BREAKING: Lowell Fire Department REJECTS developer's plans — project now needs THREE separate boards
Thank you to everyone who has signed so far. We have major developments to share.
The Lowell Fire Department has rejected the developer's plans.
The City's official staff review comments, dated September 17, 2026, confirm what we've been saying: the project does not meet fire safety requirements. Here's what the Fire Department wrote:
"While looking over the site plan it appears that this project DOES NOT MEET the minimum width of the fire department access road of 20' clear width."
"The Lowell Fire Department does not believe that this project has the sufficient width required by code for fire department access to the proposed property and rejects the plans as built."
The driveway is only 10 feet wide — HALF the required 20 feet. The Fire Department's proposed workaround is to require residential sprinklers inside the new home. But sprinklers inside the house don't put a fire truck in the driveway. They don't protect the neighboring homes. They don't provide emergency access for medical calls, rescues, or hazmat situations. This proposal introduces a new dwelling in close proximity to existing homes on a lot that fire trucks simply cannot reach — creating a danger to the surrounding community where no danger existed before.
The project now requires THREE separate board approvals.
City staff also identified an additional requirement the developer didn't prominently disclose: the project needs a Variance from the Zoning Board of Appeals for lot width under Section 5.1.10 — on top of the Special Permit from the Planning Board and the Major Historic Permit from the Historic Board. Three separate boards, three separate hearings. The accumulation of required relief is itself evidence that the project does not fit the site.
The Historic Board application hasn't even been filed yet.
As of September 21, the developer has still not filed their Historic Board application — even though they asked to delay the Planning Board hearing specifically to get Historic Board approval. The Historic Board's own Design Review Standards require that new construction "must relate to the street" and that "large trees must be protected." This project violates both.
What you can do right now:
SHARE this petition — every signature strengthens the neighborhood's position
Email the Planning Board (every email becomes part of the permanent record): • mbrundage@lowellma.gov (Mary Brundage, Associate Planner) • dricker@lowellma.gov (Dylan Ricker, Senior Planner) • pcutrumbes@lowellma.gov (Peter Cutrumbes, Assistant Planner)
Contact the Historic Board to express opposition to the Major Historic Permit: • Stephen Stowell, Historic Board Administrator 375 Merrimack Street, Room 51, Lowell, MA 01852 Email: sstowell@lowellma.gov Phone: 978-674-4144 • Dylan Ricker, AICP, Senior Planner (handles Planning Board and Historic Board correspondence) DRicker@lowellma.gov / 978-674-1464
Attend the Planning Board hearing: Monday, November 2, 2026 at 6:30 PM — Lowell City Hall, 375 Merrimack Street. You don't have to speak — just showing up counts.
The Fire Department's rejection of these plans is significant. It validates what the neighborhood has been saying: this project doesn't fit this site. Keep sharing, keep signing, keep showing up. We stopped a developer on this street in 2013 — we can do it again.