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Sunday, November 1, 2026 Essex County, Massachusetts · Change town
Government · Zoning Board

Zoning Board Approves Fordham Way Addition

The Newbury Zoning Board of Appeals approved a 306-square-foot addition at 62 Fordham Way on Plum Island after the applicant agreed to remove a planned bathroom and shift the structure to meet a 10-foot setback.

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Zoning Board · Meeting of October 15, 2026

NEWBURY — The Newbury Zoning Board of Appeals approved a 306-square-foot addition at 62 Fordham Way on Plum Island after the applicant agreed to remove a planned bathroom and shift the structure to meet a 10-foot setback. Applicant Ryan O'Hagan told the board the addition would create a den for his multigenerational family without adding a fourth bedroom, but Chair Eric P. Svahn said a room with a shower "looks like a bedroom to me." The board separately finalized a special permit for a Plum Island home's second-story and roof-deck addition, correcting a floor-area-ratio figure from 38 percent to 36.5 percent. It also determined that a retaining wall proposed for four units at Cricket Lane is a "minor modification" and continued a Melody Lane demolition-and-rebuild case to November 19 pending Conservation Commission review.

In the full story:

  • Old Business: 12 and 14 Melody Lane continuance
  • Old Business: Plum Island second-story and roof-deck addition
  • New Business: 62 Fordham Way addition, Ryan O'Hagan
  • Other General Business: Cricket Lane retaining wall
  • Process discussion
  • Who Was There
  • Organizations And Documents Referenced
  • The complete report: 1,721 words

Source: the Zoning Board meeting of October 15, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

Checked against the record: before publication this article was automatically compared with the meeting transcript.

Members read the rest of this story and every Essex County meeting we cover, in full.

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