Commission closes public hearing and issues order of conditions for 50 Payne Street townhouse project

The Lowell Conservation Commission on April 9 closed the public hearing for a notice of intent from GreenTree Properties LLC and issued a standard City of Lowell order of conditions — including a special condition requiring a plan to mitigate invasive plant species — for a proposed 24-unit townhouse development at 50 Payne Street.

Matt Hammer, representing Lamplex Engineering and Surveying, presented the filing for GreenTree Properties LLC. Hammer said the site is 45,764 square feet and lies adjacent to the Pawtucket Canal, a privately owned canal system governed by the proprietors of locks and canals. He told the commission the project will remove existing buildings and redevelop the parcel into multiple townhouse buildings with garages and rear decks. "This project is actually gonna be the first project that gets done because this is the worst section of the city that's affected," Hammer said, referring to chronic combined sewer and stormwater issues in the area.

The filing notes the work will take place within the 100-foot buffer zone of the Pawtucket Canal and within the FEMA-designated 100-year floodplain overlay. To address combined sewer surcharging during heavy rain events, the project includes a subsurface storage tank and control system sized at 8,000 gallons; Hammer said the tank can accommodate the project’s flow for up to 24 hours, though the commission was told typical surcharge events last about two hours. The stormwater design also includes three catch basins leading to a full infiltration system with subsurface infiltration chambers and compensatory cut-and-fill calculations to meet performance standards for bordering land subject to flooding (net cut and fill volumes described in the filing).

Hammer also described a 12.5-foot easement intended to provide a future walkway connection from Clemente Park to the proprietors’ canal property; that easement would be implemented separately by the city and is not part of the current work under the notice of intent. He said construction sequencing will start with installation of the tank and then the duplex building at the street corner, with the rest of the project constructed thereafter. The filing and project review include a planned Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP) and likely an NPDES general-permit filing because the site exceeds one acre.

Commissioners asked about invasive plants on and near the site. Hammer said the project team will include a written invasive-species removal and maintenance plan and agreed to add that plan to the order of conditions. After discussion, a commissioner moved to issue a standard City of Lowell order of conditions with a special condition requiring an invasive-species mitigation plan; the commission approved the motion by voice vote. The public hearing was closed by recorded motion prior to the vote.

The commission’s action does not itself authorize construction; the order of conditions sets permit terms and requires the applicant to finalize construction drawings, stormwater details, and operation/maintenance plans for the stormwater controls and the 8,000-gallon storage tank before construction permits are issued.