a combination of several different strategies both small and large across various timeframes. Some places in Lynn are well established areas like certain neighborhoods and parks that we want to protect and maintain as they are, while other places like underutilized industrial sites are areas that we could enhance or transform entirely.
Degree of Change Map
With our three growth principles in mind, and based on feedback we received from the community, this map identifies the degree of change we are comfortable with throughout our city.
Enhance:
Find opportunities to improve and elevate places without totally changing them.
Transform:
Explore a large-scale, holistic transformation that could change the character of the place, informed by neighborhood-level plans.
Maintain:
Everything that’s not in a transform or enhance district will still need to be maintained. That includes public investment to maintain infrastructure, as well as empowering owners to maintain private property.
Transform
Transform districts are where we will explore largescale, holistic transformations that could change the character of the place, informed by neighborhood-level plans. Transform areas are places for potential real estate investment through public and private support. Transform actions include:
• Rezoning to allow more density and increasing building heights
• Rezoning to allow new and greater mix of uses
• Attracting new industrial and commercial businesses
• Building new streets and parks on a large site
• Building new infrastructure to accommodate new mix and intensity of uses
• Consolidating parcels to accommodate larger scale uses
• Creating new districts such as transit-oriented development areas or industrial innovation hubs.
• Building structured parking or managing surface parking to allow new or more uses
• Protecting and supporting existing resources and assets in the district
Our Degree of Change map highlights three Transform districts.
The Waterfront: The waterfront represents the biggest opportunity for Lynn to pursue its community priorities through development. The area has seen several development initiatives in recent years, including the recently opened Breakwater North Harbor residential development which hosts 331 residential units, and a new publicly accessible harborwalk connecting the Lynn Heritage State Park. With more developments in the pipeline, it’s clear that the development community is ready to reimagine this area. Fortunately, planning work has already begun to explore how to enhance the open space network, create connections to the waterfront, encourage mixed-use development, and enhance the Lynnway as a multimodal corridor. However, the City will need to continue leading the future of the waterfront to ensure that we achieve transformation that is consistent with the community’s priorities in the next five – ten years.
Western Ave: The portion of Western Ave towards the Saugus town line is another transformation district. This area currently houses a variety of industrial uses, including GE on one side and a variety of autooriented businesses, scrap yards, and transportation businesses on the other. The goal is not to eliminate industrial uses, but there could be opportunities in the next ten years to rethink this area and utilize the large parcel lots to attract higher-paying industrial jobs. The MBTA is already considering new locations in Lynn for its garage, which could make this one of the first changes in this area. This district is particularly interesting for being so close to Western and Summer, a Neighborhood Hub and Enhance District that features a number of independent businesses that could support a larger employer base nearby.
Boston Street: The area along Boston Street between Washington Street and Chestnut Street is an autocentric retail hub with large parking lots, with a few light industrial buildings. This area is strategically located along a main corridor, brings together Lynners and other residents in the region for varied economic activities, and has the potential to transform in the next twenty years. While we don’t anticipate redevelopment happening in this area in the near term, if there was redevelopment interest we’d want to meet with community members to reimagine what this corridor could become to better support the neighborhood, or at least provide safer vehicular and pedestrian circulation and mitigate flooding.
Testing our vision: Transforming Gear Works
Future concept for the Gear Works site leverages the area’s transit-oriented development potential and envisions a great mix of uses including commercial, R&D and advanced manufacturing.
One of the few remaining large vacant sites in Lynn, the former G.E. Gear Works site is an ideal location to explore a large-scale, holistic transformation that could positively change the character of the place. The area’s strategic location surrounded by existing industrial uses, the waterfront, and access to transit provides an opportunity to add more manufacturing uses, create quality jobs, and encourage mixed-use, transitoriented development informed by neighborhood plans and desired public realm connections.
Proposed relocation of future public commuter rail stop
Large flexible development parcels to accomodate a mix of uses
Public access and connection to Lynn Waterfront District
Future continuous corridor connections to Lynn Waterfront.
Gear Works site concept
Existing Lynn Community Path/ Northern Strand Trail
Future public access and pathway connecting to Lynn Community Path/ Northern Strand Trail
Existing active MBTA railroad storage
Proposed relocation of future public commuter rail stop to better service surrounding neighborhoods and G.E. employees
Future storm water management strategies along the linear open space that leads to the estuary
Future truck access and circulation concentrated in the back of the development site, buffered from new residential development by linear green park.
Access to existing fuel depot maintained
Future buildings first floors elevated to account for sea level rise and reducing the risk of coastal flooding impacts.
Future corridor connections to Lynn Waterfront: As the primary access/ egress point to the site, intersection improvements at Lynnway/Harding Street and Lynnway/Hanson St will be required.
Access to existing substations maintained
Future public access and connection to Lynn Waterfront District and community path extension
Existing open green space along waterfront Future green space and park with public recreational access: Buffer zone and transition between site development and coastal bank, protecting existing salt marshes.
The Vision Lynn team developed a site strategy that proposes flexible parcel sizes to accommodate a range of development uses in the future. Creating a new street grid parallel to the Lynnway allows for simpler and efficient access and connection between the site and existing streets, Hanson Street and Harding Street, with potential for future continuous public realm connection to the waterfront.
In discussion with property and area stakeholders, consultants, and the MBTA, the Gear Works concept was further developed to propose the relocation of the existing (MBTA) River Works commuter rail station further north, closer to existing neighborhoods and planned Northern Strand trail expansion.
Proposed use breakdown
Total Built Area
A mix of 5 over 1 residential and office buildings to the east of the linear open space. The dimensions of these parcels are appropriate for either use, which gives the development a desired flexibility.
Ground floor activation facing the linear open space which may include: retail, maker spaces with accessory retail component, incubator spaces, residential amenity spaces, live-work spaces, and semi-active accessory uses
Parking garage to accommodate new parking needs generated by commercial and other uses
High-bay industrial ground floor with, R&D, and light manufacturing above located in southwest area facing existing G.E. industrial area and rail.
2,807,000 gsf approx.
Open Space
298,000 gsf approx.
Total Residential Units
888 units approx. (mix of studio,1 – 3 bedrooms)
Parking
2,000 spaces approx. (not including street parking)
Estimated # of Jobs created
4,600 approx.
(exluding jobs associated with residential and parking services)
Estimated Annual Tax Revenue
$5,666,498 approx.
Program Residential
Commercial/Retail
General Office
Lab/Life Science
Commercial/Industrial Flex Space
High-bay Industrial
Open Space (excluded from built area)
Parking
Learn more about the Gear Works concept including the planning and design process, site development considerations, stakeholder conversations, and mechanisms for implementation in the attached appendix on page 178.
Northwest area closest to the proposed commuter rail station location will have the highest density of office, residential and lab spaces to leverage the TOD potential
Enhance
In Enhance Districts, we should find opportunities to improve and elevate places without totally changing them. A mix of investments from the City, private and philanthropic sectors can help us realize the extent and kind of improvements we envision for a place. Enhance actions include:
• Building context-sensitive infill development1 on vacant or underutilized sites
• Street design improvements such as road diets2 to accommodate wider sidewalks, bike lanes, trees and parking spaces
• Public realm improvements like sidewalks, crosswalks, street lights and furniture
• Ground floor activation including storefront improvements and allowing multi-use spaces
• Green infrastructure such as enhanced tree wells and permeable surfaces
• Upgrade infrastructure where necessary
• Branding and wayfinding including clear signage and cultural planning
• Beautification and maintenance including trash clean up
• Tactical and temporary placemaking like public art, parklets, and outdoor dining areas
• Utilize an assets-based approach to ensure the protection of existing strengths or resources in the district.
Downtown: Lynn’s urban center is the flagship Enhance District. This neighborhood has already accommodated new development, and as new residents move in it becomes increasingly important to provide enhanced amenities, gathering spaces, public realm and cultural activities, while solving challenges like parking, street safety, and trash. Continuing to enhance Lynn’s downtown is not only important to residents, but also to the visitors who come to Lynn and support our independent businesses.
The Downtown is, for many outsiders, their introduction to Lynn when they come see a show at the Lynn Auditorium or an event at the Lynn Museum; a beautiful, interesting, functional urban center will bring visitors back again and help attract employers who realize their teams want to work in a vibrant place.
Market Square: Another major Enhance District is Market Square, which we explore on the following pages. A similar opportunity exists on Summer and Western, thanks to a terrific assortment of independent businesses at that Neighborhood Hub.
Other Enhance Districts include Wyoma Square, which could accommodate additional businesses and some multifamily housing, provided careful coordination with the new traffic volumes we may see from an expanded Pickering Middle School. In Ward 1 on Lynnfield Street, there is an opportunity where a few small businesses exist near the Urgent Care center to eventually accommodate a full Neighborhood Hub that could provide additional convenient amenities to neighbors.
Portions of Western Ave, Lewis Street, and Essex Street make additional Enhance Districts, providing opportunities in areas where businesses and multifamily have already grouped together to accommodate more growth and evolve into places with their own identities, without losing their intimate feel.
1 Infill development encourages the development of underused or vacant land in existing urban areas to increase density and place new development near existing resources and infrastructure.
2 Road diets refer to transportation planning techniques whereby the number of travel lanes and/or effective width of the road is reduced in order to achieve systemic improvements including balanced traffic and public realm accommodation.
Testing our vision: Enhancing Market Square
Future concept for Market Square envisions a vibrant and safe neighborhood hub that accommodates multiple users, incorporates good urban design, and supports local business activity and diverse housing options.
Market Square is an active neighborhood hub connecting a mix of uses including small local businesses, large retail (Market Basket), light industrial uses along Western Ave, and nearby residential along the Lynn Common. Market square also connects several important corridors in the city and acts as a gateway to Downtown and the Waterfront district via S Common Street and Commercial Street. The area’s existing urban bones and presence provides a great opportunity to further enhance street design and public realm for businesses, residents and visitors and promote future infill development that can continue to add value to the area.
Market Square Concept
Market Square is a high-traffic zone where multiple uses (businesses, residences, community recreation amenities) and users (drivers, pedestrians, and bikers) intersect. The Lynn Safe Streets Playbook, LSSP, identified this area as a high crash zone and many Lynners have expressed the need to rethink and improve parts of Market Square to increase safety and multi-modal circulation. The LSSP designated the stretch between Market Square and Commercial Street/Lynn Common as a long-term improvement project requiring significant planning and funding considerations. As a long-term visioning plan, Vision Lynn takes the opportunity to test what enhancing this area could like by proposing several improvement strategies including:
• Road diet to accommodate improved urban design conditions incuding wider sidewalks, and street trees for shade
• Continue planned Northern Strand bike lane connection and provide ample street parking for business needs
• Improving the Market Square, S Common and N Common Street intersection by creating a T intersection north of the common and coordinating with a signal south of the common
• Providing high-visibility crosswalks and clear lane markings for multi-modal uses
• Encourage a continuous and active street wall by setting design guidelines for future infill development inducing setback requirements and active ground floor requirements
Learn more about the Market Square concept including the planning and design process, street development considerations, stakeholder conversations, and mechanisms for implementation in the attached appendix on page 186.
New bike lane along Market Square connecting to Lynn Community Path
Bus stops around rotary (Western Ave) relocated to improve boarding/ deboarding experience and reduce congestion near roundabout.
Increase tree canopy along sidewalks as part of improving environmental conditions to mitigate the impacts of climate change
Optional additional new bike lane along quieter S. Common St. connecting to Lynn Community Path
Increased safety for pedestrians and bikers following recommendations from Lynn Safe Streets for People Playbook
Expanded sidewalk and public realm along retail frontages in Market Square
Proposed signalized T-intersection. Truncation of the Lynn Common would be compensated by new public realm.
Infill development with 4 – 6 story multifamily buildings with commercial spaces and public amenities on the ground floor.
Parking is concealed to the extent possible, accommodated through partially at-grade solutions like tuck-under spaces
Market Square concept (long-term)
Existing fabric: The existing urban fabric along Market Square and Western Ave consists of smaller-scale buildings (with the exception of the Market Basket) and larger surface parking lots or vacant space that create disconnections and gaps in the urban form and activity of the corridor. Encouraging and incentivizing new context-sensitive infill development along this area can help stitch together a more desirable and coherent urban fabric, and in turn support new housing and economic opportunities in the city.
The Vision Lynn Market Square concept envisions future infilll development that is contextual to existing scale and heights in the area, and takes into consideration the appropriate density the area can support with existing infrastructure and subject to market conditions. The Market Square concept on the next page shows a range of 3 to 5-story high buildings with ample parking and options for ground floor retail.
Above: Example of 3 over 1 residential building, Upper Washington Street Housing. A mixed-use development with 35 units of multifamily housing and 3,000 square feet of commercial and community space in the Four Corners neighborhood of Dorchester, Boston. Ground level retail and community-oriented space help create an active street edge to maintain “main street” qualities of the block. While the building’s design is contemporary, it also strives to respect the scale and character of the existing neighborhood fabric.
Context-sensitive infill development
Future infill projects in the Market Square area should be carefully planned for, taking into consideration existing development and infrastructure, community needs, and whats economically feasible. One way to do this is by setting clear guidelines for future development that aligns with community goals, including setting guidelines for the desired physical character and scale of development, and the uses they contain, as well as having policy tools in place that protect the needs of the community including maintaining affordabiility and preventing displacement. Good development in one place can set the standard for later developments that occur nearby.
Phase 1: New mixed-use infill development on key vacant or underutilized sites accomodating uses including multi-family housing options, active ground floor retail to bolster local businesses, and light industrial or non-retail commercial uses on larger vacant sites north of Western Ave.
Phase 2: Continue active street wall and mixed-use development along Western Ave and Market Square, anchoring the area as an important business node and commercial corridor, and gateway to Downtown Lynn and the Waterfront.
Maintain
Even if places are not transformed or enhanced, we should still continue to pay attention to these areas and make the necessary investments to maintain a high quality of life in these areas. Maintain areas are places where we support necessary maintenance of existing infrastructure, open space, streets and public realm, and continue to improve as we see fit through public and private support.
Maintain actions include:
• Support maintenance of existing public realm, open space and recreational areas
• Support maintenance of existing infrastructure and upgrade where necessary
• Improve connectivity to transit network
• Ensure that zoning incentivizes owners to improve and invest in their own properties
• Explore opportunities through Accessory Dwelling Units to accommodate some growth without destroying the neighborhood fabric.
Photo Credit: Alex Koppelman
Photo Credit: Alex Koppelman
Infrastructure & Implementation
Creating places that serve people
With our vision in place, and a clear sense of how development can make that vision a reality, we now turn to the infrastructure and implementation efforts that will move this plan forward. Strategic investment in infrastructure is necessary to attract private investment and the type of development needed to realize our shared vision. In the Land Use and Urban Form chapter, we articulated what problems new development can help us solve, but we need to be careful that we aren’t creating new problems as a result. To simply advocate for more housing and commercial development would be irresponsible without careful consideration of how our supportive infrastructure—from roads to sewers to municipal services—would have to evolve to accommodate desired growth that benefits the entire community.
In addition to infrastructure needs, this chapter will also start to outline policy and project priorities for implementation consistent with the plan’s development strategies articulated to carry out the vision. Implementation actions will focus on immediate next steps.
Infrastructure Needs & Considerations
Transportation and Mobility
Many Vision Lynn participants shared frustrations about mobility in Lynn already: trouble finding parking in downtown, worsening vehicular traffic (especially at school arrival and dismissal points), poor road conditions, a lack of facilities for bikers, and of course the fact that the commuter rail station is currently closed for reconstruction. These are all challenges that could be exacerbated by additional development,
Streets
Throughout Vision Lynn, Lynners talked a lot about their frustrations with streets. We heard complaints about roads that need to be paved, potholes, and intersections that were particularly dangerous or confusing. In addition, many of Lynn’s traffic signals are aging or could be better optimized to increase traffic
but could also be improved with careful planning and investment. This plan envisions a transportation network that is convenient and accessible for all modes of travel, and is safe for travelers of all ages and abilities. Implementation will support new growth articulated in this plan while improving mobility for all Lynners.
Top 200 intersection crash clusters (Statewide 2014 – 2016)
Bicycle crash clusters (2008 – 2017)
Pedestrian crash clusters (2008 – 2017)
flow. Providing a safe and inviting experience to travel around Lynn by bike, foot, or wheelchair is important for every Lynner. Lynn has room for improvement on many existing sidewalks, and improved crosswalks and new bike facilities would help make these modes of mobility more appealing to Lynners.
The Lynn Safe Streets for People Playbook
Source: MassDOT Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP)
Repaving streets is one of the most basic interventions. The City receives $1.5M in Chapter 91 funding from the state each year to repave its streets, and even with an additional $1.5M committed through ARPA dollars, this is a drop in the bucket compared to the approximately $53M in paving projects identified in our Pavement Management Plan. Identifying additional funding sources is essential to make more progress.
The Lynn Safe Streets for People Playbook is a helpful introduction to different solutions to dangerous intersections and streets. The playbook explains interventions like daylighting intersections to improve visibility and using curb extensions to provide safer pedestrian experiences.
Although the Lynn Safe Streets for People Playbook focuses on priority projects, typically along major thoroughfares, we hear from residents all the time about dangerous “cut through” traffic on side streets. Finding low-cost interventions for these streets to discourage drivers from buzzing through will help improve safety. This may include planting more trees, painting murals on the pavement, or using flex posts to narrow the road visually, which tends to reduce traffic speeds.
A big opportunity for Lynn will be the reimagining of the Lynnway, transforming it from a purely autooriented roadway that resembles a highway more than a parkway to a multi-modal corridor that is safe and welcoming to all users. Reconstruction should include improved transit service consistent with the MBTA’s Bus Network Redesign while providing inviting spaces for pedestrians and bicyclists.
The City is currently advancing design and engineering of several other roadway reconstruction projects through the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP). The TIP is a five-year capital plan developed by the Boston Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO), and is the vehicle by which Federal and State Highway funding is programmed for roadway and transit improvements across the country.
The following projects are currently confirmed in the TIP:
• Broadway at Euclid Ave. and Jenness Street: This $5.5M project will start construction in 2023.
• Essex Street: This $18M project will run from Rockaway Street to Eastern Avenue and begin construction in 2024.
• Western Avenue (Phase I): This $48M project will run from Center Street to Eastern Avenue and begin construction in 2027.
Each of these projects will include reconstruction of the roadway to Complete Street standards and will include targeted safety improvements, upgrades traffic signal equipment, new sidewalks, ADA-compliant crosswalks, bicycle facilities, and improved transit amenities. The projects will create a safer roadway environment for all users, improve access to transit and non-motorized modes of travel, and improve traffic operations reducing traffic congestion.
The City is preparing project information and documentation for the Western Avenue (Phase II) project, from Center Street to Saugus, to be considered for the TIP. This would include Market Square.
With so many major reconstruction projects in the pipeline, the City will need to be thinking proactively about how to minimize the headaches of construction. Good communication will be key, as well as careful coordination among the different projects to minimize multiple simultaneous closures. In addition, the City should be working actively with utilities and Lynn Water and Sewer Commission to ensure that, if a road is open, we are making repairs and improvements to subsurface infrastructure; we should be avoiding opening up a street once it has been repaved.
Parking
The parking situation in downtown Lynn will become a bigger issue once the MBTA moves forward with their planned deconstruction of their parking garage. The City historically required no parking in developments in the Central Business District, which is widely considered a best practice for encouraging developments and keeping rents and purchase prices low in new developments, but this means that most moving into these new developments with a car will need to find their own accommodations. Furthermore, without clear, visible parking opportunities, visitors may be turned off from spending time in the downtown.
Fortunately, there are clear next steps. First, a parking study for the downtown will help us identify necessary improvements to parking policies to better manage parking needs and, possibly, identify areas where building structured parking might have the biggest impact. Second, the city can explore whether
redevelopment of one of its owned surface lots could provide additional parking, either as a purposebuilt structured parking lot or as a portion of a larger development. Finally, the City can explore zoning changes that rely on new development to invest in and support the creation of additional parking capacity downtown.
Policies and investment in the creation of additional parking supply downtown should adhere to urban design principles that ensure active, vibrant, and human scale streets and public spaces. Parking policies should consider market dynamics so that they continue to support future housing and commercial development in our downtown.
Households Car Ownership
Cars
Cars
Cars Owned Per Household Over Time
Cars Owned Per Household Over Time
Cars Owned Per Household Over Time
Cars
Per Household Over
Per Household Over
Cars Owned Per Household Over Time
Per Household Over
Cars Owned Per Household Over
Increasing
Increasing
Cars Owned Per Household Over Time
Increasing car ownership over time.
Source:
Traffic
No place worth being will be free of traffic, but Lynn definitely seems to be experiencing challenging congestion. Traffic is a quality of life issue, a contributor of air pollution, and a safety concern in that frustrated motorists might make risky decisions or careen down side streets in attempts to beat the traffic. Traffic can also stymie economic development if it chases away tourists and visitors or if trucks to our major employers have difficulties making their routes.
There is never a silver bullet to traffic, but a few principles can help organize next steps. For one, we should be doing everything we can to encourage Lynners to get around without a car. Of course, many people need a vehicle to get to work or run errands, but every trip taken by bus, train, ferry, bike, foot, or wheelchair is another car off the road. To do this, we need to make sure that these alternatives are safe, comfortable, convenient, predictable, easy, and reliable. We know that not every Lynner will use a bike lane or be able to take the bus everywhere, but the investments in multimodal transportation make life easier for everyone, including dedicated car drivers.
The Lynn Transit Action Plan (LTAP), created in partnership with the MBTA, lays out a set of actions for the City, MassDOT, and MBTA for improving transit service in Lynn. Our Safe Streets for People Playbook helps us identify a network to build out that will help pedestrians and bikers get around the city more easily, often using quieter neighborhood streets to get them away from busy vehicular arteries.
Traffic signals can also make a big difference in vehicular congestion. The City has commissioned a comprehensive inventory and conditions analysis of all existing traffic signals. The inventory demonstrates a deep need to update and modernize traffic signals throughout the City. By investing in these upgrades the roadway network can become safer to use and operate more efficiently, oftentimes relieving traffic congestion. The City recently started to utilize funds received from
adult-use Cannabis retailers consistent with their host agreements, to implement low-cost improvements informed by the Signal Inventory. The City should continue to invest in signals, while identifying additional local, state and federal funding to accelerate investment in this critical piece of infrastructure.
On a related note, taking extra care to plan for school arrivals and dismissals will also have a big impact on traffic. The state has a Safe Routes to School program that offers technical assistance, educational programming, and grant funding to help encourage students to get to school safely, preferably on foot, bike, or bus. Much of the congestion in Lynn seems to be around pick up and drop off times at our many schools, and taking extra care to ensure that students can get to school safely without relying on being driven will make a noticeable impact on traffic congestion and safety. As we work to improve our routes to school, we should include student commuters in the conversation; students navigating the built environment when arriving and departing school offers different physical and cognitive challenges than for adults. Educating our student commuters of all abilities and ages on how to be a safe walker and biker bolsters school attendance, physical activity, and social interaction while decreasing family traffic.
Link activity nodes to maximize accessibility and convenience, Page 90
Our development principle that directs growth to places that are well-connected by transit will also help mitigate vehicular traffic moving forward. The data already shows this. In 2023, there were 63,838 total cars in the city, over one and a half cars per household. However, if we just look at owned cars that are registered to downtown renovations or new development (Exchange Street Lofts, The Vault, The Masonic Hall, The Caldwell, the Daily Item building, and Mosaic), we find that there is only one car for every three housing units in these buildings. Residents in these buildings are more able to live a car-free lifestyle in Lynn, likely because of the many transit options available to them.
Transit
Public transit plays a fundamental role in mobility for Lynners. Offering safe, reliable, and convenient service by commuter rail, bus, and ferry is crucial for providing many Lynners access to educational and economic opportunities.
Commuter Rail
The MBTA is investing millions of dollars in Lynn to provide a completely reconstructed commuter rail station in Central Square. This rehabilitation will fix safety concerns and provide a more comfortable experience for train riders. However, in the meantime, the station’s closure will be a challenge for Lynn. The MBTA has expressed an intention to provide a temporary station for the duration of the construction to improve accessibility for riders who would otherwise have to shuttle to and from Swampscott. Reconstruction of the Central Square station presents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to create an inviting, convenient, and accessible transit station supportive of the transit-oriented development envisioned for the downtown. The City will continue to collaborate with the MBTA to ensure the station is built to this standard as envisioned by the City and the Commonwealth.
Due to years of neglect, the MBTA garage located downtown is no longer structurally sound and is functionally obsolete. The MBTA is currently working on a plan to deconstruct the garage, with an estimated completion by 2025. Deconstruction of the garage will create significant inconvenience to commuters and other garage users in the short-term. However, in the long run, there is an opportunity to transform this property in a way that improves connections across the viaduct and results in development consistent with the objectives of this plan. The City would like to work with the MBTA to consider reconstruction of the Central Square station, redevelopment of the garage, and revitalization of the viaduct spaces as a single, transformational project that can provide transit infrastructure, parking, economic development, housing, and cultural assets in one effort.
Beyond this immediate reconstruction project, there are other initiatives that would greatly benefit train service in Lynn. First, as discussed in the Gearworks concept study (see page 178), the City would like to see the Riverworks flag stop, currently only available to GE employees, become a full train station in conjunction with the redevelopment of the vacant Gearworks parcel.
Second, the City would greatly benefit from implementation of the regional rail strategy as described in the Lynn Transit Action Plan and the MBTA’s Regional Rail Study. Regional rail is the concept of a Commuter Rail network that is modern and faster, bringing more frequent and reliable service to the entire network. You can imagine having subway-like service along the Commuter Rail line. This improvement would require investments throughout the network, including electrification, building highlevel platforms, installing double tracks at bottlenecks, removing unnecessary speed restrictions, and restructuring fares. The results, however, would be modern, high-quality train service throughout the region. As an added bonus, electrification would make it more likely to turn Riverworks into a full train station since the train would not take as long to slow down or speed up between stations.
Bus
Approximately 7,000 riders board MBTA buses on an average weekday in Lynn, relying on the service to get to work, errands, and social visits (Lynn Transit Action Plan Report, 2020). The bus can sometimes feel like a transit mode of last resort, however, because of its relative infrequency and unreliability. The MBTA is undergoing a bus network redesign which will provide more frequent service in high-priority corridors and pursuing long-term investments that aim to make using the bus more quick and user-friendly.
However, there is plenty of work to be done on the municipal side too. The City needs to work with the MBTA to advocate for additional bus shelters to be
installed in Lynn. These shelters can provide a more comfortable experience for bus riders, and newer designs also can include information about arrival times. Furthermore, the City needs to find opportunities to help buses get through the community more quickly. Bus lanes and transit signal prioritization (when traffic lights know to let buses through before turning red) can make taking the bus faster, which helps make the case for more frequent service.
Ferry
The City’s two-year ferry pilot was an enormous success, running three round trips from Lynn to Central Wharf in Boston each weekday from May to September. Commuters could use an MBTA Zone 2 pass or pay a $14 round trip fee. Nearly 30,000 riders utilized the service in the two-year pilot phase. With construction occurring on the Sumner Tunnel and the Lynn Commuter Rail Station, now is the time to bring the commuter ferry back. This half-hour trip to Boston would be a terrific resource for commuters in Lynn and beyond, and help reduce vehicular traffic along major routes.
Within Lynn, the highest intensity of tripmaking occurs between the following neighborhoods (Figure 2-15): the Route 107 Corridor and East Lynn, West Lynn and Lynnway and East Lynn, and Central Lynn and West Lynn and Lynnway. Trip “Intensity” is defined as the number of trips per square mile per hour. A higher trip intensity will support more frequent transit service. LTAP 2020
Lynn Transit Action Plan | FINAL REPORT
2-1 Competitive Transit
Essentials of Competitive Transit
Make transit go where people need to go.
Make service run when people need to travel.
Make travel times reasonable.
Make travel times consistent from day to day.
Make service affordable to all users.
Figure
Lynn Transit Action Plan Report, 2020
Water, Sewer and Stormwater Infrastructure
Lynn’s water is a major asset, boasting award-wining quality. The Lynn Water and Sewer Commission (LWSC) manages the drinking water and wastewater throughout the city, utilizing its vast reservoir system to provide up to 15 million gallons per day through over 180 miles of distribution piping to residents and businesses throughout the City of Lynn.
Lynn’s extensive reservoir system starts nearly 10 miles away in the town of North Reading, through a network of four reservoirs spanning the distance between. The water treatment plant on Parkland Avenue features a multi-stage direct filtration process with free chlorine disinfection, making it an appealing source for industries like Bent Water Brewing. Over the next 3 years, LWSC plans to put nearly $9 million into the water distribution system to ensure it can continue to provide the same award-winning water to the City. The LWSC has reviewed Vision Lynn and believes that the water system can generally accommodate the scale of development being proposed, with the expectation that current planned water infrastructure improvements move forward.
The LWSC also owns and operates (through a 20year O&M contract with Veolia Water NA) a 25 MGD Wastewater Treatment Facility on Circle Avenue, just off the Lynnway. This plant treats wastewater from not only Lynn, but the surrounding communities of Saugus, Swampscott, and Nahant. The plant can treat up to 110 million gallons a day of wastewater during high flow conditions. Currently, the LWSC is investing $70 million dollars into upgrades to the 40 year old plant, including 11 remote pump stations throughout the City.
Currently, the LWSC is in the midst of a 15-year-long, $200M effort to separate Lynn’s stormwater system from its sewage drainage line. This is important because, during wet weather events, the Combined Sewage Overflow (CSO) system Lynn has had will
flood and deposit waste water along with stormwater, which can cause environmental issues. This work is mandated by the Department of Justice’s consent decree under the Clean Water Act. The current work involves installing separate pipes for sewage and stormwater and building a 100-million-gallon storm water pump station at McManus Field to pump the water through the new pipes and out into the ocean, but eventually the work will pivot to similar projects in East Lynn.
Another major project is Lynn’s ongoing partnership with Swampscott to clean up contamination and water quality issues on King’s Beach. King’s Beach is situated within the City of Lynn, an environmental justice community, and the Town of Swampscott. Previously, a regional task force–the King’s Beach Steering Committee–evaluated six alternative approaches to alleviating the water quality issues and improving environmental outcomes at King’s Beach and ultimately determined that UV Light Disinfection would be selected for immediate implementation due to being the most cost-effective and time-efficient method of reducing the public health risks associated with constant bacterial discharges at King’s Beach. Work has begun in identifying funding sources for the $25,000,000 it will cost to implement the UV Light Disinfection system, which includes the construction of a 1,550-square-foot building, the installation of a screening and hydrodynamic separator, and the purchase and installation of other equipment required for water quality treatment and improvement. In the meantime, LWSC is in the midst of conducting detailed camera investigations through the drainage piping network in the King’s Beach Sewershed area.
Flooding was another major concern for Lynners that we heard in our survey. The new improvements to the stormwater management system will make a difference, but more work is needed – especially since an anticipated increase in severe rain events will likely exacerbate any existing issues. In particular, a study of flooding in downtown would help identify interventions that could better manage flooding in that area. The City has sought and received significant funding support through the Massachusetts Municipal Vulnerability
Program (MVP) to better understand hydrology of the Strawberry Brook Watershed, and created an action plan to implement green infrastructure, and other nature based solutions to mitigate inland flooding (see page 126). The Boston Street Bioswale pilot project combined the use of a landscape bioswale and underground stormwater storage based on the Strawberry Brook plan. The Barry Park Green Infrastructure project will build on that work by constructing a pervious parking lot, with underground storage, rain gardens, and bioswales to mitigate flooding, improve stormwater quality, air quality, and create habitat.
In addition to mitigating flooding, the City should also be looking for policies and programs that can help conserve water. Some of this relates to managing city property, like implementing a water-loss management program, installing high-efficiency toilets and faucet aerators in municipal buildings and utilizing waterefficient landscape practices for city-owned land. In addition, the City can support universal metering initiatives, ensure fire hydrants are tamper proof, and support water efficiency incentive programs to residents and businesses.
Green Infrastructure
Green Infrastructure (GI) is a set of tools and practices that mimic natural methods of storing, infiltration and/ or filtering stormwater. As more development occurs across the City of Lynn, integration of these practices into new and redeveloped areas will help mitigate flooding, contribute to adaptation to increased rainfall, and where plants are present, will increase the filtration of urban stormwater before returning it back to groundwater reservoirs.
Enhanced Tree Wells: filters water through a tree pit with well-drained, amended planting soil. Can be connected to an overflow.
Vegetated Filters: turf or planted surfaces used to slow runoff and trap sediments between paved area and GI.
Bioswale: moves and filters water through a linear soft or hard-edged channel with amended soils. In streetscapes, streetscapes employ underdrains.
Pavement Reduction: restores and infiltrates water through the reduction of impervious cover to a permeable surface.
Permeable Surfaces: opens voids in the surface paving and subbase allow water to drain through the paving material while still providing a rigid surface.
Underground Chambers: stores and infiltrates stormwater volumes underground while maximizing useable surface space.
Raingarden: Shallow depressions that temporarily hold and filter water through existing or amended soils.
Infiltration Basin: landscape space that stores and infiltrates large or small volumes of water but remains dry most of the time.
Bioretention Basin: Holds and filters water through a side slope or hard-edged depression with amended soils, pipes, and structures.
Environment and Climate Resilience
Many environmental conditions affect the Lynn community today, from historic contamination of industrial properties to air pollution from traffic to unsafe water conditions at King’s Beach to managing the tension between development and protection of natural resources. Environmental issues are expected to evolve as climate change contributes to extreme weather events, changing seasonal patterns, and sea level rise that threaten many communities in Lynn.
Brownfields
Brownfields are properties whose use is complicated by the presence or perceived presence of contamination. The City has been working hard on Whyte’s Laundromat on Willow Street, a contaminated parcel in the heart of downtown whose pollution has affected the development prospects of other downtown
Whyte’s Laundromat
The Whyte’s Laundromat site at 83 Willow Street in downtown Lynn has been a vacant and contaminated property, or brownfield, for decades. The site of a laundry facility from the 1930s to the 1990s, the property is contaminated and the pollutants have seeped vertically into the soil and groundwater, affecting nearby properties.
In the map to the right, the blue line roughly indicates the known contamination plume.
The Economic Development and Industrial Corporation of Lynn (EDIC/ Lynn) has already leveraged nearly $1M from MassDevelopment and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to research the amount of pollution on the site and begin cleanup; a future grant award will enable cleanup to continue.
parcels. Using funding from MassDevelopment, the City is working with an environmental consultant to continue cleanup at the site. In 2022, the Planning Department and EDIC/Lynn applied for grant funds from the U.S. EPA to further cleanup on this site, as well as funds to assess other properties in Lynn for environmental issues. We hope this funding will help us continue to tackle problematic contaminated sites throughout the city and help them transition into properties that support Lynn’s vision.
Heat Island Effect
The City needs to be proactive about mitigating heat island effect as average temperatures rise. This includes many of the initiatives that have been mentioned in this section, including increasing our tree canopy in urban areas and implementing green infrastructure projects. However, we can be exploring other strategies like green roofs, additional splash pads, increased landscaping, and the creation of new green spaces to help keep our built areas cool during heat waves.
Trees
As the city looks to retrofit parts of the urban core and develop new areas, planning to provide for a healthy tree canopy will improve the quality of life for the residents using and living in these spaces over time. A healthy urban canopy can contribute to many of the City of Lynn’s goals, including the creation of inviting pedestrian space for residents, stormwater pollutant filtration, and the reduction of heat island effect to name a few. Some key considerations for a healthy urban canopy include:
New Trees:
Continuous Tree Wells: Consider planting trees in continuously connected tree wells either with structural soil or tree grates to safeguard the soil from compaction. The expanded soil volumes from extended wells will help encourage healthy root growth and will contribute to higher rates of urban tree resiliency.
Permeable Pavement at Tree Wells: As described in the Green Infrastructure section, permeable pavement can help address stormwater challenges, but when used in conjunction with tree plantings in streetscapes, permeable pavement also helps expand the amount of rainfall available to tree roots and expands the resiliency of urban trees.
Silva Cells or Structural Soils: Compaction of Soil is one of the biggest challenges for urban trees. Consider advocation for structural soils or silva cells as new developments and tree wells are planned.
Right Tree, Right Place: Consider consulting an arborist to choose the correct species of urban tree for the challenges of each specific location with consideration for availability of sunshine, water, salt exposure, overhead wires and/or soil volumes and drought tolerance.
New Tree Support: Newly planted trees require special care and attention, and it is recommended to use a combination of contractor planting and watering guarantees (two year minimum) as well as harnessing the resources of the community by encouraging neighbors to help monitor, water, and support the newly planted trees.
Existing Trees:
Tree Protection Measures: As development occurs, special attention will need to be paid to the protection of the City’s existing trees. Proper tree protections include maintaining proper tree protection fencing during construction, as well as monitoring by arborists or landscape specialists for the duration of the construction period.
City Tree Survey: The City could conduct a cityowned tree survey. Tree health monitoring will help the city respond to tree health challenges and patterns over time.
Tree Maintenance: Regular pruning and early action tree training programs are very successful in expanding tree life cycles and minimizing the effects of storm damage as the tree matures.
“It’s upsetting that there are so many days in the peak of summer where families from Lynn can’t swim at King’s Beach due to the outflow of wastewater into the ocean”
— Vision Lynn Kick-Off survey response, What are your concerns about Lynn?
Pollinators
The native pollinators who play a significant role in our ecology and food system have been suffering habitat loss, increase in non-native plants, pesticides, pollutants, and climate change. The city should be exploring how to support native pollinators through the plants that it selects for landscaped areas and its policies around managing existing open space.
Hazard Mitigation Plan
The City has updated its Hazard Mitigation Plan (HMP) to help reduce its vulnerability to natural hazards such as flooding, hurricanes, drought, and winter storms. The plan was approved by the City Council and FEMA early late 2022 and identifies infrastructure, neighborhoods, and members of our community most vulnerable to natural hazards and provides a prioritized list of actions the City can take to reduce the dangers to life and property from natural hazards. By completing the plan the City is eligible to seek funding through FEMA to better prepare and respond to natural disasters.
Saugus River Plan
Lynn is partnering with the five communities adjacent to the Saugus River (Lynn, Revere, Saugus, Everet, and Malden) and Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR), MassDOT, and MBTA to develop a coastal resiliency study of the Saugus River Watershed. The plan will study regional impacts on public infrastructure, and natural resources from sea level rise caused by Climate Change. The plan will identify adaptation strategies and funding sources to reduce the risk of coastal flooding.
Strawberry Brook
The City successfully completed the Community Resilience Building Workshop through the Massachusetts Municipal Vulnerability Program (MVP). The workshop identified the Strawberry Brook Watershed as a critical area vulnerable to frequent in-land flooding during rain events. Utilizing funding through the MVP program, the City created the Strawberry Brook Resilient Stormwater Management and Implementation Plan to reduce flooding and heat island effects, which are expected to worsen given the effects of Climate Change. The plan set out to determine the climate factors that impact Lynn today and into the future, identify opportunities for nature based solutions and green infrastructure within the watershed, and provide a prioritized list of evaluated and implementable projects.
The City has piloted green infrastructure projects on Boston Street, and in Barry Park consistent with recommendations of the Strawberry Brook plan. A Barry Park Stormwater Master Plan has also been developed to identify approaches to introduce green infrastructure to mitigate flooding in Barry Park and GEAA field. The City is currently developing a more detailed plan and scope for improvements to GEAA Field.
Photo Credit: Alex Koppelman
Education
Lynn’s school system was a major factor in our engagement, with participants expressing concerns about the state of our school buildings and the need to continue hiring and retaining high-quality teachers and staff. The 17,000 students in Lynn’s public school system are both an asset and a responsibility for the city. For comparison, the City of Lynn is oneseventh the population of Boston but has one-third the number of students enrolled in the public school system.
Naturally, as we discussed the prospect of additional housing development in Lynn, we heard many Lynners worry that new units may overcrowd the schools. This is of particular importance since Lynn has seen a 21% increase in school enrollment from 2008 – 2018, making Lynn one of the fastest-growing districts in the Greater Boston Region.
While updating school facilities and ensuring appropriate accommodations for all students must be a priority, the connection between school enrollment and housing construction is not as straightforward as it seems. In the Housing Lynn plan, the project team conducted an analysis on enrollment changes over the past ten years and the relative impact of recent and expected housing construction. “Enrollment is not a simple function of housing unit change,” the plan concludes. The three factors that did contribute to the district’s enrollment increases since 2008 were an increase in resident births; an increase in the number of babies born in Lynn attending public kindergarten; and a higher share of children continuing through school from one grade to the next rather than going to a non-public school or moving out of the city. Although student enrollment is not expected to continue rising, regardless of new construction, our school system still requires considerable investment.
The Planning Department has worked with Lynn Public School to analyze student enrollment across a variety of housing types. This analysis has been conducted to better understand the potential impact on school enrollment at Lynn Public Schools caused by new residential development. The Planning Department identified four different housing typologies and collected data from the School Department reporting the number of students enrolled at public schools by housing type. The four different housing types include large multifamily housing projects located downtown near the commuter rail station, large multifamily residential projects that are beyond walking distance to the rail station, small multi-family properties (generally buildings with four or less housing units), and singlefamily homes.
The study found that on average there are two students enrolled in Lynn Public Schools for every 100 units of housing for large multifamily properties located downtown. Large multifamily projects located outside of downtown experience relatively low rates of enrollment at Lynn Public Schools with on average 10 students enrolled for every 100 units. Smaller multifamily and single-family housing do have higher rates of enrollment; however, this analysis demonstrates that higher rates of school enrollment is not directly linked to housing production. In fact, new multifamily and mixed-use development with housing and resulting growth to the tax base can help address the City’s educational needs by providing additional financial resources to the City.
Pickering Middle School
The City is currently working through the Pickering Middle School Building Committee and the Massachusetts School Building Authority to build a new Pickering Middle School, which would accommodate increased enrollment as part of a redistricting of all three middle schools.
Elementary school master plan
In addition to the Pickering project, the city is also undertaking a holistic assessment of its elementary school buildings to help determine a path forward for ensuring that all elementary schools are able to accommodate Lynn’s student population and provide high-quality, modern educational facilities. This plan is an important tool to help the City advocate for increased financial support from the state for new school construction, which will be essential to move forward with improvements. For older students, the 8th grade academy at Lynn Tech and the Frederick Douglass Collegiate Academy at North Shore Community College are two examples of innovative approaches that provide educational opportunities to students while also mitigating constrained space in existing school buildings.
Early childhood education
The City is working towards providing expanded prekindergarten initiatives and, eventually, universal pre-kindergarten. One initiative is the Commonwealth Preschool Partnership Initiative (CPPI), which aims to expand high-quality pre-kindergarten or preschool opportunities in partnership with community organizations. In addition, the City and Public Schools are exploring how to create new early childhood education centers, which could free up space in the elementary schools and increase capacity for these services throughout the district. In addition to providing improved convenience and support for families, these programs can dramatically improve success for students entering kindergarten by ensuring they are receiving the educational services they need from a younger age. This approach will require finding space to house the programs, as well as substantial investment from the state or federal government.
Setting high schoolers up for success
The Lynn Public Schools is also working on a variety of initiatives to help prepare high schoolers for success in the job market. These include providing career technical certifications, internships and other experiential learning opportunities, and improving access to college. The Planning Department is working collaboratively to better understand the impact new residential development may have on enrollment at Lynn Public Schools. Preliminary analysis shows very low enrollment for households living in multifamily properties located downtown and within close walking distance to the Central Square Commuter. On average there are two students for every 100 housing units in these housing types. Similarly large multi-family projects, generally projects with more than 20 units, located outside of downtown and not within walking distance to the commuter rail on average have ten students enrolled at Lynn Public Schools for every 100 housing units. There is more analysis to be completed, however this demonstrates that new multi-family residential projects that we have seen developed in Lynn recently has limited impact on enrollment at the schools.
Safe Routes to School
As discussed on page 119, Safe Routes to School is a program that can provide a safer commuting experience for students while also improving vehicular congestion in the city during arrival and dismissal times. The Safe Routes program can, upon request:
• Create student routes maps/school. From these Walking School Buses, Bike Trains, and Park and Roll programs can be developed.
• Offer suggestions of short-term solutions for improving the separation of modes, front door use, regulatory versus information signage, and general family/student/commuter behavior through conducting Arrival Dismissal Observation and circulation planning (new sites and existing schools).
• Offer suggestions for improving the built infrastructure found on a student’s journey from home to school with a Walk Audit.
• Develop an inter-departmental Safe Routes strategic plan that includes individual schools, the school district, and the municipality.
Governance and Municipal Services
Another aspect of “infrastructure,” broadly defined, that must be carefully calibrated with new development is that of our municipal services. In our kickoff survey, we heard plenty of respondents talk about the need for improvements in governance and staffing, and as our engagement continued through the Vision Lynn process we heard many emphasize the need to make sure our police and fire services are equipped to serve a growing city.
Since the kickoff survey was launched, the City has hired more multilingual workers, established language access services in City Hall, and provided equity training for all employees. A number of other initiatives are already underway to support improved governance and municipal services. These include the unarmed crisis response team–a complementary alternative to policing–an ADA Self-Assessment to understand how we can better meet the needs of residents with disabilities, and a new website that will make information more accessible to the community. The new website will also include a 311-style issue reporting platform that can help the City respond to constituent requests and concerns more efficiently.
Many residents also specifically called out the importance of meeting our public safety needs. While our police and fire departments have reached targeted staffing levels, proactive work is needed to recruit new
Although it may seem like new development would require new fire facilities and apparatus, new construction tends to have improved fire suppression systems, emergency communication capabilities, and fireproof building materials. This means that utilizing data about actual fires, rather than making assumptions based on building density, is important to minimize response times.
police officers and firefighters as our existing workforce plans for retirement. In addition, there is a nationwide shortage of emergency medical service workers like first responders, emergency medical technicians (EMT), and paramedics. This workforce gap can lead to longer response times for ambulances locally. Promoting civil service exams as a career path for local residents is one strategy to help fill the need. Another strategy that the Fire Department is considering is a community EMS program, which could provide preventative support and social interaction to frequent 911 callers.
In addition, the City must also continue planning for facility and equipment needs. By utilizing the City’s capital planning process, we can work to ensure that our fire and police departments have the facilities, vehicles, and equipment they need to do their jobs effectively. Improved data systems can also help monitor progress over time. The Police Department recently hired a crime analyst, and the Fire Department is procuring an all-new data system that can help assess where calls are coming from.
Hiring is also a challenge for the Department of Public Works, as well. State changes to the Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) process have made it increasingly difficult to earn. This is a major barrier for ensuring that DPW has the staff it needs for important tasks like park maintenance, trash cleanup, tree maintenance, snow removal, and day-to-day operations.
Photo Credit: Utile
Parks and Recreational Amenities
The City has a number of current park initiatives underway:
ARPA-funded park improvements
In the Mayor’s survey about how to spend federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) dollars, parks and recreation was the second-highest ranking focus area, prioritized by 62% of respondents.As a result, the City has allocated $16M towards park improvements throughout the City. ARPA dollars must be obligated by the end of calendar year 2024, which means the City must work quickly to use these funds. Based on feedback we heard from the community, the City identified six parks to utilize these funds: Breed Park, Gallagher Park, Keaney Park, Kiley Park, Lynn Woods, and McManus Park. The plan is to improve and replace the facilities on each of these parks.
Parks conditions assessment
In addition to these six short-term projects, the City is also conducting a comprehensive conditions assessment on over a dozen other parks, which will help identify additional improvements needed.
Open Space Waterfront Plan
The City completed the Waterfront Open Space Master Plan in 2019 in tandem with the Waterfront Master Plan update creating a vision for the revitalization and redevelopment of Lynn’s waterfront. The strategy envisioned a diverse land use and development strategy for the waterfront centered around a signature waterfront open space and interconnected network of open space, paths, and a waterfront promenade providing access along the entirety of the City’s waterfront. The City adopted and the Secretary of the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs approved the Lynn Municipal Harbor Plan in 2020 creating enhanced Chapter 91 Waterways regulations for non-waterdepent uses
consistent with the Waterfront Open Space Plan. These regulations will ensure improved public access and enhanced public open spaces on Lynn’s waterfront. The City should work with property owners, MassDEP Waterways division, DCR, and other stakeholders to ensure the open space requirements of the MHP are implemented as the waterfront is redeveloped. Where needed the City should seek to address gaps on the open space network recommended by the waterfront plans.
Harbor Park
The City of Lynn is working in partnership with the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EOEEA), MassDevelopment, and Charter Environmental to reimagine a 30-plus acres of land on the Lynn waterfront as a public park. The concept of the Lynn Harbor Park emerged in 2019 during the Open Space Master Plan process for the waterfront, and the realization of this idea is now underway. The park is sited on old industrial land and a former municipal landfill. While reclaiming these underused, industrial lands for park use is a complex process, the result will be a one-of-a-kind destination park. The first phase of the project is underway and is expected to be completed by 2025. The City should continue to work with EOEEA, DCR, and MassDEP to complete phase II of the park project, which includes shoreline restoration and creation of the waterfront promenade envisioned in the waterfront open space plan.
View of the shoreline looking back at the landfill
View of Boston from top of existing landfill.
Parks and Recreational Amenities (Cont.)
Open Space and Recreation Plan
The City’s Planning Department has received a grant to update the City’s Open Space and Recreation Plan in 2023. Having a current plan makes the City eligible for certain grants toward park and recreation improvements. The updated plan will be an opportunity for residents to weigh in on what recreational amenities they would like throughout the city and make suggestions for how open space can better meet community needs.
HARBOR LANDFILL PARK
• A large-scale public park with tree planting, lawns for passive recreation, walking and exercise trails, and sports fields if feasible.
Work continues on the reconstruction of Lynn Heritage State Park to update and improve open space amenities and the HarborWalk located at the park. The off-road portion of the Northern Strand was recently completed by the MA Executive office of Energy and Environmental Affairs. The design of the on-road portion of the Northern Strand is nearly complete, and is expected to begin construction by 2024. This 2-mile extension of the path will provide a physically separated bike path and shared Use path through downtown and to Nahant Beach.
• A reshaped landfill with additional fill material will create large mounds 80' higher than the promenade, with excellent harbor views.
• Connections to adjacent developments, City streets, and transportation routes.
• Space for large events, concerts, or attractions for a regional audience.
• A public space at either end of the park (Harbor Park West and Harbor Park East), accessed using public streets.
• Harbor Park West will have uses such as vehicle and bicycle parking, restrooms, concession stand, large-scale playground and splash pad, and public gathering spaces and overlooks.
As all of these park improvements move forward, the question of maintenance becomes even more important. Currently, DPW is able to cut grass and empty trash barrels at our existing facilities. Cleaning up graffiti, picking up trash, and conducting any further maintenance is done as much as possible, but often the City relies on volunteers to assist. Finding the staff and funding to expand and improve our maintenance capabilities will be important to maximize the life of these major investments.
• Harbor Park East should provide a more urban edge and include vehicle and bicycle parking, sport courts, a dog park, a flexibly designed plaza, space for markets, performances, events, and nighttime uses, as well as cafés and restaurants at the edges.
• A 20’-30’ wide promenade with feature lighting and benches should run through the park and the public plazas at either end.
• The park should be designed to handle storm surges and flooding. Bio swales and bio basins should be used to quickly drain paths and surfaces as well as provide natural habitat, but will be on the surface and will not puncture the landfill cap.
• The sea edge will be repaired or replaced and raised, as required. Living shorelines or hybrid methods of sea wall design should be considered if appropriate.
Landfill Park Illustration, Lynn Waterfront Open Space Plan 2019, Brown Richardson and Rowe
Digital Access
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, more people are recognizing the importance of digital access as an aspect of infrastructure that is essential for connecting to educational, economic, and social opportunities. This is particularly important in Lynn, since nearly 1 in 3 Lynn households don’t have regular access to broadband internet at home. In terms of hardware, 13% of Lynn households have no computing device at all, and 11% have only a smartphone, limiting its use for work.
The City has already been chipping away at the digital access gap, thanks to the efforts of many community and regional partners. For example, the Essex County Community Foundation (ECCF) and the Massachusetts Broadband Institute (MBI) upgraded the Lynn Public Library Internet speeds, ECCF paid for Chromebooks for the Lynn Senior Center, and the Lynn Public
Schools now provides a device for every student and teacher. Numerous organizations, including the North Shore Latino Business Association, the Latino Support Network, and the Lynn Senior Center, have also been able to provide digital literacy classes through the nonprofit Tech Goes Home.
Moving forward, EDIC/Lynn has been awarded the opportunity to participate in MBI’s Municipal Digital Equity Planning Program. EDIC and partners will be working with a consultant to research opportunities in public space modernization, digital literacy, wifi access, and connectivity through economic hardship to identify initiatives and investments needed to reduce the digital equity gap in Lynn.
Households with a Computer and with a Broadband Subscription
Households with a Computer and with a Broadband Subscription
Households with a computer and with a broadband subscription
Nearly 1 in 3 Lynn households don’t have regular access to broadband internet at home. In terms of hardware, 13% of Lynn households have no computing device at all, and 11% have only a smartphone, limiting its use for work. For all workers, access to a computer and broadband internet can be important for finding and securing work, as well as performing certain jobs.
Cellular data only
Dial-up connection
Internet access but no subscription
No internet acess
Short-Term Implementation Priorities
Vision Lynn is an effort to create a 20year strategic plan. Rather than create a to-do list for the community, it aims to highlight the information, strategies, and visions that can guide day-to-day work for municipal staff, elected officials, and community leaders.
In addition to the strategies for change, which are intended to fit the twenty-year time frame of this plan, there are some immediate next steps for implementation that should be started in the next five years. This is not meant to be an exhaustive list, but rather a pipeline of priority initiatives that can help make Vision Lynn a reality.
Build high-quality educational facilities for our students
The Pickering Middle School project is already underway, with the intention of having the new building open at the start of the 2026 school year. Reaching this goal will require additional funding resources and close coordination with the MSBA and other state partners. Beyond the Pickering project, our elementary school master plan will be another step forward as we work to update all of Lynn’s building to facilitate a world-class, 21st century educational system for our community.
Push forward on workforce development
The Workforce Development Plan will be the City’s playbook on strengthening our workforce ecosystem, but we can start tackling key next steps immediately. These include working with Lynn Tech to expand adult programming on campus at night and exploring the concept of a “Center for Lynnovation” in conjunction with North Shore Community College and regional economic development partners to provide incubator space and workforce development opportunities in the city.
Build affordable housing, particularily for low-income households
Through the disposition of the Marshall School and other city-owned properties, Lynn will seek opportunities to support the development of brand new, high-quality housing for households making 30% of the area median income or less. These households are of particular importance because they are the least likely to be served by the private market, even with tools like inclusionary zoning in place. In addition to leveraging municipally-owned properties for these initiatives, the Affordable Housing Trust Fund will also be releasing a Notice of Funding Availability that will hopefully enable additional projects that can support these households.
Continue championing artists, makers, and entrepreneurs
Lynn’s local businesses provide jobs, improve our quality of life, contribute to the vibrancy of our commercial districts, and provide wealth-generating opportunities for our community.
Lynn remains committed to supporting the resilience and growth of existing businesses and helping new businesses open in our city. To do this, EDIC/Lynn can continue its financial support and technical assistance towards new and existing businesses; the City and EDIC/Lynn can continue to collaborate with business support organizations active in the community; and the City and EDIC/Lynn can continue to support the TDI Union Street initiative with MassDevelopment, which is exploring new methods to support existing businesses in the context of real estate changes.
Closely related to these efforts are the needs of our artists and makers, many of whom are entrepreneurs in their own right. Investing in support for our creative economy through the Creative Cities program, our Downtown Lynn Cultural District, and the many different arts organizations or individual makers in the city will help us open up economic opportunities for all.
Invest in coastal resilience
In the context of climate change, Lynn will need to invest in its coastline to protect itself. The City will advance efforts to implement recommendations from existing studies, like the Saugus River Watershed Regional Adaptation Plan. For example, the City should develop plans for shoreline restoration in proximity to Harbor Park, and align with shoreline restoration efforts carried out by redevelopment of the South Harbor project.
Implement zoning reform
Lynn’s existing zoning code dates back to 1925 and although it has been amended numerous times, it needs a more holistic rewrite to better incorporate modern concerns without resorting to footnotes and amendments and ensure the regulations conform to Vision Lynn objectives. Zoning regulations are the most powerful and immediately impactful tool a municipality has to carry out the land use and development objectives. More work will be needed to flesh out the details, however zoning reform in Lynn should be consistent with the strategies and development framework articulated in this plan.
Zoning reform is an important next step in implementing Vision Lynn because it will translate the community’s vision into the regulatory framework developers must follow when they are building new projects. In addition, a zoning ordinance that is more modern and easier to understand will make Lynn a more attractive location for investment from developers, who seek predictable, straightforward economic environments. Confusion, complexity, and unpredictability can be frustrating for developers and community members, and runs the risk of chasing developers away or driving up housing costs to cover the increased development costs required to navigate the process. In addition to being an important next step for implementing Vision Lynn, zoning reform will also be an opportunity to further implement the city’s Housing Production Plan, Housing Lynn.
Support the transformation of the waterfront
The waterfront represents the biggest opportunity for Lynn to pursue its community priorities through development.
The City will engage the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR), as the owner of the roadway, MassDOT, and MBTA to advance the redesign and reconstruction of the Lynnway.
The Gearworks site is one of the largest aspects of the waterfront’s opportunity, so the City must partner proactively with the owners of the site to pursue the site concept developed in this plan (see page 178) and to advocate for the MBTA to turn Riverworks into a publicly accessible, full-service stop.
If the waterfront will truly transform, we will need to work with community members, business owners, state agencies, and other stakeholders to develop a waterfront neighborhood plan that consolidates existing waterfront plans, clarifies a vision for development in the area, identifies what infrastructure and policy tools will be needed to support that vision, and outlines how to fund these projects.
Even as we launch an additional planning effort, work continues on implementing existing waterfront plans (2019 Revised Waterfront Master Plan, 2019 Waterfront Open Space Master Plan, and 2020 Lynn Municipal Harbor Plan), including establishing a signature Harbor Park.
The MBTA should also bring back the ferry linking Lynn with Boston, as suggested in the Lynn Transit Action Plan, and redevelop the ferry terminal area on Blossom Street as described in the Waterfront Open Space Master Plan to maximize placemaking potential.
Continue to enhance Downtown Lynn
Downtown is another key development area for the city. As the urban core, it is a key opportunity to attract visitors, create a vibrant district for living and working, and provide high-density development in a mixed-use, transit-oriented neighborhood.
One of the biggest challenges is the future of MBTA assets in downtown Lynn, including the garage, the Commuter Rail station, and the viaducts that hold up the train tracks. The City must continue to advocate for the community’s vision and coordinate with state partners to ensure the best possible outcome.
In addition, the City will need to analyze parking needs and consider policy improvements and possibly structured parking construction in order to preserve Downtown that is livable and easy to visit. The Downtown Lynn Cultural District, as well as community groups like Lynn Main Streets, can continue to play a pivotal role in supporting the district and attracting tourists to come visit; the Local Rapid Recovery Plan (2020) highlights some specific projects based on business and community feedback that can help lead the way.
Cleaning up the Whyte’s Laundromat site (see page 124) and other major brownfields sites in the downtown is another immediate next step, ideally utilizing funds from the U.S. EPA and the state to do so.
Finally, there are numerous City-owned properties in the Downtown, including the Buffum, School Street, and Andrew Street lot; these represent terrific opportunities for redevelopment that the City can utilize to meet community needs.
Set the groundwork for enhancing Market Square
Market Square may not see as much development activity over the next twenty years as Downtown or the waterfront, but there are short-term opportunities to lay the groundwork for future efforts in the district. One next step will be submitting an intersection redesign and reconstruction of Western Ave from Market Square to Saugus to the state Transportation Improvement Plan (TIP), which is the first step toward funding the necessary street improvements to make Market Square a more enjoyable place to live, work, and hang out.
Implement existing plans
The City has already undertaken a number of planning initiatives around specific topic areas and neighborhoods. Implementation of these plans should continue:
• Housing Production Plan (2021)
• Lynn Safe Streets for People Playbook (2021)
• Lynn Transit Action Plan (2020)
Continue planning
Now that Vision Lynn is complete, it can serve as a foundation for future planning efforts. The following plans and analyses, already underway, should be tackled in the next five years:
• Workforce Development Plan
• Municipal Digital Equity Access Plan
• Open Space and Recreation Plan
• Community Health Needs Assessment
Assessing progress
Vision Lynn can’t predict the future, and although it serves as a foundational vision for the community, it will need to be flexible to remain useful. Every five years, the City should take stock in the progress that has been made so far in the plan’s implementation and identify a new set of short-term priority projects that can help move the city closer to the community’s vision.
How A Vision Lynn Strategy Can Move Forward
In the Vision, Values, and Strategies chapter, we shared a list of 43 strategies that should frame and guide work for both professionals and community members for the next twenty years. Let’s consider an example of how one strategy relates to current and future work:
Preserving existing affordable housing units and ensuring they are well-maintained is an essential component of meeting affordable housing demand
Right now, this strategy articulates the theory of change animating some existing initiatives:
Neighborhood Rehabilitation & Repair Program
Lynn Housing Authority & Neighborhood Development (LHAND) will use $1,000,000 in ARPA funds to create a program that will provide funds to owner-occupied and small-scale landlords to assist in remediating and preventing health and safety hazards and substandard living conditions in buildings occupied by working class or lower income tenants. The program will make grants and forgivable low-interest loans to address on-going or potential health hazards and noncompliance with state sanitary codes. LHAND will collaborate with housing advocates in the design and administration of this program.
Rental Registration
The City has required all rental units to be registered and inspected once every five years. More than 80% of rental units have been registered and inspections are ongoing. For units that are not compliant with the state sanitary code, owners must address issues prior to reinspection.
Neighborhood Hub Grant
LHAND received MassHousing’s Neighborhood Hub grant, which is a program that provides technical assistance for comprehensive neighborhood
stabilization in Gateway Cities. The City is utilizing this grant program to identify/inventory vacant and blighted properties in the Orchard Grove neighborhood in West Lynn. This program will allow the City and LHAND to create sustainable rehabilitation solutions that will support property preservation, including receivership, which was identified by the Housing Production Plan as a priority.
Problem Properties
The Law Department is reviewing the City’s problem property ordinance to identify additional measures that could be taken to address properties with major problems such as frequent inspection failures or police calls. Part of these efforts includes centralizing data and information across departments/agencies. The Mayor’s Office is meeting with tenants and tenant organizers at particular properties with egregious conditions throughout the building to share information and resources.
Capital Improvements
Capital improvements to the Hennessey House ($3M in ARPA funds), state housing units ($500,000 in ARPA funds), and to Wall Plaza Kitchen, Bath, and Floor Renovation and Asbestos Remediation ($900,000 in ARPA funds) also represent significant efforts to keep exiting affordable housing safe and in good condition.
Moving forward, we hope this strategy will serve as a guide for new, innovative ideas as well. Ideally, everyone from City staff to elected officials to community organizations and entities like the Affordable Housing Trust Fund will consider this strategy, along with other housing-related strategies, as they plan their work.
