Woburn planning board schedules site visit after neighbors warn of blasting, drainage and school impacts
May 14, 2024 | Woburn City, Middlesex County, Massachusetts
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The Woburn Planning Board on May 14 moved to continue public hearings on the Cliffside Terrace definitive subdivision and scheduled a site inspection on May 28 after residents detailed worries about blasting, drainage and construction timelines.
During the hearing, applicant representatives Joseph Taube of Rubin and Redmond and Carlton Quinn of Allen & Major Associates presented a seven-lot subdivision and requested waivers from planting-strip, intersection-radius, right-of-way width and sidewalk requirements. Quinn said the applicants revised the road grade down to 8% to meet local regulations and that the stormwater design assumes the lots will be developed with roughly 35% impervious cover, with on-site infiltration and two stormwater systems intended to mitigate runoff.
Neighbors raised multiple concerns in public comment. Heather Jones of 118 Garfield said blasting and air-quality impacts during construction worry her, and raised a family concern: “My son is autistic … I really don't wanna see him wearing headphones when he's home,” she said. Jones also asked whether new homes on the private way would receive curbside trash pickup and how new students might affect current redistricting at Shamrock School. Another resident at 422 Garfield described visible ledge and prior blasting near their house and asked the board to safeguard foundations and monitor runoff.
Board members pressed the applicant on the quantity of ledge to be removed; Quinn said the largest cut is about 12 feet, but he had not completed an extensive borings program and could not provide a precise ledge volume. Planning staff and DPW engineering recommended additional review, noting that larger rights-of-way or higher allowable grades can reduce blasting and slope impacts but that the maximum grade for a public way in Woburn is 8%.
Given the technical questions, board members and staff recommended a field review with stakes marking proposed grades so members and neighbors can visualize the changes. The board adopted a motion to hold a public site inspection at 4 Cliffside Terrace on May 28 at 6:00 p.m. and to continue the formal public hearing to the board's June 11 meeting so the public has a chance to hear deliberations in chambers.
What happens next: the applicant agreed to provide more detailed information on blasting procedures, a construction schedule and any anticipated staging timeline before the next board meeting. Engineering and DPW will review revised plans and staking prior to the site visit; the board emphasized that the site visit is a technical review and that formal deliberation will occur at the continued public hearing.
The motion to schedule the inspection and continue the hearing carried in the May 14 session.
During the hearing, applicant representatives Joseph Taube of Rubin and Redmond and Carlton Quinn of Allen & Major Associates presented a seven-lot subdivision and requested waivers from planting-strip, intersection-radius, right-of-way width and sidewalk requirements. Quinn said the applicants revised the road grade down to 8% to meet local regulations and that the stormwater design assumes the lots will be developed with roughly 35% impervious cover, with on-site infiltration and two stormwater systems intended to mitigate runoff.
Neighbors raised multiple concerns in public comment. Heather Jones of 118 Garfield said blasting and air-quality impacts during construction worry her, and raised a family concern: “My son is autistic … I really don't wanna see him wearing headphones when he's home,” she said. Jones also asked whether new homes on the private way would receive curbside trash pickup and how new students might affect current redistricting at Shamrock School. Another resident at 422 Garfield described visible ledge and prior blasting near their house and asked the board to safeguard foundations and monitor runoff.
Board members pressed the applicant on the quantity of ledge to be removed; Quinn said the largest cut is about 12 feet, but he had not completed an extensive borings program and could not provide a precise ledge volume. Planning staff and DPW engineering recommended additional review, noting that larger rights-of-way or higher allowable grades can reduce blasting and slope impacts but that the maximum grade for a public way in Woburn is 8%.
Given the technical questions, board members and staff recommended a field review with stakes marking proposed grades so members and neighbors can visualize the changes. The board adopted a motion to hold a public site inspection at 4 Cliffside Terrace on May 28 at 6:00 p.m. and to continue the formal public hearing to the board's June 11 meeting so the public has a chance to hear deliberations in chambers.
What happens next: the applicant agreed to provide more detailed information on blasting procedures, a construction schedule and any anticipated staging timeline before the next board meeting. Engineering and DPW will review revised plans and staking prior to the site visit; the board emphasized that the site visit is a technical review and that formal deliberation will occur at the continued public hearing.
The motion to schedule the inspection and continue the hearing carried in the May 14 session.
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