By Chris Cassidy
STAFF WRITER
December 02, 2008 10:27 am SALEM — City councilors rejected a zoning change last night that would have allowed a new Lowe's and a reconstructed Walmart on the Lynn line. Developers had hoped to build a new Lowe's on Highland Avenue and reconstruct the Walmart next door. The project was expected to generate between $200,000 and $350,000 in new tax revenue and add between 100 and 200 new jobs, including 75 full-time positions, according to Mayor Kim Driscoll. But it also required a zoning change to allow planned unit developments on land zoned specifically for large business parks. Such a change would allow developers to rebuild those sites into a mixture of businesses and residences or a blend of single- and multiple-family homes. The proposal needed to pass by a two-thirds majority. It fell one vote short, 7-4, last night. No one criticized the actual Lowe's plan during the three-hour debate last night. Instead, they disagreed on the effects of the citywide zoning change. One side saw it as a smart way to lure businesses into the city, while the other viewed it as a gateway for more traffic and congestion. The zoning change would have affected some 24 parcels of land, though the city believed only nine had the potential to be redeveloped. "I want to have Salem remain Salem," Council President Michael Sosnowski said. "Two of my kids have moved out of Salem, and they don't want to come back. They don't like what this has become, the traffic nightmares. There are a lot of things (in this zoning change) that bother me." "I know you want to keep things the same," Ward 4 Councilor Jerry Ryan said, "but to survive, you need to keep changing and developing." On the same day the National Economic Council confirmed the country has been in a recession for a year, the city had a chance to add jobs, bring in more tax revenue and ease the burden on residents, Driscoll said. "We talk every year about how we can help residential home-owners," Driscoll said. "Here's one way right now — approve a modest zoning text amendment to open the doors for additional commercial development and keep residential taxes low." Some councilors felt the zoning change would jump-start large, abandoned properties by enticing a mixture of retail and residential uses. "How are we going to move the city forward?" wondered Ward 3 Councilor Jean Pelletier. "Are we going to say to businesses, 'We can't make a slight zoning change to allow you to come in?'" But opponents felt the proposal could have sweeping effects beyond the Lowe's/Walmart deal. They argued the zoning change could bring large, five-story apartment buildings that will bring less tax revenue than commercial developments. "I can't believe we can't find an alternative that allows that project to go forward," said Meg Twohey, a leader of the Federal Street Neighborhood Association. Driscoll, however, said five-story apartment buildings can already be developed, regardless of the zoning change, and that four of the city's top 10 taxpayers are residential developments. Developers would have still had to receive special approval from the Planning Board, she said. "We're giving our planning officials ... the tools they need so we can have good projects," she said. The council vote was a serious, if not fatal, setback for the Lowe's project. "The city lost over 100 jobs and $200,000-plus in tax revenue tonight," Pelletier said after the meeting. "Who's going to answer to the homeowners when we do the tax classification next week?" Staff writer Chris Cassidy can be reached at ccassidy@salem news.com. HOW THEY VOTED Yes Tom Furey Joan Lovely Robert McCarthy Joseph O'Keefe Jean Pelletier Jerry Ryan Matthew Veno No Steve Pinto Paul Prevey Arthur Sargent Michael Sosnowski Zoning change required a two-thirds majority to pass
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