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Lowell commission approves 11‑lot subdivision at 71 North Berwicka with tree-preservation and wetland‑boundary conditions
Summary
The Lowell Conservation Commission issued an order of conditions for FTO Realty Trust’s proposed 11‑lot subdivision at 71 North Berwicka Road, approving the project 3–1 while requiring preservation of two rear‑line trees and marking wetland boundaries to protect the drainage easement.
The Lowell Conservation Commission voted 3–1 to issue an order of conditions for a proposed subdivision at 71 North Berwicka Road, clearing the way for FTO Realty Trust to develop the property into 11 single‑family lots while placing specific conditions to protect nearby wetlands and neighborhood trees.
Attorney John Cox, representing FTO Realty Trust, told the commission the planning board had already granted definitive subdivision approval with nine conditions and that a tree survey requested at a prior June hearing had been completed. “We were here on June 10 and had a I think about a 2 hour discussion about this proposal … the tree survey was done. It was submitted to the conservation commission,” Cox said, asking the commission to issue the requested order of conditions.
Resident Stacy Decker, who lives across from the site, urged the commission to preserve the existing tree line to protect privacy and neighborhood character. “The existing tree line provides environmental benefits while also serving as an important buffer for the surrounding neighborhood,” Decker said, noting long‑standing community attachment to the area.
Commissioners examined a tree inventory presented by the project team that identified six trees in the 50–100‑foot buffer and eight trees within the 100‑year floodplain, and discussed replacement plantings required by the planning‑board decision (an aggregate plan for approximately 42 two‑inch‑diameter replacements across lots and roadway). Commissioners and the applicant agreed to preserve two large trees on the rear property line and to mark wetland boundaries with stone bounds to prevent disturbance of the drainage easement.
After discussion the commission moved to approve an order of conditions incorporating the tree‑preservation and wetland‑boundary measures. In a roll‑call vote the order passed 3 to 1. The commission recorded the vote as an approval of the order of conditions with the specified tree and marking requirements; the file will proceed subject to those conditions.
