Developers and their consultants described a Notice of Intent for Lot 1 at Campus 44 (Canopy Drive / Timber Drive) on Jan. 2, proposing two single‑story industrial buildings (about 116,000 and 120,640 square feet) with extensive parking and supporting access drives. Consultants said the site contains multiple bordering vegetated wetlands, a perennial stream and a 200‑foot riverfront area; the project would place stormwater infiltration systems and retaining walls near those resources.

A December 19 MassDEP comment letter on file asked the applicant to prepare an alternatives analysis for riverfront area siting and to demonstrate that no practicable and substantially equivalent economic alternative exists for the proposed riverfront‑area alterations. The consultants said they will submit an alternatives analysis and that the project’s roof and parking lot drainage will be handled with multiple subsurface infiltration systems. The filing indicates about 46,000 square feet of 100‑foot buffer zone alteration is proposed, with no direct bordering‑vegetated‑wetland fill reported in the submission.

Commissioners and staff asked questions about snow‑storage areas, future tenant uses, dumpster/truck circulation and how banked parking or future parking expansions would be handled without expanding wetland impacts. The planning office and commission staff noted that stormwater peer review and planning board special‑permit review are both pending; the planning board will conduct its own peer review for stormwater. The commission decided to continue the hearing to Feb. 6 to allow the wetlands peer reviewer and stormwater peer reviewer time to complete their reviews and for the applicant to respond.

Why it matters: The project is a large commercial/industrial proposal on a site with wetlands and a perennial stream and will require careful alternatives analysis and stormwater design to meet state and local wetlands performance standards. DEP has already requested additional materials related to riverfront area standards.

Next steps: The commission continued the NOI to Feb. 6, 2025 to await peer‑review reports and applicant responses; staff and the peer reviewer identified additional documentation that the applicant will provide before the next meeting.