Newburyport advances Brown School zoning fix, holds courts-and-lanes amendment for revision

NEWBURYPORT -- February 18, 2026, Newburyport's Planning Board and City Council committee advanced a Brown School zoning fix and debated new flexibility for small infill developments at a joint hearing February 18. The Planning and Development Committee, chaired by Councillor Ben Harmon, unanimously recommended approval of an amendment to the Brown School Overlay District that corrects three inadvertent dimensional conflicts, minimum lot size, addition language, and a corner setback, that would otherwise have forced development partner Zeta Insight to seek Zoning Board of Appeals variances before returning to the Planning Board for a special permit. A separate courts-and-lanes amendment, co-sponsored by Councillors Trach and a Ward 4 colleague, would give the Planning Board authority to grant reductions in front yard setbacks, lot area, and street frontage on one-to-four-unit infill projects; that item was held in committee after extended debate over whether dimensional relief should require an explicit applicant request or be available at the board's initiative, with Planning Director Andy Slosek warning that removing the applicant-request trigger could reduce developer predictability. The courts-and-lanes amendment returns February 24.