I agree entirely.

here you are:From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The town centre is the term used to refer to the commercial or geographical centre or core area of a town.
Town centres are traditionally associated with shopping or retail. They are also the centre of communications with major public transport hubs such as train or bus stations. Public buildings including town halls, museums and libraries are often found in town centres.
Town centres are symbolic to settlements as a whole and often contain the best examples of architecture, main landmark buildings, statues and public spaces associated with a place.
If you want a shopping mall to be the center and signature brand of Lynnfield then God Bless you because I certainly do not.

I would like to know in which part of town you live. Obviously not near the spot they want to build a multiplex cinema. Would you like it in your backyard? Legal or not, it's not what they agreed to in the first place.

510 days after approval they first tried to over throw their agreement before it was ever built. And now again before it was even built. From what I am hearing I don't believe you are correct.I lot of people are honorable. Honor The Agreement or at the every least wait until it's built ( and it's already fully leased out ) before they moan about what else they want .They might have never had it approved if they were honest enough to say "as soon as we get this approved we're going to back out of it and try to get what we couldn't get " How do you trust that kind of mentality. How would you feel if a person looked you in the eye,shook your hand and made an agreement with you he had no intention of honoring. What did he do cross his fingers behind his back ? There is a reason they again hired a PR firm to manipulate town sentiment. Aren't you tired of being played?

ND sold and everyone bought (including me) a retail village with normal size buildings and streets. We were sold an upscale project with special shoppes and restaurants. Instead we got huge big box buildings with the same old chain stores and restaurants there are everywhere. If people are truthful they will admit this is not what they envisioned.There's nothing special there. ND's traffic consultant told us in their report that there was plenty of room for "traffic storage" or as the layman would call it "traffic jams". Not enough people heard what he was saying. ND used a very good public relations firm to blind people to what was really going to happen once they received approval for the "upscale" project. And a multiplex could add 350 to 400 cars a hour on Friday and Saturday nights to an intersection that we have already been told has room for traffic storage(jams).The neighborhood will never have any relief. When people elsewhere in town are relaxing on a Friday night after a long week of work we will be dealing with it. On Sundays and summer days when they are enjoying their quiet neighborhoods we will be dealing with it. They can choose when to interact with the mall and it's traffic but we can't choose it will be there every day all day 365 days of the year.

As someone that has to drive down Walnut St. to go to work each morning, I can tell you the traffic is already getting worse due to three traffic lights within 100 yards. This is before the mall has opened. I can't imagine what traffic will be like once it does. Add to that all the new restaurants selling liquor and it will be a nightmare.

You're right John but don't forget for my mind the biggest broken promise. And I quote " You will not be able to see the buildings from Walnut Street". This was said multiple times at multiple places in front of multiple people.NOT TRUE. The buildings are visible. How do you trust ?

Just for a little clarity, the last time the cinema came up for a vote the town voted in a majority, YES, not no, The only reason it didn't pass is because of a rule of it needing a 2/3 majority.

And Joe, let me know once the leaves grow in if you can still see the project from Walnut street. My bet is you will not be able to except for at the entrance of the complex.

Craig, I certainly hope that the leaves on the Walnut Street trees somewhat screen the project from view for at least the SIX MONTHS that they are there.What about the other six months. Or at least until ND decides to cut them down as they cut down the ones at the project entrance that were screening Country Club Lane.We keep giving in to ND anything is possible.
And the 40R agreement passed with greater than the 2/3 necessary because opponents of the project voted for the project because of ND's assurances and promises or we might not be having this conversation at all. Then why shouldn't a change in the 40 R require a 2/3 vote now?

Clearly, we all have a vested interest for MarketStreet to be successful, Craig. But, let's set that notion aside just for a moment. How 'bout this instead: A deal is a deal. Period. End of statement.

A lot of people in town (and not just the project's adjacent neighborhood) voted for the project based on ND's promises and commitments made to us years ago. It is more than a little disconcerting now to see how regularly and casually ND has ignored, disregarded, or tried to continually alter their deal with the town's citizens after the fact.

We (naively, it turns out) thought we had a partnership with them to create the best possible development that would fit the character of the host town. It's what they PROMISED us, BTW. Unfortunately, they evidently look at us as mere rubes to be continually played.

Also, it's not like Whole Foods is this incredibly rare commodity so that even when their Melrose location opens, it still leaves a large swath of the North Shore market to potentially travel to MarketStreet. Besides, using your logic, there are already area Five Guys locations in Peabody, Saugus, and Stoneham; Paper Store outlets in Beverly, Reading, and Saugus; and more Starbucks in the vicinity than I can count. Oh, and I did I mention the tons of movie theatres and screens that already exist within nine miles of MarketStreet? Talk about saturation.

There are cinemas not 15 minutes in every direction. As far as I'm concerned, the project is already ruining the town. Our quiet little town will now have a mall that isn't going to add anything different from what you can get minutes from here, They can call it any fancy name they want but it's still a mall. The traffic and lights and noise will take away from the quality of life that people have come to know living in Lynnfield. This project was proposed in Reading before Lynnfield. The people of Reading got it right when they said the developer would never be satisfied and keep coming back for more. That is a big reason why they voted it down.

Craig, you have made it perfectly clear why you want a multiplex. You said so you can walk over have a few drinks, watch a movie and walk home without worrying about a DUI.It's specious to try to come up with your new reasons but here goes.1)ND's traffic engineers already tell us we will be stuck in traffic so maybe a little less traffic is not a bad idea.2)WF is only one generator of traffic.3)The leasees have signed for10-15 (at least) so they are not going anywhere.
4)Wouldn't it make sense if everything, traffic etc, is so up in the air for there be a 2-4 year tryout time for everyone to see how things are going and then make adjustments if need be. (see #3)5)Ruin the town--We were doing just fine before this project got dumped on us we'll do just fine either way.We turned a short term financial problem into a long term problem.
6)What is the clientele for movie theatres? Look it up yourself it's teenagers and young adults--not the target market of an upscale mall. Is Liberty Tree an upscale mall ? That's what could ruin the town--a unwarranted rush to put in a theatre. A Theatre that every board in town, BOS,Planning,Finance voted against when first proposed. A theathre that could ruin the town by ruining the brand once known as well heeled, quiet Lynnfield into Lynnfield that town by the interstate with the mall and the multiplex ( and the hordes of kids).Does the affluent buyer want to buy there or in a quiet town without the traffic,troubles and kids from all over.

Dianne--There are 88 movie screens already within a ten mile radius of Lynnfield.

Wow, I knew there were a lot but 88 is unbelievable.

I am sorry you do not realize the insulting way ND has dealt with it's neighbors regarding this multiplex nor the changes, not for the better, that ND has already wrought on the project.It becomes a matter of both trust and of verification of intent. Change isn't necessarily good. Change can be bad as well.I do not believe that the movie theatre concept that you are alluding to is the same as the 1,000 seat multiplex ND was trying to push through.Because ND calls it a "specialty theatre" doesn't mean it is. Not given the way ND and their pr firm has played fast and loose with language and definitions.Lynnfield is getting it's expanded tax base with the project. Why insult the neighborhood by continually reaching for more ? Why does all the burden need to fall on one part of town? This is a town that would not let a Dunkin Donuts got into the center because "it would cause too much traffic".Where is the ethics and morality of saying one thing and then quickly pivoting and doing something else? They got their agreement and their project they should just build it and be quiet.

For me, Tom, it's all about ND upholding and honoring a commitment/promise it made to various town boards and its citizens. It's about integrity. Of course, things change. It doesn't mean, however, that we should all roll over for the developer just because he says so.

Let me try this analogy on you. You hire a contractor to do some work on your home. You both agree on the scope of the work to be performed and sign documents to that effect. More than halfway through the project, he approaches you and says that he wants to make some not-so-insignificant "changes" to your original agreement and that, since he is the contractor, he automatically knows what's best for you and you should just blindly go along with him and not question anything. And oh, by the way, what he is proposing to do to your home is something you've already told him TWICE before that you do not want to see happen.

I submit that your reaction wouldn't be to just say to him, "OK, you know what's best for me. Go right ahead as you wish, my good man." At a minimum, I'm guessing you might question him, his motivation, and his methods.

John you're forgetting one fact in your argument, yes by the law and needing 2/3 majority to pass the zoning change the town has said no, but the fact of the matter is the last time it was voted on more people wanted it than didn't and if the rule wasn't in place ND would be building a cinema already.

If the right concept is put in place like the one ND has been tweeting about for weeks than it really can be a nice addition to the complex.

Here see for yourself:
Patrons of the Wehrenberg Theatres have enjoyed the perfect mixture of quality and comfort. Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/business/2013/03/luxury-theaters-for-the-masses/

Craig Foster -

You seem to know so much, how about you try to answer my question:

Of the movies that were released say last year, name some that would have represented the 'upscale' kind that ND says will be shown in this small seating venue that will fetch a higher ticket price? I want some examples.

And there you go again dissing the 2/3 rule as though it were some sort of anomalous gimmick only found in Lynnfield government when in fact it is applied at every level of government from local to federal.

There will already be 19,000 car trips per day with that slanted to upwards of 35,000 trips on week ends. Isn't that enough ? 400-500 cars is 800 to 1,000 more trips on the weekends. The intersection will not bear the traffic as it stands now by ND's traffic engineer's own admission there will be considerable traffic storage or in layman's terms traffic jams. Enough ! No offense but we can't have a neighborhood destroyed for the profit of a few. The Derby Street Shoppes in Hingham without a theatre are run by the same company and are also a big success. Enough ! I don't know what your business is but you will have to do with the 19,000 car trips a day. There needs to be a balance of business and neighborhood needs and that balance was enacted in 2007. Honor that Agreement.

Nothing angers me more than the fact that a 20 year old veteran coming back from Iraq can't go into a bar and buy a beer. It's outrageous and the federal government is the reason. The Mass age was lowered to 18 but was increased back to 21 again only because the feds threatened to withhold highway funds, (as though it was 'their' money to use for forcing everyone to obey them).

Underage 'kids' who drink illegally now are currently induced to having to drive to some remote place to do it. Abolish the age limit on alcohol, teach responsible alcohol consumption to teenagers and the young age drunk driving problems will go away. If you are worried that some will destroy their lives with alcohol - the law isn't stopping them now anyway.