Developer seeks relief for 8‑unit Walnut Street project; council presses parking, drainage concerns

A developer seeking to build a three‑story mixed‑use building at 0 Walnut Street presented plans to the Woburn City Council on May 21 and asked for special permits to allow commercial space on the ground floor and eight two‑bedroom residential units above. Attorney James Giuliano said the project proposes five on‑site parking spaces and requests relief for the remaining residential parking requirement through the municipal parking fund.

Giuliano told the council the building footprint matches a previously approved plan from 2021 and described efforts to coordinate with the planning and engineering departments. He said the residential requirement would be 16 spaces, that five are proposed on site, and that "we are short 11 residential spots" that the applicant proposes to address through the parking fund.

Engineer Jack Sullivan described utilities and drainage: water and a dedicated fire protection service will come from Walnut Street, sewage from the lower level will be pumped to the Walnut Street sewer main via a grinder pump, and roof and under‑slab drainage will be collected into an underground crushed‑stone infiltration chamber. Sullivan said he prefers routing some drainage into the access easement toward Everett Street rather than placing infiltration under a foundation to reduce long‑term maintenance and replacement risks.

Councilors pressed the applicant on whether additional parking easements were pursued (Giuliano said Saint John’s Baptist Church would not provide additional parking), the mechanics of the municipal parking fund contribution (Giuliano cited an amount the ordinance requires be placed into the fund for residential spaces), and how resident allocation of any purchased municipal spaces would be administered. Several councilors said the downtown municipal lot frequently fills and expressed concern about relying on shared public parking for resident needs.

The council opened the public hearing and the applicant requested a continuance to allow engineering to coordinate with city staff; the hearing was continued to June 4 to give departments time to review updated materials.

Next steps: the applicant will submit revised engineering, drainage, and parking documentation and coordinate with City engineering (Jay Duran) before the continued public hearing.