Planning board approves 80‑unit development at Chelmsford Street with conditions after neighbor concerns

The Lowell City Planning Board on June 2 approved site plan review and a special permit for driveway dimensions for an 80‑unit residential development proposed by Lowell Central Electric Company, Inc., at 534–556 Chelmsford Street, subject to multiple conditions requested by the board.

Attorney John Cox presented the application for Lowell Central Electric and said the company acquired the vacant site from the city in 2024 and had earlier secured a zoning change to Suburban Multifamily. Cox said the developer will build three buildings totaling 80 units with 118 parking spaces provided; the project requires a variance for parking and height and a special permit for the driveway dimensions.

Matt Hammer of Lamplex Engineering and architect renderings showed two four‑story 24‑unit buildings at the front of the site and a five‑story 32‑unit building at the rear, with at‑grade parking under each building and a 24‑foot internal access drive. Cox and Hammer told the board that the applicant had submitted a Phase I environmental assessment (a “21E”) and that test holes for the drainage system had been witnessed by city staff; the Phase I report was filed with the city the week of the hearing.

Neighbors raised objections at the public hearing. An abutter’s attorney said his client seeks continued access to a garage behind Quimby Avenue and asked whether the project could be built without the fourth floor to avoid variances; the attorney said litigation may be necessary if an access accommodation could not be negotiated. A Quimby Avenue resident asked the city to require soil sampling before excavation because the site historically stored fuel tanks. The applicant said a Phase I had been prepared and that Massachusetts’s MCP (Massachusetts Contingency Plan) procedures would govern any contamination discovered during construction; the team also said multiple test holes showed no visible contamination during drainage investigations.

The board debated screening and impacts to Quimby Avenue neighbors. The applicant agreed to provide a gated access at the rear that would be locked for general traffic and only opened for emergency vehicles and future Lowell Housing Authority access; the applicant also agreed to replace a chain‑link fence with landscaping screening (evergreens/arborvitae) behind the Quimby Avenue lots and to finalize landscaping and snow‑storage plans with planning staff.

Board conditions adopted with the approval included: installation of screening evergreens (final plan to be approved by DPD), a locked gate at the rear for emergency and future Housing Authority access only, final DPD approval of the landscaping and lighting plans, compliance with City stormwater/stormwater management requirements, working with the City on any possible design and implementation of optimal traffic signal timing/phasing at the Chelmsford/Plain Street intersection, a tenant welcome packet describing transit and travel alternatives, and maintenance limits on plantings/snow in sight triangles. The DPD memo and traffic‑engineer recommendations were explicitly incorporated into conditions.

After discussion the board voted to approve the site plan and the special permit for driveway length; members said the fire department had reviewed the swept‑path analysis and agreed the internal 24‑foot drive provided necessary access. The vote carried with no recorded opposition. The board noted continued follow‑up by DPD on final engineering, stormwater permitting and outstanding environmental documentation.

The approval allows the applicant to pursue building permits after satisfying the board’s conditions and departmental signoffs; neighbors and the applicant said they would continue outreach about access and easement issues outside the planning hearing process.