Planning board approves two preliminary subdivisions amid neighborhood worries over contamination and data‑center expansion

The Lowell Planning Board on April 23 approved two preliminary subdivision plans for parcels owned by a developer commonly referred to in public comments as Markley, clearing the administrative step that redraws lot lines but not authorizing construction. The approvals prompted extended public comment and technical questioning about contaminated soil, dust control, traffic and the potential for future data‑center expansion.

Stantech consulting engineer Antonio Moore presented the Prince A (Markley Way) subdivision proposal and a separate preliminary plan for 45 Bolt Street. Staff memos said the preliminary plans met the city’s subdivision filing requirements, but several residents told the board they feared the redrawing of lot lines could be used to facilitate industrial expansion in neighborhoods already affected by a nearby data center.

Holly Flynn, who said she lives at New Hall condos, urged the board to preserve existing access and argued the subdivision as drawn would move a property line adjacent to residents’ driveway and could decrease property values and emergency access. Jake Forz, representing Honest Future for Lowell, and other neighbors pressed for soil testing and questioned whether lot lines were being manipulated to skirt the city’s data‑center moratorium.

Several residents described visible dust, tree die‑off and neighborhood disturbance associated with earlier activity on the company’s main campus. An expert witness who said he has 40 years’ experience in the data‑center industry urged the board to require testing, noting cooling towers and concentrated wastewater from data‑center operations can contain metals and biocides that require proper handling.

Attorney Dan Bailey, who said he represents Markley, responded to the contamination questions by pointing the board and public to the state records: he said the Licensed Site Professional certified a permanent solution and filed the paperwork on May 16, 2025 (release tracking number 300015650) and that an Activity and Use Limitation (AUL) is recorded for part of the site. Bailey said that where excavation is required within the AUL area, work must follow the Massachusetts Contingency Plan and be supervised by a Licensed Site Professional and that DEP retains audit and enforcement authority.

Board members repeatedly explained the limits of preliminary‑plan review: approving a preliminary subdivision does not grant building or demolition permits nor does it authorize site work beyond ordinary landscaping. Several members urged residents with suspected contamination to report specific incidents to the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the city’s building and health authorities, which are copied on AUL filings.

The Planning Board approved the two preliminary subdivision applications by voice vote after staff recommended that the plans met the technical submission requirements for preliminary subdivision review. The board and staff said the definitive subdivision and any site‑plan or special‑permit applications that follow will include the more detailed engineering, stormwater, traffic mitigation and remediation plans the public requested.

Next steps: the approvals allow the applicants to prepare definitive subdivision and site‑plan materials. Any demolition, excavation or construction in areas subject to an AUL will require a soil‑management plan, site‑specific remediation controls and building‑department permits; those measures are subject to DEP oversight and may be audited.