Gloucester ZBA Approves Atlantic Road ADU, Defers Kitchen Expansion Over Flood-Zone Question

GLOUCESTER -- January 30, 2025, Gloucester Zoning Board splits Atlantic Road ADU application, defers flood-zone kitchen expansion for legal advice. The board voted 5-0 at its January 30 meeting to approve a variance for the distance between buildings, a special permit for accessory-structure height, and conversion of an existing garage at 65 Atlantic Road to a 704-square-foot accessory dwelling unit for John Jay and Suzanne B. Driscoll, trustees of the Driscoll Cape and Residence Trust, represented by attorney Wilhelmina Sheedy of Rockport. The board simultaneously continued the companion application, a 325-square-foot kitchen expansion in a VE high-velocity flood zone, to February 13 so Vice Chair Catherine Schlichte can consult the city solicitor on whether the board holds authority to grant a variance from a provision the ordinance labels "prohibited." Chair Joe Parisi noted it was the board's first application involving a VE zone: "If this didn't exist, we'd be voting in favor right now." The board also approved a special permit and variances for a two-to-three-family conversion at 143 Essex Avenue, a garage replacement at 4 Hawthorne Road, and a flood-zone variance modification for a new home at 3 Kirk Road, all 5-0, and allowed two applications, 8 Gould Court and 52 Taylor Street, to be withdrawn without prejudice.