Orleans Planning Board Cancels Two Summer Meetings, Targets November Zoning Overhaul

ORLEANS — June 9, 2026 — Orleans Planning Board votes to cancel two summer meetings while pressing toward fall zoning reform. The board voted unanimously at its June 9 meeting to cancel sessions on July 28 and August 25, the first summer break the board has taken in at least two years, while committing to a compressed schedule to bring commercial zoning use table amendments to the November 16 Town Meeting. Elizabeth Jenkins, Assistant Director of Planning and Community Development, presented a full draft of a revised use table that consolidates what she described as close to 100 existing commercial entries into a single page organized around broader categories including food and beverage services, offices, and retail sales. Jenkins said the goal is to reduce the frequency of special permit applications to the Zoning Board of Appeals, telling the board, "making going to ZBA by exception not by design is an effort that we certainly want to make." The Select Board also elevated Francesca Galazzi from associate to full voting member and reappointed Lynn Eicholt to a new three-year term ending June 30, 2029. A planning intern from the University of North Carolina joins staff Monday to help advance the Growth Incentive Zone application framework.