Newbury ZBA Approves Special Permit for Plum Island Home Rebuild After Revisions

NEWBURY — June 18, 2026 — Newbury ZBA unanimously approves special permit for Plum Island home demolition and rebuild at 15 Sunset Drive. The Zoning Board of Appeals voted 4-0 Thursday to grant a special permit to applicant Gene Fandetti to raze an existing circa-1880 structure on Plum Island and construct a new single-family home on pilings with a one-car garage, finding the project meets all Plum Island Overlay District requirements and is not more detrimental to the surrounding neighborhood. The board worked through a spreadsheet error that had listed the proposed total floor area as 2,701 square feet; the corrected figure is 3,075 square feet against a confirmed lot size of 17,719 square feet, yielding a floor area ratio of 17 percent. The project was reduced by roughly 900 square feet between hearings — from about 3,988 square feet — after the garage was cut from two cars to one, one bathroom was eliminated, and a side addition was pulled in nine feet. Abutters Margaret Thomas of 14 Columbia Way and Paul Irving of 26 Columbia Way pressed the board on FAR definitions and lot coverage calculations; a separate letter from Jay Martell questioned the accuracy of a 44-property neighborhood survey submitted by the applicant's architect. Chair Eric Saan noted that any changes required by the Conservation Commission, which has already been in discussion with the applicant about dune impacts, must return before the ZBA before a building permit can issue.