Infill in Newburyport, Massachusetts is becoming a very hot topic again, as I think it should.

Last year the Newburyport Planning Board brought a zoning ordinance that addressed the issue of “infill” before the Newburyport City Council.

It was actually a revision of an existing zoning law. It was directed specifically at deeded 2 family houses. The revision would have limited how big an addition one could make to a two family home. The idea was to prevent large mega additions that developers in particular and some homeowners take advantage of.

The Newburyport City Council did not pass that zoning amendment.

It is my understanding that the Newburyport Planning Board is preparing another version of this revised zoning law to present to the Newburyport City Council again, possibly as early as this summer.

I would hope that this time around the Newburyport City Council would pass what I am going to call the “Infill Ordinance.”

I would urge everyone who wants to see this zoning amendment come to pass to:

A) Talk to each of the Newburyport City Councilors and see if they have any objections and if they do, find out what they are. I am sure that there are some Newburyport City Councilors that do have objections to the “Infill Ordinance.”

B) Let each of the City Councilors know that you are for the “Infill Ordinance.”

C) Write Letters to the Editor in favor of this zoning change that would help control “infill.” Send them to the Newburyport Daily News, the Newburyport Current and the Undertoad.

D) Send in postings here, to the Newburyport Political Blog.

I believe the argument against the “Infill Ordinance” was that it impinged on people’s property rights. And it unfairly targeted a small segment of the population—owners of two family homes.

The last revision allowed for an extension of 550 square feet for each unit.

I imagine that there would be strong lobbying efforts against the passage of this ordinance by developers in particular. Developers have built huge additions that often dwarf the original property and are often out of scale with the surrounding neighborhood.

We as residents of this city can help preserve the character of Newburyport Massachusetts. The passage of this ‘infill ordinance” is one way to help accomplish that goal.

Mary Eaton, Newburyport