Planning Board Continues Hearing On R2B Rezoning

Planning Board · Meeting of October 7, 2026

Newburyport's Planning Board and City Council Planning and Development Committee continued a joint hearing on a R2B zoning rewrite to April 28. Planning and Development Committee Chair Ben Harman and Councilor Trapp presented Ordinance 238, which would cut the minimum lot size in the district from 10,000 to 5,000 square feet, cut frontage from 90 to 50 feet, and add a sliding-scale floor area ratio capped at 0.40 for the smallest lots. Staff said 89 percent of the district's 1,032 lots would become conforming, up from 51 percent, and up to 329 lots could eventually be split.

Planning Board member Rick Taintor estimated the real-world impact at 100 to 150 new homes over a decade, not the 329-lot "ceiling." More than a dozen residents spoke, split between support and warnings about traffic, water supply and school crowding; resident Matt Norton called the floor-area formula something that "does nothing" for small lots.

In the full story:

• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report — 2,287 words

Source: the Planning Board meeting of October 7, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.