Neighbors oppose a proposed 34‑bed Grace House at 28 Lynwood; board delays decision pending certified plans

The Lynn Zoning Board of Appeals continued its deliberation over a proposal to convert the former Phillips Manor nursing home at 28 Lynwood Road into a sober residence after a long public hearing on Monday.

Applicant counsel Stephanie Kefir told the board the owner, Grace House LLC, has revised the plan from a requested 40 beds to 34 and has committed in lease language to limit resident vehicles to eight. "We have proposed a reduction in the density to 34 beds as opposed to the requested 40 beds," the applicant said, and described an accompanying "good neighbor" policy that requires the operator to respond to neighborhood complaints within 24 hours.

The proposal seeks a change of use for a pre‑existing nonconforming building and asks the board for reasonable accommodation under fair‑housing law. Counsel quoted state precedent and industry standards and said the operator will seek MASH (Massachusetts Alliance for Sober Housing) certification. The applicant also reported outreach efforts including an open house and a community meeting.

Board members repeatedly stressed they needed a certified, stamped parking plan showing property lines, offsets, snow removal, dumpster locations and any easement before taking a vote. The applicant acknowledged surveyors are still tracing an historic handwritten easement and agreed to remove any parking within the area until the easement is located on a stamped plan.

Councilor Brian Field, who intervened early as a district official, told the board he opposed a large facility in this neighborhood and suggested a capacity more consistent with previous facility approvals "in the 20s." He said: "I am against 40 beds in this neighborhood." Applicant representatives said they had reduced the proposed number and would include vehicle limits in tenant contracts.

More than two dozen neighbors spoke during a lengthy public‑comment period. Speakers repeatedly cited parking and traffic impacts near a nearby elementary school, concerns about turnover and public safety, and the scale of a 30+‑bed residence in a dense residential block. One neighbor asked whether ambulances or emergency traffic would increase during school pickup and drop‑off times; another said the house had been licensed for 22 residents at closure and urged the board to consider that baseline when judging whether the new use would be "substantially more detrimental" than the prior use.

Supporters and operators from an existing sober home in Beverly described their operation as well‑managed and said many residents work or use public transit. Tim Carter, a manager at an established site, told the board that resident vehicle restrictions and program rules can make tandem parking workable in communal living settings.

Given outstanding documentation, the board voted to continue the hearing and requested the applicant deliver a certified parking plan, stamped surveys showing any easement, and clearer site drawings in advance of the next meeting so inspectional services and board members could review them before the public session resumed. The hearing was continued pending those submissions.