Gloucester ZBA unanimously approves Riverview Road addition on non-conforming lot

GLOUCESTER — June 26, 2025 — Gloucester Zoning Board approves 900-square-foot addition for Riverview Road homeowners. The Gloucester Zoning Board of Appeals voted 4-0 Thursday to grant a special permit allowing Brian and Wendy Casey to enclose two open decks and add roughly 900 square feet to their home at 81 Riverview Road, a conforming structure on a non-conforming 9,460-square-foot lot in an R10 zone requiring 10,000 square feet minimum. Architect Josh Fennelosa of Brown Fennelosa Architects told the four-member panel that all new construction clears the AE flood elevation line and that the project achieves floodplain compliance through smart-vent installation and relocation of HVAC equipment out of the flood zone — measures that made a variance unnecessary. The board also continued the unrelated 18 Elmo Lane hearing for Craig and Michelle McKenna to July 31 after their architect, Abby Ellis of Savoy Nolan Architects, said the applicants are weighing the purchase of a different property and may withdraw the application entirely.