Staff warns water-supply limits may constrain Story Avenue/MBTA-district rezoning and master plan

Planning staff told the Newburyport Planning Board on Jan. 7 that the city's water treatment capacity is a key constraint for the Story Avenue/MBTA-district master-plan discussion and that the city should consider phasing or timing limits on residential permits until the water division confirms expanded capacity.

Speaking to the board, staff said recent conversations with the water division "boiled down" to the conclusion that the plant cannot currently support a meaningful order-of-magnitude increase in residential units in the Story Avenue area. Staff proposed preparing a memo for the City Council and launching a consultant-led visioning exercise with public workshops in late winter and spring to shape a block-level master plan. The staff recommendation: develop the master plan and related design standards now but phase implementation or withhold permit allowances until the water-division can demonstrate adequate treated-water capacity.

Board members discussed alternatives that included amending zoning to allow greater flexibility (special-permit authority or new zone types), using the planning board as the review authority for case-by-case flexibility, and possible short-term measures to limit permitting until necessary infrastructure upgrades occur. Staff suggested a first public visioning session as early as February and said city-council coordination would begin around the Jan. 20 council meeting.

The board asked staff to return with a memo summarizing water-division capacity figures, proposed visioning schedule and suggested zoning amendment pathways; no binding council action was taken at the meeting.