Gloucester Planning Board votes to repeal dormant 21-year-old overlay zoning district

GLOUCESTER -- June 5, 2025, Gloucester Planning Board unanimously votes to repeal a zoning overlay unused for 21 years. The board voted 6-0 at its June 5 meeting to initiate a zoning amendment repealing Section 5.16, the Village Development Overlay District, which Vice Chair Jane Ramson, reporting for the Housing Subcommittee, said "has never been used despite being on the books for 21 years," conflicts with the city's inclusionary ordinance, and applies only to a small portion of Ward 5. Planning Director Greg Katamatori noted that the density-bonus mechanism at the heart of the VDOD, dependent on a sending area, receiving area, and a land trust that were never established, "is just not one that's kind of been realized." The board also continued two applications to its June 26 meeting: an ANR plan for 86 Denison Street, pending City Solicitor Suzanne Egan's review of a disputed right-of-way that has resisted title research back to the 1840s, and a common driveway special permit for 9 and 11 Andrews Court, where a proposed 14-foot driveway width, missing fire department sign-off, and unresolved stormwater calculations blocked action on four new housing units.