Zoning board splits, stalls Angle Street decks vote

Zoning Board · Meeting of August 13, 2026

Gloucester's Zoning Board of Appeals stalled on a contested deck permit after a member's abstention left too few votes to act. The board continued Bart and Heather Driscoll's special permit for two small decks at 8 Angle Street to August 27, after abutters Jose and Mary Duran and firefighter Dominic Barbagiello warned of fire risk in the tightly packed neighborhood. "I think this is a very aggressively intrusive ask," said board member Ronald Wilson, while member Michael Nyman argued the board has "historically" not let one neighbor override a neighborhood-wide finding.

The board unanimously approved a second-story addition at 5 Dune Lane for Philip and Carolyn Koplas and two variances for a pool at 40 Eastern Point Boulevard for Richard and Donna Tadler, including relief for a pool set 17 feet 7 inches from the house instead of the required 20 feet. A disputed 3.15-foot height variance for a two-family home at 3 Deacon Farm Lane, opposed by neighbors over shadows and lost views, was continued to September 10.

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Source: the Zoning Board meeting of August 13, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.