Gloucester zoning board hears 7 new requests Thursday, including a Hammond Museum appeal and the Maplewood Avenue stormwater fix

Gloucester's Zoning Board of Appeals takes up seven new requests on Thursday, Oct. 29. One is an appeal from Hammond Museum Inc. The board will also return to a housing project on Maplewood Avenue whose underground stormwater tanks were set too high.

The Zoning Board of Appeals decides when owners may build or use property in ways the city's zoning rules would not normally allow. It meets at 7 p.m. in Kyrouz Auditorium on the second floor of City Hall, 9 Dale Ave., and on Zoom (meeting ID 883 3978 1243).

Hammond Museum's appeal

Hammond Museum Inc. is appealing a ruling by the city's Building Commissioner. The commissioner decided the museum needs a special permit for an "accessory use" at 74 Hesperus Ave., the notice says. An accessory use is something extra on a property beyond its main purpose. The notice does not say what the use is.

A special permit is permission the board can grant when a use is allowed only with its approval. In an appeal, the board decides whether the commissioner's ruling was right.

Maplewood Avenue

Bigelow Real Estate LLC is back for a hearing on its request to change the conditions and plans of its approved housing project at 50R Maplewood Avenue. At the Oct. 8 meeting, the board heard that the project's stormwater tanks went in about 4 feet higher than planned, and the developer asked to add a pump. The board said the change was big enough to need a full hearing. Read what the board heard on Oct. 8.

The other new requests

• Eastern Point Yacht Club, 125 Eastern Point Blvd.: a special permit or variance for an accessory use.
• 81 Western Ave.: the owner, a realty trust, wants to tear down and rebuild a building that does not meet current zoning and to cover more of the lot. The lot is in an AE flood zone, an area the federal flood maps say has a 1 percent chance of flooding in any year.
• 12 Smith St.: a dormer.
• Addison Street: turning a two family house into a three family house with fewer parking spaces than the rules require.
• High Rock Terrace: tearing down and rebuilding a building that does not meet current zoning.
• Holly Street: a second story addition.

A variance lets an owner break a specific rule, such as a setback, when following it would cause a hardship.

The board will also approve its meeting calendar for 2027 and sign decisions on five earlier requests: 103 Essex Ave., 18 Rogers St., 14R Becker Circle, 21 Walnut St. and 8 Angle St.

How to take part

Anyone can attend in person or on Zoom. The applications are on the Zoning Board of Appeals page of the city's website, and the building inspector's office answers questions at 978-325-5210 during business hours, the notice says. The full notice with the Zoom link is in the city's posting.

Earlier coverage: Gloucester housing project's stormwater tanks went in about 4 feet too high (Oct. 21), the Oct. 8 meeting.