Littleton Planning Board approves Russell Street school athletic permit with stormwater conditions

LITTLETON -- April 3, 2025, Littleton Planning Board unanimously approved a stormwater permit for new tennis courts and a baseball field at 55 Russell Street, advanced three zoning amendments toward the May 6 Annual Town Meeting, and endorsed a long-stalled affordable housing conveyance. The 55 Russell Street approval, covering Littleton Middle School and Russell Street School facilities, was conditioned on the applicant, design firm Activitas, resolving pretreatment and water quality calculations to the board's satisfaction before any building permit issues, with peer reviewer Green International signing off on outstanding stormwater questions. The board voted 5-0 to endorse conveyance of the remaining Dean Lane parcel to Habitat for Humanity for an affordable unit, ending what members described as years of failed attempts to compel the developer to fulfill the obligation. Three warrant articles headed for the two-thirds Town Meeting vote on May 6 cover a ban on new adult-use marijuana cultivation (leaving retail unaffected), a clerical correction to medical marijuana treatment center air-quality permit language, and a FEMA-required floodplain bylaw update affecting 11 Littleton properties that currently carry flood insurance.