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Planning board pushes for clearer plan submissions, flags zoning amendments on FAR and ADUs
Summary
Board members urged applicants to upload readable PDFs and include elevation dimensions, and previewed upcoming city council hearings on zoning amendments including FAR tweaks and ADU sizing; members proposed internal rules to reduce repetitive requests for basic drawing clarity.
Members of the Newburyport Planning Board used procedural time to press for clearer plan submissions and preview a set of zoning amendments the council will consider.
Multiple board members and staff stressed that uploaded application files should be readable PDFs with coherent file names; one board member asked applicants to stop submitting Microsoft Outlook or rotated files. Vice Chair Ken Swanton said, “PDFs, please. No MSGs,” and staff asked applicants to provide scaled elevations and consistent labeling so the board and the public can orient themselves.
Board members also previewed three zoning amendments the city council planned to discuss: changes to dimensional tables (height and FAR adjustments intended to preserve smaller “starter homes”), tweaks to findings and aesthetics provisions, and proposed ADU clarifications including a square‑footage cap. Members cautioned sponsors not to move too quickly on FAR and ADU language without more granular work and suggested the planning board and staff coordinate to refine details before council votes.
On a separate procedural note, the board asked staff and the zoning administrator to develop an internal policy or checklist (short of a zoning change) to require minimum plan elements — scaled elevations, exterior dimensions and standard file formats — to reduce repeated continuances.
