Conservation commission continues public hearing on Miller house addition near riverfront

WOBURN — The Woburn Conservation Commission on April 25 continued a public hearing on an application from Danielle and Kevin Miller to add a front porch, garage and deck at a house bordering the riverfront.

"We're looking to amend our current house to have a front porch, a garage addition, and a deck," Danielle Miller told the commission when introducing the application (EP 328-862). Commissioners and staff questioned how close portions of the proposed work would lie to the bordering vegetated wetland and asked the applicants to provide alternative designs that reduce intrusion.

Commission staff noted the first plan submission included a request for a 25-foot no-disturb waiver but the current measurements on the plot put the closest proposed work as near as 7.4 feet from the wetland, with other dimensions of about 8, 12 and 16 feet. The chair said he was hesitant to support a waiver without seeing alternative plans that increase separation or show construction methods that avoid posts in the no-disturb area.

At several points commissioners suggested design changes the applicants could consider: shifting the wider portion of the deck to the opposite side of the house, cantilevering or bracing the deck back to the house so it does not rely on posts placed into the no-disturb zone, or reorienting deck elements (a 45‑ or 90‑degree modification) to gain distance from the wetland. The applicants said they were exploring structural bracing and would bring revised plans.

The commission also discussed that some earlier post-and-rail fencing intended to mark the wetland boundary has deteriorated; members asked whether new, durable delineation or signage could be added to the site plan. Applicants provided a printout from city engineering showing riverfront flags; they explained a number of flags fell on a neighboring lot, which is why fewer flags appear on their plot plan.

After discussion, a commissioner moved to continue the public hearing to the May 9 meeting at 6:30 p.m.; the commission agreed to continue the hearing. No formal vote on the waiver or the project was taken on April 25.

What happens next: The commission asked the Millers to submit alternate plans or engineering details (for example, bracing or a cantilever) and any clarifying maps from city engineering ahead of the May 9 hearing. The hearing record will remain open until that date.