City of Lowell - Planning Board
OFFICE OF THE CITY MANAGER
DIVISION OF PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT
JFK Civic Center


Phone: 978-446-7200
50 Arcand Drive
Fax:
978-446-7014
Lowell, MA 01852


Email: aclausen@lowellma.gov


Planning Board Minutes
September 5, 2007 6:30 P.M.
Mayor’s Reception Room, City Hall
City of Lowell, 375 Merrimack Street, Lowell, MA

Note: These minutes are not completed verbatim. For further detail, video recordings are available
at the Division of Planning & Development, 50 Arcand Drive, Lowell, MA

Members Present
Thomas Linnehan, Chairman
Joseph Clermont, Vice Chairman
Richard Lockhart, Second Vice Chairman
Gerard Frechette, Member
Stephen Gendron, Member

Others
Aaron Clausen, Associate Planner
James Errickson, Chief Planner
Maria Sheehy, Assistant City Solicitor

The following are the results of the September 5, 2007 Planning Board meeting held in the Mayor’s
Reception Room at Lowell City Hall at 6:30 p.m.

All members of the Board were present.

Public Hearings
Special Permit: 1881 Middlesex Street
The Board will discuss the proposed conditions for a special permit approval for the project located at
1881 Middlesex Street.

Per order of Land Court, the Lowell Planning Board will hold a public hearing to hear all interested
persons relative to an application by Middlesex Partners Limited & Lexy Development for special permit
review concerning driveway length in conjunction with the development of the property located at 1881,
1883, & 1857.1 Middlesex Street. The project includes the demolition of the existing buildings on site
and the construction of 128 housing units in four (4) buildings on a 402,930sf lot, with associated parking
and landscaping. A special permit is sought to allow access to the site via a 426-foot long driveway,
through a curb cut located at 1881/1883 Middlesex Street across from Dingwell Street. The current
petition is being heard for special permit review under Section 6.7.2 of the Lowell Zoning Ordinance.

The Land Court remanded this item to the Planning Board in order to reconsider access to the site for
emergency vehicles. Therefore discussion and the ultimate decision made by the Board was limited to the
adequacy of access for emergency vehicles, specifically with respect to three additional conditions to be
incorporated with the original set of nine. Conditions to be considered:

8. The applicant shall retain the services of a tow company to provide for the towing and removal of motor
vehicles from the project for the following infractions:

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Planning Board Meeting Minutes – September 5, 2007
Page 2
• Vehicle parking on the access driveway and emergency access drive;
• Parking within a fire lane;
• Parking illegally within the project;
• Removal of unregistered motor vehicles; and
• Removal of vehicles as requested by the property management company and/or representative of the
City of Lowell including the Lowell Police Department or Department of Inspectional Services
9. The Applicant shall place a sign within the project with the name, address, and telephone number of the
tow company retained to monitor the project.
10. The Applicant hereby grants to the City of Lowell, acting through it’s police department or inspectional
services department, the right to enter onto the project to enforce the conditions referred to in paragraph 8
herein by either towing motor vehicles or arranging for the towing of motor vehicles.

The following individuals spoke in favor of the project:
Philip Nyman (375 Gorham St., Attorney for Applicant)

Mr. Nyman reiterated that the only issue the Board should be reviewing in their decision, and that should
be heard from the public, was with respect to the special permit and adequate access to the driveway for
emergency vehicles.

The following individuals spoke in opposition of the project:
Patricia Emerick (1878 Middlesex St.), Tony Deprofio (50 Columbia St.), Mary Doney (1892 Middlesex
St.), and Scott Hamilton (1847 Middlesex St.).

Those speaking against the project where primarily concerned with the traffic along Middlesex Street.
They were concerned existing traffic is too heavy and they felt the impact of the project would cause
additional strain on the roadway.

Planning Board Discussion:

Discussion from the Board revolved around a concern that the emergency access must remain available to
emergency vehicles at all times. Of particular concern was the illegally parked cars that frequently
materialize along the access drive, therefore preventing adequate access for emergency vehicles. It was
pointed out that along with ‘no parking’ signs a tow company must be contracted by the owner’s
association to tow any cars that park on the drive. The Board also discussed the possibility with the
applicant the inclusion of a bus stop on the project’s property and whether or not other neighborhood
children could use it. The applicant’s attorney suggested they would be willing to explore the possibility.

Motion:
Member J. Clermont motioned to incorporate conditions 8 through 10 into the original conditions
agreed upon and adding to condition six the applicant should explore the possibility to have the bus
stop shared with other neighborhood children. Member R. Lockhart seconded to APPROVE the
Special Permit. The motion passed with all members voting in favor (5-0). The plan was approved
with the following conditions:

1. All work on the access driveway shall be done in accordance with the Plan entitled “Site Plan for Multi
Family Condominium at 1857 & 1881 Middlesex Street, Lowell, Massachusetts” by Hancock Associates
dated May 18, 2006 with a final revision date of November 10, 2006.
2. The access drive shall have a length of 426 feet and shall have a width of 24 feet.
3. The applicant shall include speed bumps along the 426-foot access drive to the site, and have the final plans
reviewed and approved by the DPD Transportation Engineer to insure proper design and placement.
4. Applicant must provide a safety fence around the proposed drainage area, only if that

drainage area fills with water to a depth of greater than four feet.
9. The applicant shall petition the Lowell City Council to request that a No Parking Zone be established along
Middlesex Street within 25 feet of the entrance to the project site.

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Planning Board Meeting Minutes – September 5, 2007
Page 3
10. The applicant must work with DPD and the School Department to design and provide an appropriate bus
stop at the entrance to the site for any school aged children residing in the development and explore the
possibility to have the bus stop used by other neighborhood children.
11. The applicant shall prepare a plan for the installation of No Parking Signs on both the access driveway
servicing the project and the emergency access drive, said plan to be reviewed and approved by the DPD
Transportation Engineers.
12. The applicant shall retain the services of a tow company to provide for the towing and removal of motor
vehicles from the project for the following infractions:
• Vehicle parking on the access driveway and emergency access drive;
• Parking within a fire lane;
• Parking illegally within the project;
• Removal of unregistered motor vehicles; and
• Removal of vehicles as requested by the property management company and/or representative of the
City of Lowell including the Lowell Police Department or Department of Inspectional Services
11. The Applicant shall place a sign within the project with the name, address, and telephone number of the
tow company retained to monitor the project.
12. The Applicant hereby grants to the City of Lowell, acting through it’s police department or inspectional
services department, the right to enter onto the project to enforce the conditions referred to in paragraph 8
herein by either towing motor vehicles or arranging for the towing of motor vehicles.
11. Applicant must incorporate all of the changes and issues regarding the project as noted in the letter from
Katie Bomengen, Hancock Associates, dated July 14, 2006.

Old Business

206 Rogers Street
Board members discussed including an informal pre-application session for a project located at 206
Rogers Street to the September 6, 2007 meeting agenda. The session would provide the applicant an
opportunity to discuss their intentions to reduce density for the former YWCA located on site, and to
determine how receptive the Board would be to an updated proposal in order to satisfy criteria for which a
special permit may be granted. Board Members agreed to include in the agenda. No formal decision was
made.

Other Business

Meeting Minutes
Board members discussed using Planning Board Meeting Actions developed by DPD staff to be used
as a basis for future Meeting Minutes. Members agreed, and DPD staff agreed the Meeting Actions
would be a suffice, and would receive final confirmation from the City’s Legal Department to ensure
required information will be included. No formal decision was made

________________________________________________________
Aaron Clausen, Associate Planner/Planning Board Administrator



These minutes were approved by the Planning Board on October 1, 2007
R. Lockhart: Motion to approve
S. Gendron: Second
All members voted in favor (5-0)

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