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Lowell planning board continues hearing on 558 Gorham Street after late plan submissions
Summary
The Lowell Planning Board continued a site plan and special permit hearing for 558 Gorham St. after staff and the chair said revised plans were submitted late and had not yet been reviewed; applicant presented changes and the board agreed to continue to Aug. 18 so staff and the public can review.
The Lowell City Planning Board on June 2 continued a hearing on a site plan and special-permit application for 558 Gorham Street after planning staff told the chair a revised plan set arrived late and had not been reviewed.
The applicant, LML Investments Lehi, originally sought approval to build two townhouses (one with four units, one with two) in the urban mixed‑use district; the revised submission reduces the proposal to four units — a single‑family house plus a three‑unit building — and includes changes to impervious surface, parking, landscaping and stormwater.
“At this point, I personally as the chair will not be voting on this matter tonight because I have not seen the plans,” the chair said after staff reported the new plans were submitted two weeks past the board’s deadline. Planning staff told the board they had not had time to review the revised documents or receive departmental comments.
Katie Enright, a professional engineer with Howard Stein Hudson who said she represented the applicant, told the board the changes reduce the number of structures, trim impervious area by more than 2,000 square feet and add stormwater detention designed to infiltrate one inch of rainfall across the site. Enright also said the revised plan shows nine parking spaces (two in‑unit garages per unit plus one exterior space), added street trees and planting, relocated snow storage and new sidewalk/curb work on Gorham Street.
A board member asked about façades facing Gorham Street; Enright said architectural revisions place porches and front doors on the street side with garages to the side, and windows/doors added to the three‑unit building to better match the streetscape. The board and staff emphasized that because plans were posted late the public and members had not had an opportunity to review them online before the hearing.
A motion to continue the matter to the board’s next available meeting carried; staff and the applicant agreed to a continuance to Aug. 18, 2025, to allow departmental review and public notice of the revised materials.
The continuance means the board took no final action on the site plan or special permit on June 2; the applicant said it would return to a future hearing after staff and departments have reviewed the late submittal.
The board invited written comments and said the revised plans would be posted on the city website so the public could see them before the August hearing.
