The Planning Board adopted two procedural changes and amended the floodplain zoning overlay ordinance at its Thursday meeting, and the City Council voted to release executive session minutes from January and February.

The Planning Board’s procedural changes require departments to explicitly state when they have no issues with a proposal and mandate a tree-replanting plan when projects request tree removal. The board also amended the city’s floodplain zoning overlay ordinance in response to new FEMA flood maps; the change was presented as necessary to ensure residents can continue to qualify for flood insurance.

Separately, the City Council voted to release executive session minutes from January and February of this year. The transcript does not record objections or the vote tally for releasing the minutes in the excerpt provided.

The meeting also noted that municipal meetings are cablecast live on Comcast Channel 6 in Lowell and that live streams are available at ltc.org and on the city’s YouTube page.

Provenance: planning board actions were reported in the council meeting record after transportation items; the executive session minutes release was included in the council’s governance items.