Newburyport Council Approves ADU Zoning Update, Refers $6.5M School Roof Bonds to Committee

NEWBURYPORT — February 9, 2026 — Newburyport City Council approved an amended accessory dwelling unit zoning ordinance and referred two school roof bond orders totaling more than $6.5 million to committee at its February 9 meeting. The council voted 10-1 on first reading to approve Ordinance 210, which expands ADU eligibility to two-family and multi-family properties and allows adaptive reuse of pre-existing non-conforming structures as of right, with Councilor Derek Zeed the lone dissent, saying the measure continues "a march toward state-level zoning." Bond orders of $3,322,300 for Newburyport High School and $3,201,297 for the Nock Middle School, both in the Massachusetts School Building Authority's Accelerated Repair Program, were sent to the Budget and Finance Committee of the Whole with a target full-council vote of March 23. The council also authorized payment of $125,999.60 in prior-year unpaid bills — described by Budget and Finance Chair Zeed as "an incredibly high amount" resulting from internal process failures — and approved gift and grant packages including a $220,000 Morin Foundation donation for the Bartlett Mall, a $200,000 Curtis Fund gift for the new Recreation Center, and a $500,000 Housing Choice Grant for the Brown School gym demolition, which has escalated from $452,000 to $585,000. Mayor Donna Holaday announced attorney Nina Pickering Cook of Andersen Kreiger as the city's new city solicitor and named Sean Fenn of the UMass Boston Collins Center as incoming Chief of Staff starting March 2.