About the Planning Board

Introduction

The Planning Board is formed under the authority of the Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 41, section 81A through 81G. The Planning Board is established to provide for conscientious and orderly land use development through comprehensive planning, subdivision control, and zoning bylaw and zoning map review. The powers and duties of a Planning Board include:

• Making careful studies of the resources, possibilities and needs of the city, and making plans for the development of the city.
• Administering and enforcing the provisions and requirements of M.G.L. § 41, the Subdivision Control Law.
• Providing site plan review to projects as outlined in the Zoning Ordinance.
• Providing special permit review to projects in the Zoning Ordinance for which the Planning Board is defined as the Special Permit Granting Authority.
• Initiating revisions to the zoning code and zoning map consistent with the city's land use goals and the Comprehensive Master Plan, and providing recommendations to the City Council on proposed amendments to the zoning ordinance.

Public Hearings

Most Planning Board meetings are held on the first and third Monday of the month at 7:00 PM in the Arthur Hammar Conference Room on the second floor of the JFK Civic Center (above the Police Station). The public is always welcome to attend these meetings. Some Planning Board meetings and hearings are held on different dates or at different times, so it is advisable to review the hearing notices carefully.

The hearing allows for the opportunity for an applicant to make a case for their project before the Board. A public hearing requires the applicant to notify abutting owners (based on the assessors data) within 300 feet of the site of the proposed development. The notice is also posted at the City Clerk’s office, and published twice in the Lowell Sun.

The Planning Board reviews:

• Subdivisions
• Site Plans
• Some special permits where the Board is the Special Permit Granting Authority
• Amendments to the Zoning Ordinance

At a typical meeting, the Board will hear comments in favor of the project, and then against the project. The Planning Board will then move from public comments to their own comments, and the Board will also ask questions of the applicant and any of the other speakers. The Planning Board can make their decision on the same night that the hearing is open, or they may continue the hearing to a future meeting date.

Application for a Public Hearing

An application for a public hearing must be submitted 31 days before the hearing date to allow for sufficient time to prepare and publish the notices. The applicant will be required to pay an application fee. The applicant will also be responsible for the cost of mailings to abutters and publication of the notice in the Lowell Sun. The Planning Department will prepare the legal advertisement and provide directions to the applicant on preparing envelopes for delivering the advertisement to the abutters. The Planning Department will then mail the notices to abutters and provide a copy of the advertisement to the Lowell Sun.

Minor Agenda Items

Requests for lot releases, bond reductions, presentations to the board and other minor items are agenda items that need not be held as public hearings. Requests to be on the Planning Board agenda must be received 17 days before the date of the meeting in order to be included on the Planning Board agenda for that meeting.

Members

• Attorney Thomas Linnehan - Chairperson
• Attorney Joseph Clermont - Vice Chairperson
• Richard Lockhart - Second Vice Chairperson
• Gerard Frechette - Member
• Stephen Gendron - Member

Planning Board 2008 Meeting Schedule

Planning Board Agendas

Planning Board Minutes

Regulations

• Zoning Code

• Subdivision Rules

• Site Plan Regulations

• Design Guidelines for Traditional Neighborhoods

Forms & Fees

• Agenda Request
• Approval Not Required (ANR) Application
• Conversion of Existing Buildings Application
• Definitive Subdivision Application
• Lot Release Application
• Planned Residential Development Application
• Preliminary Subdivision Application
• Repetitive Zoning Variance Petition
• Site Plan Approval Application
• Special Permit Application
• Special Permit Application Addendum
• Use Special Permit Application Under Article 12
• Fees

Meetings

Planning Board meetings are held on the first (1st) and third (3rd) Mondays of each month (except during December, July, August, and Monday holidays). Notice of meetings is posted at least three days in advance of the meeting on the bulletin board outside of the City Clerk's Office, and on the City of Lowell's online Event Calendar.

Contact

The Planning Board maintains an office at the J.F.K. Civic Center, next door to City Hall. Correspondence to this Board should be addressed to: City of Lowell Planning Board, c/o Aaron Clausen, JFK Civic Center, 50 Arcand Drive, Lowell, MA 01852. This Board may also be contacted at 978-970-7200.