City of Lowell Massachusetts Master Plan Update EXISTING CONDITIONS REPORT Office of the City Manager Department of Planning and Development JFK Civic Center, 50 Arcand Drive Lowell, MA 01852 December, 2011 2 Existing Conditions Report | 2011 TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS ...................................................................................................................................... 3 1.0 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................................ 5 1.1 THE COMPREHENSIVE MASTER PLAN UPDATE ..................................................................................... 5 1.2 EXISTING CONDITIONS ......................................................................................................................... 7 1.3 REGIONAL CONTEXT ............................................................................................................................. 7 1.4 HISTORY ................................................................................................................................................ 7 2.0 DEMOGRAPHICS ...................................................................................................................................... 9 2.1 HISTORIC TRENDS ............................................................................................................................... 10 2.2 POPULATION & DENSITY ..................................................................................................................... 11 2.3 FERTILITY, MORTALITY & MIGRATION ................................................................................................ 15 2.4 RACE & MINORITY TRENDS ................................................................................................................. 16 2.5 AGE ..................................................................................................................................................... 25 2.6 INCOME TRENDS ................................................................................................................................ 27 2.7 EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT .............................................................................................................. 29 3.0 LAND-USE ............................................................................................................................................... 30 3.1 ZONING REGULATION ......................................................................................................................... 31 3.2 SUBDIVISION REGULATIONS ............................................................................................................... 37 3.3 SITE PLAN REVIEW .............................................................................................................................. 37 3.4 LOWELL HISTORIC BOARD .................................................................................................................. 38 3.5 LAND-USE ANALYSIS ........................................................................................................................... 39 4.0 BUILD-OUT ANALYSIS ............................................................................................................................ 48 5.0 TRANSPORTATION & PARKING ............................................................................................................. 58 5.1 CLASSIFICATION OF STREETS .............................................................................................................. 59 5.2 TRAFFIC VOLUME STUDY .................................................................................................................... 59 5.3 CAPACITY OF STREETS ......................................................................................................................... 67 5.4 TRAFFIC CONTROL SYSTEMS ............................................................................................................... 71 5.5 ACCIDENTS & SAFETY .......................................................................................................................... 72 5.6 PAVEMENT & SIDEWALK CONDITION ................................................................................................. 73 5.7 DOWNTOWN PARKING ANALYSIS ...................................................................................................... 75 5.8 TRAFFIC PATTERNS ............................................................................................................................. 82 5.9 COMMUTE TO WORK ......................................................................................................................... 82 5.10 PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION ............................................................................................................... 83 6.0 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ................................................................................................................... 87 6.1 LABOR FORCE & EMPLOYMENT TRENDS ............................................................................................ 88 6.2 EMPLOYMENT CHANGES .................................................................................................................... 89 6.3 UNEMPLOYMENT .............................................................................................................................. 90 6.4 WEEKLY WAGES .................................................................................................................................. 92 6.5 TOP EMPLOYERS IN THE CITY ............................................................................................................. 95 6.6 BUSINESS CREATION & NUMBER OF ESTABLISHMENTS .................................................................... 98 6.7 KEY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PARTNERS ...................................................................................... 107 6.8 MAJOR INVESTMENTS & DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS ......................................................................... 109 6.9 EXISTING FINANCIAL INITIATIVES & INCENTIVES TO PROMOTE BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT .............. 118 7.0 HOUSING .............................................................................................................................................. 122 7.1 AGE OF HOUSING STOCK .................................................................................................................. 125 3 Existing Conditions Report | 2011 7.2 HOUSING MARKET CONDITIONS ...................................................................................................... 127 7.3 HOUSING AFFORDABILITY ................................................................................................................ 130 7.4 SUBSIDIZED & AFFORDABLE HOUSING ............................................................................................. 132 7.5 UMASS LOWELL & MIDDLESEX COMMUNITY COLLEGE .................................................................... 133 7.6 FORECLOSURES ................................................................................................................................ 134 7.7 LEAD PAINT ....................................................................................................................................... 135 8.0 PARKS, RECREATION & OPEN SPACE ................................................................................................... 138 8.1 PUBLIC CONSERVATION & RECREATION RESOURCES ....................................................................... 139 8.2 NATIONAL STANDARDS FOR RECREATIONAL FACILITIES .................................................................. 140 8.3 PUBLIC CONSERVATION & RECREATIONAL RESOURCES BY NEIGHBORHOOD .................................. 141 8.4 COMPARISONS OF RECREATIONAL FACILITIES OVER TIME ............................................................... 149 8.5 CANAL WALKWAY IMPROVEMENTS ................................................................................................. 149 8.6 STATE-OWNED LAND ........................................................................................................................ 154 8.7 NON-PROFIT LANDS .......................................................................................................................... 154 8.8 OTHER PUBLIC UNPROTECTED LANDS .............................................................................................. 154 8.9 PRIVATE RECREATION LANDS ........................................................................................................... 155 8.10 MAJOR INSTITUTIONAL HOLDINGS ................................................................................................. 155 9.0 NATURAL RESOURCES & CONSERVATION .......................................................................................... 156 9.1 GEOLOGY, SOILS & TOPOGRAPHY .................................................................................................... 156 9.2 LANDSCAPE CHARACTER .................................................................................................................. 157 9.3 SURFACE WATER .............................................................................................................................. 158 9.4 FLOOD HAZARD AREAS ....................................................................................................................