Wilmington Jefferson Road Project Stalled By Environmental Appeal

WILMINGTON, MA — The proposed 108-unit 40B housing project at Middlesex Avenue and Jefferson Road in Wilmington has been on hold for over a year due to a pair of appeals of its conservation permits by a group of residents, the town said.

According to town officials, the appeals opened the way for another 40B project which was filed recently, a 132-unit complex on West Street.

According to Department of Environmental Protection documents, the project received an approving Order of Conditions from the Wilmington Conservation Commission on Feb. 5, 2021, about six months after the project received a comprehensive permit from the Board of Appeals.

Two weeks later, a group of residents organized as the "Headwaters Stream Team" filed an appeal to the Department of Environmental Protection, arguing the Order of Conditions wrongly defined the wetland and riverfront resource areas on the property and thus left such areas "at high risk of degradation and adverse impacts."

In August 2021, the department requested more information from the applicant, Princeton Development, and the developer revised its plans in accordance with questions from the regulator. Satisfied with the revisions, the department issued a superseding order also authorizing the project in November.

But the residents' concerns were not satisfied and they appealed the superceding order to the MassDEP's appeals office on Dec. 6.

The order "omits key areas of inundation, ignores documented evidence of flow and bankfull conditions along the entire length of Lubbers Brook relative to the project site," the residents wrote.

The Office of Appeals has not yet issued a decision on the appeal.

Christopher Huffaker can be reached at 412-265-8353 or chris.huffaker@patch.com.