Lowell Conservation Commission Continues Rivers Edge Housing Case Pending State Sign-Off

LOWELL — February 25, 2026 — Lowell Conservation Commission delays vote on final phase of Rivers Edge affordable housing project. The commission voted 7-0 at its February 25 meeting to continue a Notice of Intent from Residents First Development Corporation, a Beverly-based nonprofit seeking to build 32 additional affordable units — 16 duplex buildings — at 165 Nelson Ave and 33-113 Adie Way, bringing the total Rivers Edge development to 187 units. Commission Chair Brad Buitenhuys blocked forward movement after finding that the applicant's proposed permitting path — closing out a 2008 Order of Conditions while rolling unfulfilled requirements into a new order — "directly contradicts" guidance in a recent MassDEP letter. Attorney John Geary and engineer Brian Milisci of Haley Ward said they will contact MassDEP before the March 11 meeting to seek written confirmation of the agency's position. A separate emergency certificate request from the city's Department of Public Works to dump excess snow into the Merrimack River was withdrawn after Buitenhuys deemed the supporting documentation inadequate and DPW found an alternative storage site.