Newbury Board Clears Road Work for Town's First MBTA Zoning Development

Select Board · Meeting of January 27, 2026

Newbury Select Board approves road improvements for the town's first MBTA zoning development and delays action on contested Plum Island beach easements. The board voted unanimously to allow off-site infrastructure changes at 34 Central Street — including a realigned intersection, ADA ramps, flashing crosswalk beacons, and speed-feedback signs — to support a 44-unit townhouse condominium project developed by MHOC LLC, which engineer Christian Smith of Beals Associates said Planning Board member Pete Pecos called "the first community in Essex County to have an MBTA community approval in sight." Mark Sarkady, president of the Plum Island Foundation since its 2007 founding, asked the board to delay any vote accepting decades-old beach nourishment easements, citing procedural defects and what he called potential constitutional issues, and the board rescheduled a public meeting on the matter to February 17 at 5:30 p.m. at Town Hall. The board also unanimously approved employment contracts for both the deputy police chief and fire chief following an executive session, granted a new Class 2 used-car dealer license to Cargo Max Incorporated at 86 Newburyport Turnpike, and voted to initiate a historical significance inquiry for a town-owned structure at 25 High Road under the demolition delay bylaw.

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Source: the Select Board meeting of January 27, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.