Gloucester ZBA Denies $85,000 Fee Appeal, Approves Two Housing Permits

Zoning Board · Meeting of February 26, 2026

Gloucester's Zoning Board of Appeals denied an $85,000 inclusionary housing fee appeal and approved two residential permit modifications at its February 26 meeting. The board voted 4-1 to reject attorney Joel Favaza's argument that the board was obligated by its own summer 2025 ruling to calculate the fee in lieu of affordable housing for Rebuild Gloucester LLC's Orchard Road and Grapevine Road project from a 2022 baseline, which would have yielded a $465,000 fee, rather than Building Commissioner Rob Vakari's October 2025 application date, which produced a $550,000 figure the developer has already paid in full. The board also voted 4-1 to approve special permits allowing Jacqueline Ricard to convert a three-family dwelling at 86 East Main Street to two units and add two on-site parking spaces, over safety objections from three neighbors who cited a blind curve and a Christmas Day collision at the site; board members countered that the property currently has zero off-street parking and that reducing density while adding spaces was an improvement.

In a unanimous vote, the board modified T&J Real Estate Investments LLC's special permit at 6 Parker Court, requiring the owner to demolish the top 2.5 feet of a building erected above its permitted 30-foot height limit.

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Source: the Zoning Board meeting of February 26, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.