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.