Born and raised in Lynn, Brendan comes from a long line of Lynn residents steeped with a strong sense of community involvement. His maternal grandfather worked at the GE factory, his paternal grandfather fought in World War II earning a Purple Heart, and both his grandmothers worked full time while raising their families. Brendan’s mom currently works as a physical therapist, his dad and brother are both pharmacists and his sister and sister-in-law are school teachers.
In Massachusetts, we are facing a housing crisis. The most effective way to fight this crisis is to create more housing and to diversify our housing stock. There needs to be housing available that meets the needs of everyone in our community.
Brendan spearheaded the efforts to have Lynn’s Downtown and Waterfront formally recognized by the state as a Housing Development Zone. Developments within this zone are incentivized to create market rate housing, increase residential growth, expand diversity of housing stock, support economic development and promote neighborhood stabilization.
Additionally, recognizing that working families need access to housing near transit, Brendan began the push for Smart Growth Zoning. Though in its early stages, this zoning also known as 40R, encourages communities to create dense residential or mixed-use districts near transit stations and town centers. In addition to creating housing opportunities, this program would make would make communities eligible for additional state funding.
Through Brendan's efforts on the Lynn City Council, the City reformed its zoning ordinance, expedited its permitting process and made significant infrastructure investments to foster housing development. Since those initiatives, there have been over 1,000 units of housing permitted in the Downtown and Waterfront.