Shirley Avenue: commission allows single-tree removal, continues NOI for proposed house in floodplain

The Lowell Conservation Commission on Jan. 3 granted a Negative 3 determination for removal of a hazardous tree at 51–57 Shirley Ave and took up a separate notice of intent by the same owner for construction of a single-family home on the parcel; the NOI was continued to Jan. 22 because a DEP file number has not yet been assigned.

Property owner Kenneth (Ken) Dews presented a request to remove one leaning and rotted tree; he submitted photos and an arborist quote and said the trunk and base are decayed and the tree leans toward a neighbor’s house. Commissioners reviewed aerial mapping and photos and agreed the removal was appropriate; Commissioner Belli moved for a Negative 3 determination, Commissioner Lapuette seconded, and the commission voted aye.

Later in the meeting surveyor and engineer Paul Campbell, representing Ken Dews, presented a notice of intent to build a single-family home on the lot. Campbell said FEMA flood maps place the property in the 100-year floodplain (flood elevation cited at about 100.4 feet) and that the new house design uses helical piers (screw piers) and elevated beams such that the house would sit on stilts a foot or two above the flood elevation. Utilities and stairs will occupy minimal flood volume; the applicant proposed to compensate for lost flood storage by removing earlier mounded material and by grading elsewhere on the lot.

Campbell said the project is exempt from state stormwater permitting as a single-family home but must comply with the city standard to manage one inch of runoff from impervious surfaces; because the only proposed impervious surface is the roof, the applicant proposed an on-site infiltration basin sized to meet the city's one-inch capture requirement. Commissioners asked about helical pier depth, structural details and flood-storage accounting; Campbell said helical piers are driven to torque and no large excavation is proposed, and that the house superstructure will be well above the flood elevation.

Because the DEP file number had not been issued and the project is technically a notice of intent, the commission could not close or issue a decision and voted to continue the hearing to Jan. 22. Commissioners expressed concern about the neighborhood’s flood history and said other boards (planning, building) would also review structural and zoning matters if the project proceeds.

The tree removal may proceed following the Negative 3 determination; the NOI will return to the commission with a DEP file number and any additional technical documentation requested by staff.