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Planning director updates board on housing plan, North Woburn study, downtown master plan, parking work and Main Street design
Summary
Staff reported progress on the city’s housing production plan and accessory dwelling unit zoning, gave timelines for a North Woburn study and downtown master plan, reviewed a parking-management draft, and described the Main Street improvement project entering 25% design with state review ahead of a multi‑million-dollar construction estimate.
John, the planning director, briefed the Woburn City Planning Board on several ongoing planning initiatives the city staff is advancing.
Housing production plan: Staff said consultants are updating the city’s housing production plan to ensure Woburn maintains roughly 10% affordability across its housing stock and to comply with Chapter 40B expectations. The board was told the consultants will present draft material to the board later in the fall; the director said the City Council will formally consider the plan on Oct. 21 and that the consultants expect to return to the planning board with a draft in November (the director cited November 12 for the next board presentation).
Accessory dwelling units and MBTA overlay: The director noted the city adopted an ADU zoning bylaw following the state ADU statute and that the board participated in public hearings ahead of the City Council’s adoption. He also referenced the MBTA-area overlay work the city has been doing as part of state-driven efforts to expand housing.
North Woburn mini master plan and downtown master plan: Staff described a consultant-produced existing-conditions report for the North Woburn area (Merrimack and Boston streets and adjacent industrial park zoning). That existing-conditions analysis will be presented to the City Council on a scheduled evening meeting (staff said the presentation is set for the 29th, time subject to change). The director said the team expects to complete implementation recommendations by late spring.
A downtown master plan has been launched as a separate, but related, study; staff said it is still early in the existing-conditions phase and that a review of recommendations is expected in late spring or early summer.
Parking management plan: Staff said a parking management draft recommends actions to increase turnover downtown to a target of roughly 10–15% and that the plan will be presented to the City Council in late fall.
Main Street improvement project: The director reported engineering plans are advancing toward a 25% design milestone that will require City approval and subsequent review by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation. Staff described the project as aimed at improving vehicle flow, pedestrian and bicycle safety and intersection operations downtown. The director said the earliest conceivable construction year is fiscal 2030 or 2031, and that total construction costs could be on the order of $30 million depending on final scope and inflation. He said the 25% design will identify permanent and temporary easements and what property takings or right-of-way changes will be needed for construction.
Board members and staff discussed traffic behavior downtown, signalization and the challenge of balancing engineering models with real-world driver behavior. No board action was taken at this briefing; staff said the various consultants will return with draft reports and implementation recommendations later in the coming months.
