Planning Board

City of Lowell - Planning Board Planning Board Meeting Minutes Thursday, September 19, 2024 6:30 p.m. City Council Chambers, 2nd Floor, City Hall City of Lowell, 375 Merrimack Street, Lowell, MA Remote Participation Optional via Zoom Note: These minutes are not completed verbatim. For a recording of the meeting, visit www.ltc.org Members Present Chairman Linnehan Member Cheng Member Tenczar Members Absent Member Dolan-Wilson Vice-Chair Frechette Others Present Peter Cutrumbes, Assistant Planner A quorum of the Board was present. Chairman Linnehan called the meeting to order at 6:30 PM. I. Minutes for Approval 9/5/2024 T. Linnehan motioned to approve, with C. Cheng seconding. The vote was unanimous (3-0). II. Continued Business III. New Business 2 Prince Ave, 1 Markley Way – Site Plan Review Markley Group, LLC has applied to the Lowell Planning Board to make multiple changes to their industrial site. The applicant is proposing to install an additional nine (9) chillers and four (4) generators. The applicant is also proposing to construct a new water treatment building, and make various utility and infrastructure improvements. The property is in the Light Industrial (LI) zoning district and requires Site Plan Review approval under Section 11.4.2. On Behalf: Attorney Bill Martin appeared on behalf of the applicant. T. Linnehan said that they only have three members of the Board tonight. Applicant can continue or go forward, but if they go forward, any future board member would have to sign a Mullins Affidavit in order to vote. Attorney Martin summarized the project. Applicant is looking to add infrastructure similar to what was approved in December of 2023. Much of what was approved in 12/2023 hearing is just getting underway. Applicant has detailed drawing showing what has been completed and what relief they are seeking for additional work. Noted several people are here on behalf of Markley. This includes the engineers for the project from Stantec, and professionals from disciplines such as generator tech and emissions controls to assist with answering neighborhood questions. Markley (the applicant) came here in 2015 and made tremendous improvements to the property. Markley feels it has been a good neighbor and a good citizen. Lowell has always been a center of innovation, and data centers and storage are the future of the economy. Tony Moura, Project Engineer for Stantec, spoke next. He pulled up a PowerPoint presentation and noted multiple members of the applicant’s team will discuss different portions. T. Moura summarized the existing Site Plan and the proposed Site Plan. The only change from last December’s approval are the additional generators and modular cooling plants. Five modular chillers, a water tower, and 14 generators are previously approved but not yet finished. Smaller changes were also proposed such as moving the sanitary sewer pump station to make room for the new chillers and new retaining walls. He noted the previous ConCom approval. Jeff Flanagan, Executive VP for Markley. J. Flanagan summarized the work Markley has done for the community. Markley works with numerous charities, cleaned up the dilapidated site, provide community jobs, and work to make sure brook is clean. Vince Tino, scientist from VHB. Additionally discussed changes to their generators and emissions. Reducing generator run time. Installed noise wall. New generators will have Diesel Particulate Filters, critical grade silencers, decibel reduction enclosures, and a sound wall. B. Martin said the generators meet existing DEP standards and that Markley is meeting the details of their TIF agreement with the City. Noted that the applicant provided a table showing the completion status of previous conditions of approval. 19 total conditions, 16 completed, and 3 labeled not completed. Technically 2, as the 2018 landscaping plan is complete, but during the modification in 2023, the exact details of this landscaping changed. The 2020 approval of water tower required that DPD approve landscaping and screening plan. Plan has not been completed, as work has not finished. The condition requiring the Andrews Street fencing and gate is partially complete. The fence is done and the gate will be finished after roadway improvements. Once the roadway is improved, a more “site appropriate” gate will be installed. Andrews Street fence was conditioned in 2023 as needing to be finished with this “phase of work”. Applicant believes they are still in that “phase of work”. T. Linnehan read a memo from Building Commissioner D. Fuller summarizing noise issues from the site. The memo notes that installation of RAM piles will stop. D. Fuller recommends a decibel audit for new equipment be a condition of approval. Speaking in Favor: T. Linnehan read two letters of support into the record. One from Celine Corklin of 102 Bourne Street, highlighting how she thinks Markley has been a good neighbor to her. The other from “R2 Office Tables and Furniture” at 56 Newhall Street expressing similar sentiments. Speaking in Opposition: Randall Snead of 63 Otis Street. Markley says no issues with electrical power. Since 2015 the neighborhood has had multiple power outage problems. Before, only regular power outages from events such as storms or car accidents. Markley also put berms along Bourne Street. Water now flows down the street because the berms keep it from the low point which is Markley’s site. The previous conditions of approval are about safety. Does the gate on Andrews Street allow fire access? Will plan modifications allow ladder trucks to circumvent the entire structure? R. Snead expressed support for zero emission alternatives, and referenced Lowell’s goal of net zero emissions by 2035. Fred Laffin of 101 Bourne Street. Main issue is the noise. He played a clip of noise he hears every morning. Have to run AC’s all summer because they cant open the windows due to noise. A family member has previous hearing issues, and needs earmuffs at home because of noise from Markley to prevent further damage. He noted that there is than 1 existing water tower on site. He used to work on cooling towers, and is worried about bacteria or contamination. Lived there 25 years, and the last 4 years have been nothing but noise from construction, sandblasting, painting, etc. Questioned the necessity of 9 new chillers. Nancy Fortes of 36 Iowa Street. Believes the site plan should minimize air pollution under Section 11.4.2 of the Zoning Ordinance. Generator emissions end up in her yard. Markley says they only do long burns once a year. In 2024 they have done this 4 times, along with additional testing burns in July. They did one burn on a windy day and it filled the house with fumes. N. Fortes said a Markley staffer delivered an air quality report to her and shot down solutions other than her “receiving advance notice and leaving her residence”. Believes a condition should be added to install scrubbers on all generators on the site, especially on the south side closest to residences. Markley says it takes 5 minutes for scrubbers to kick in so it wouldn’t help as much as thought, but that she would rather have that than fumes for even longer. The site plan should address traffic issues. Markley fenced off existing parking spaces and made the street more pinched. Emergency response vehicles have a hard time accessing this roadway on Iowa Street. There are issues with snow clearing and removal. Requested Markley convert additional property they own at 3 Prince Ave to a parking lot. owns property at 3 Prince Ave The noise is significant. She requested that Markley take further soundproofing methods to lower noise below 50 DB. The Board should also stop construction until the fence is finished. Holly Flynn of 34 Newhall. She noted that Newhall is on north side of Markley. She is concerned with carcinogens from the diesel generators, the chemicals from the cooling towers, and if the cooling towers are polluting the water. Expressed a concern around zoning. Feels “Light Industrial” is not the proper zone. J. Fortes of 36 Iowa Street gave a Powerpoint presentation regarding his concerns, as well as summarizing the concerns of several other residents. Some significant issues include the following: • The removal of parking from Prince Ave • Cars continually blocking the Andrews Street gate • Security fence not kept in good condition and people are able to access the site • The importance of Markley’s data could be targeted and be dangerous for the neighborhood • Noise pollution caused by cooling blocks that he believes were not approved by the Planning Board • Markley’s data modeling for generator emissions do not match the reality of the neighbors experience. Generator emissions do come into the neighborhood. • Markley continuing to use generators as opposed to fuel cells, which are cleaner J. Fortes also proposed the following solutions: • Complete site work stoppage until Andrews Street gate is installed and meets all other Planning Board conditions • Move the generators or replace with fuel cells • Retrofit existing generators with scrubbing technology to remove fumes/emissions • Remove the AC condenser units that were not approved for placement on the site, or install quieter systems than what is currently present • Stop the usage of portable chillers in the equipment well until sound study is conducted Neil from 350Mass of Greater Lowell spoke. Lowell has pledged to be carbon neutral by 2030. Board should consider this. Need to ensure equity as we move forward. More than 15% of Lowell’s kids have asthma. Emissions from area do not only extend to direct neighborhood. MassDEP shows larger area of impact. Solution could be replacing generators with fuel cells. Fuel cell takes a fossil fuel like natural gas and converts to electricity through catalytic tech. No emissions except water and some CO2. Very low noise. Long term lease options are available to address cost. Plant would then be running on natural gas, which is a step forward. Markley has frequently pledged to achieve 100% clean energy. Steve, 200 Market Street and of 350Mass noted that this project came to their attention recently. It is a textbook example of how facility siting goes wrong. Projects like these are bstuck into neighborhoods where it is not scalable. Tech and comms companies will continually get bigger and bigger and bigger. The building was installed knowing electricity company couldn’t provide enough electricity. Markley knew they’d need generators or alternative fuel sources. Facility is choked for electricity. There needs to be a modern technological solution to this. Installing new generators in the middle of the city is absolutely unacceptable. Eileen Castle of 64 Otis Street said she lives right next to the water tank. A second one would be just about on her yard. There is no room to put trees next to it for screening. They took all the land thats there for the fire trucks. She does not want the trees in her yard and be her responsibility. She can see mist from the water tower on her car and can feel it. From water tower. Markley never tells the neighborhood what is happening. Residents not happy. Believes in a stoppage of work. Neighbors need time to figure out health needs and the effects of emissions. Discussion: B. Martin said he wants to clarify a few points. The applicant has Mark Swan on Zoom to speak to concerns about emissions from the cooling towers, who gave a brief presentation. D. Tenczar asked for a summary. B. Martin there is a complaint about the emissions. Markley tests quarterly to match the standards of New York’s DEP, which are stricter than MA. Diesel systems only run 15 hours a year. Battery power, like fuel cells. is not advanced enough for the site. The project will need DEP permits. All prior work has also needed DEP requirements. DEP has approved all work knowing the emission rates. B. Martin said no work has been done without Site Plan Review. He noted that not all work needs SPR, some can be done by right via building permit. He spoke to the lack of input from City departments. He believes no comments from a department can mean no issues. Mr. Laffin’s complaint about the noise was legitimate, and is being addressed by D. Fuller. The applicant is open to a condition regarding the noise. C. Cheng asked about the portable equipment. He wants to clarify what kind of equipment is being put in temporarily and is not shown on the plan. He would like them to be shown on the plan. A. Fernandes resummarized the site plan for the Board and noted where the temporary equipment is. Noted testing has been cut 50% since starting operation. C. Cheng expressed concern that fumes get into people’s homes. D. Tenczar said he doesn’t feel this should be voted on tonight. Not a lot of responses from City departments. B. Martin said client wants to move for approval tonight. They are spending $225 million for the project, so time is important. D. Tenczar asked for a greater understanding of what the various components on site are used for. A. Fernandes described them. Chillers are used to cool the servers which create large amounts of heat. A. Fernandes noted the cooling towers (chillers) and the water towers are different, to clear up resident confusion. The tanks are to store about 24 hours of water to maintain water to the chillers in the event the site loses access to water utilities. It is a similar concept to using generators for backup power. D. Tenczar asked about the generator emissions. A. Fernandes said their standard is five minutes a week for each generator as well as a load bank test annually for 4 hours for each generator. D. Tenczar asked if DEP regulates emissions. A. Fernandes confirmed. D. Tenczar asked about noise complaints. V. Tino took the podium and went over the noise regulations in the aforementioned comments. D. Tenczar asked why can’t they put the noise controls on all generators, not just the new ones? V. Tino said it would take a large amount of cost/labor. D. Tenczar said he would want to see a condition that all the generators, old and new, have pollution/noise controls. D. Tenczar asked for more information regarding generators vs. fuel cells. V. Tino said generators are significantly more reliable. C. Cheng asked to hear from more City staffers. He gave the example of hearing from the traffic engineer about the parking on Prince Ave. T. Linnehan concurred with D. Tenczar that he is not ready for a vote. Surprised no comments from staff. B. Martin said the client was amenable to a continuance. They discussed a site visit. D. Tenczar asked if when they go the generators can be run, so they can better understand the situation. Motion: D. Tenczar motioned to approve with T. Linnehan seconding. The vote was unanimous (3-0). IV. Other Business V. Adjournment D. Tenczar motioned and C. Cheng seconded the motion to adjourn the meeting. The motion passed unanimously (3-0). The time was 9:04 PM.