Developer: power-line conflict at intersection, not building, is delaying Beck property occupancy

The Procopio Companies told the Haverhill City Council on a routine agenda item that the Beck property is ready for occupancy but cannot receive final occupancy permits because a required traffic signal adjacent to the site is not yet fully operational.

The developer representative, David Roche, said 41 units are leased, 25 of those leases target move-in in May, and seven are designated workforce units. He described the project as “on the one-yard line” of opening but said a design conflict left power lines in the location of the planned mast arm for the traffic signal. “We were informed in March that there was a snag. The whole signal was built except for one piece,” Roche said.

Why it matters: the special permit for the project includes a condition requiring all traffic improvements be “in place and functional” before occupancy permits are issued. Inspectional Services has maintained that condition is a public-safety measure and that its director or the inspectional official who signs occupancy permits is liable if something goes wrong when a…