Beverly Planning Board Unanimously Endorses Ellingwood Court Subdivision Plan

BEVERLY — April 14, 2020 — Beverly Planning Board unanimously endorses subdivision plan and debates Master Plan release amid pandemic. Meeting entirely by remote video and phone under Governor Baker's March 12 executive order, the board voted 6-0 twice to endorse a definitive subdivision plan for 40 Ellingwood Court and accept the Form G covenant for applicant Anthony P. Baltus, trustee of the Freshwater Real Estate Trust, setting a construction completion deadline of April 13, 2022. The lengthiest exchange of the night centered on whether to advance the city's long-in-progress Master Plan toward public release during the COVID-19 emergency; Chairperson Ellen Hutchinson said she had "really significant concerns" about releasing a final draft without meaningful public input, and member Sarah Bartley warned that residents dealing with job loss and remote schooling were the least able to engage. Planning staff Darlene Wynn, whose appointment as Beverly's next Planning Director is pending City Council approval around April 27, said no rush was intended and that strategy would be worked out with Mayor Cahill before the May 5 meeting.