Planning Board Recommends Doubling Eastern Point Lot Rule
Planning Board · Meeting of August 6, 2026
Gloucester Planning Board votes to close an Eastern Point zoning loophole and pave over a 40-year-old gravel lot. The board unanimously recommended the City Council restore the RC40 district's minimum lot area to 40,000 square feet per unit, after Eastern Point residents Rob Gordon, Jennifer Colbert and Tatiana Witten argued the current 20,000-square-foot figure invited future two-family development pressure on a peninsula already battling sea level rise. "The dike at Brace Cove is not sustainable," Gordon told the board.
Separately, the board unanimously approved attorney Joel Favaza's site plan to pave and stripe a 12-space parking lot at 61 Taylor Street for 64 Friend LLC, a condition of zoning relief that legalized ten housing units on the adjoining Friend Street lot. Planning Director Greg Hattematori reported the City Council had unanimously approved the 150 Main Street project and that roughly 75 to 100 people attended a recent Housing Compass forum.
In the full story:
- Who Was There
- Organizations And Documents Referenced
- The complete report — 3,406 words
Source: the Planning Board meeting of August 6, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.
Keep reading with a 30-day free trial
Subscribe to Gloucester News to keep reading this post and get 30 days of free access to the full post archives.
Starting a trial requires a payment method. After 30 free days your subscription begins at the price shown at checkout and renews automatically until you cancel. You can cancel anytime from your account. Subscription terms
A subscription gets you:
- Subscriber-only posts and full archive
- Post comments and join the community
- 24x7 access to local news