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Planning board weighs NMCOG 'At Home in Greater Lowell' housing strategy, recommends fair‑housing training
Summary
The board reviewed the Northern Middlesex COG's regional housing strategy, praised the report and recommended regular fair‑housing training for planning board members while noting zoning and infrastructure questions need further study.
Lowell’s Planning Board spent the latter part of its May 4 meeting discussing the Northern Middlesex Council of Governments’ regional housing strategy, “At Home in Greater Lowell.” Board members commended the report’s data and urged the city to consider actionable elements such as fair‑housing training, a regional housing accelerator, and targeted zoning changes.
Planner‑board representative (and NMCOG participant) told members the strategy outlines six goals and 17 strategies and urged the board to identify low‑hanging, implementable actions. Several members supported adding regular fair‑housing training to the planning board’s bylaws: “We take the conflict‑of‑interest every year… I don't see annually [training] as being a real burden,” a member said, arguing training would help new and existing members.
Members also discussed inclusionary zoning, adaptive reuse and the housing accelerator concept—an action plan to coordinate grants, partners and a housing‑navigator function that inventories existing affordable stock. Councilors and members said such regional coordination could unlock grant opportunities and help communities share the burden of homelessness and supportive housing needs.
Board members balanced enthusiasm with caution on local impacts. Some warned that placing denser housing by right into single‑family neighborhoods could erode neighborhood character, and others urged further study of infrastructure implications—stormwater, sewer capacity and school impacts—before systemwide adoption. The board asked planning staff to report back and recommended NMCOG follow up on feasible short‑term steps such as committing to regular fair‑housing training and bringing zoning recommendations to the city’s zoning review subcommittee for consideration.
What’s next: Planning staff will explore how to implement regular fair‑housing training for board members and will report back; zoning subcommittee meetings are scheduled to assess possible code changes related to housing production.
