Gloucester Zoning Board Grants Estuary Way Garage Variance, Plans Ordinance Review Panel

GLOUCESTER — March 26, 2026 — Gloucester Zoning Board of Appeals unanimously approved a garage variance and moved to form a zoning ordinance review subcommittee at its March 26 meeting. The board voted 4-0 to grant a variance under section 3.2.3 of the zoning ordinance allowing a roughly 50-by-35-foot detached garage at 17 Estuary Way — proposed by owner Tammy S. Carter and represented by contractor Matt Marino — to sit closer to the street than the primary dwelling; the structure met all required setbacks and came in just under the 30-foot mean-grade threshold that would have required an additional height permit. Chair Joe Parisi cautioned the applicant that the building would be too large and too tall to qualify as an accessory dwelling unit under either local or state ADU rules, and that state standards cannot be varied. The board then discussed forming a temporary three-member subcommittee, capped at three by state open meeting law, to identify and recommend fixes to confusing zoning ordinance language, with section 3 of the ordinance set as the first topic and a monthly Zoom meeting cadence proposed.