Lowell planning board approves amended special permits for 133 Clark Road with conditions

The Lowell Planning Board on Thursday approved amended special permits for 133 Clark Road that will allow a revised driveway location and modified lot lines, subject to several departmental approvals and recording of an access easement.

Attorney Catherine Flood, representing applicants Jeremy and Darlene McSorley, told the board the project is a modification of a previously approved subdivision and special permits. Flood said the new driveway would extend to provide access to a relocated dwelling and that the proposal had received zoning relief from the Zoning Board of Appeals. Matt Hammer of Lamplex Engineering walked the board through the revised plan and materials, and said "All of this material here will be porous pavers" for the extended drive and that the plan includes drainage changes and an infiltration trench.

The application sought an amendment under section 5.29 to permit a large-lot subdivision with reduced frontage, and a modification under section 6.7 to allow a driveway longer than the standard limit. Flood said the previously approved driveway measured about 198 feet; the revised driveway is proposed at 258.8 feet. The record shows the property was previously approved as a two‑lot configuration after an earlier five‑lot plan was altered; one lot was described in filings as about 17,517 square feet following ZBA action.

Board members focused on public-safety and drainage reviews. Franchesca, the city's project manager in the Division of Planning and Development, explained how departmental comments are recorded and said that when a department entry reads "no comment," staff interpret that to mean the department reviewed the file and had no concerns. She told the board: "When you see no comment, that means that that that department has written no comment. So in that case, in the case of the fire department, they have indicated that they don't have any comments that and we're interpreting that to mean that they don't have any concerns about the application." Several board members nonetheless asked that final approvals be conditioned on explicit sign‑offs from the fire department and from engineering/stormwater and wastewater staff.

Lowell Regional Wastewater Utility reviewer Gordon Bergeron had written concerns in comments dated April 11 and April 23 about detention system overflow locations, placement of level spreaders near property lines, and invert elevations that made some flows infeasible; the applicant submitted revised plans and said those invert errors were typographical and have been changed and resubmitted for review. Hammer said the team has had "3 meetings with the stormwater team," removed an outlet shown on earlier plans and rerouted drainage to an infiltration area.

The board's approval included conditions that require the applicants to record an easement granting future owners of proposed Lot 1 access to the driveway and parking and walkways located on proposed Lot 2; the approval is also conditioned on final approval by the fire department, the engineering department and the city's stormwater management team, plus final approval of the landscaping plan by DPD. The board noted the project must obtain a stormwater permit and that an occupancy permit cannot be issued without department sign‑offs.

The motion to amend the special permit and to approve the driveway special permit passed unanimously, with the chair stating: "Chair votes yes... 5 in favor, none against." The board did not record individual roll-call votes by name in the transcript.

Board members and the applicant were directed to continue coordination with DPD, LRWW and the fire department to secure final technical sign‑offs before the project moves forward.

The board's decision updates a previously approved plan and preserves the requirement that technical departments confirm the revised drainage and access before final permits are issued.