Planning Board hosts hearing on Fort rezoning

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April 5, 2012

Planning Board hosts hearing on Fort rezoning

By Steven Fletcher Staff Writer The Gloucester Daily Times Thu Apr 05, 2012, 05:54 AM EDT

Gloucester's Planning Board meets tonight to begin its own deliberations of Beauport Gloucester LLC's hotel overlay zoning proposal.

The hearing is the third night of a joint Planning Board and City Council Planning and Development Subcommittee hearing that began with two packed houses at Kyrouz Auditorium in City Hall last month.

The two previous public hearings each included some six hours of public comment.

This time though, the Planning Board isn't taking public comment, but discussing the matter among its own members. Residents can submit comment to the board in writing through the end of the public hearing at the city clerk's office.

"It's more of a nuts and bolts discussion," Planning Board Chairman Richard Noonan said of tonight's session.

The board meets at 7 p.m.; Noonan said Wednesday he expects the meeting to continue again to a special meeting on April 12.

Members are discussing the proposed hotel overlay zone that would cover an area from 33 Commercial St. — the so-called Chamber of Commerce building, owned by local developer Mac Bell — through the 61 Commercial St. address at the end of the former Birdseye property.

The Birdseye site is where Beauport Gloucester LLC, the company headed by Jim Davis of New Balance athletic apparel and Sheree DeLorenzo of Cruiseport Gloucester, are seeking to build a projected 102-room hotel.

The proposed overlay zone would not replace the marine industrial zone, which has long covered the entire Fort neighborbood, with the Fort's residences allowed as a non-conforming use. It would, however, open the door to a hotel and related amenities such as restaurants and a conference center by "overlaying" the added uses on top of those allowed under the marine industrial designation.

Steven Fletcher may be contacted at 1-978-283-7000 x3455, or sfletcher@gloucestertimes.com. Follow him on Twitter at @stevengdt.