Hearing on Institution for Savings expansion postponed
Jun. 23—NEWBURYPORT — A decision on the Institution for Savings' expansion plans will have to wait after the Planning Board postponed a public hearing on the matter Wednesday night.
The bank has been planning to expand its main office at 93 State St. for more than a year but the board voted 5-3 to deny the bank's application in March 2021.
The Institution for Savings challenged the decision in Land Court and eventually proposed a settlement agreement that the City Council approved in April.
The bank's original plan called for a 16,000-square-foot, two-story addition but, according to the settlement agreement, the cornice height would be lowered by 18 inches around the entire addition.
A proposed connector would also be lowered 18 inches and the exterior treatment above the cornice would be replaced with copper.
The bank would provide a noise and exhaust study as part of the settlement, which also covers the type of windows that would be used, raising plant beds six inches above the sidewalks, as well as giving the addition a recessed appearance by extending a Prospect Street facade.
The matter was returned to the Planning Board, which was scheduled to hold a public hearing and potentially vote on the matter Wednesday night.
But board members Richard Yeager and Alden Clark were not present. City Planning Director Andrew Port requested a continuance, rescheduling the hearing for the board's next meeting July 6.
The board unanimously agreed to postpone the hearing.
Staff writer Jim Sullivan covers Amesbury and Salisbury for The Daily News. He can be reached via email at jsullivan@newburyportnews.com or by phone at 978-961-3145. Follow him on Twitter @ndnsully.
Staff writer Jim Sullivan covers Amesbury and Salisbury for The Daily News. He can be reached via email at jsullivan@newburyportnews.com or by phone at 978-961-3145. Follow him on Twitter @ndnsully.
