Council continues public hearing on 5 Bennett Street special-permit application after residents raise drainage, density and character concerns

Treetop Home LLC asked the Woburn City Council on Feb. 4 to grant a special permit under zoning section 7.3 to replace a preexisting nonconforming four‑family at 5 Bennett Street with a new four‑unit building. Attorney James Giuliano, representing the petitioner, said the revised plan reduces the building footprint and increases on‑site parking to eight spaces, and that all new pavement will be pervious to reduce runoff.

The city council continued the public hearing to Feb. 18 to allow further review after councilors and neighbors raised unresolved issues about drainage, parking logistics and how the new structure would fit the block.

Why it matters: The property sits in an R‑2 district and is substantially nonconforming across setbacks and lot area. Councilors and neighbors said the neighborhood already experiences chronic drainage problems and argued the council must ensure any redevelopment is “not substantially more detrimental” to the neighborhood — the standard for a section 7.3 special permit.

Giuliano told the council the existing building dates to about 1910 and that the proposed structure would keep four three‑bedroom units but reduce the footprint from about 2,359 square feet to about 2,063 square feet and reduce gross living area from roughly 6,932 to 5,764 square feet. He said the plan adds eight parking stalls (six in the rear formed by grading and two on the side) and uses 9-by-18 stalls, “pursuant to the ordinance.” Giuliano also noted the lot’s disturbance is under the city’s threshold for mandatory stormwater management (the petitioner’s figure: about 7,000 sq. ft. disturbed vs. a 20,000 sq. ft. trigger in the ordinance) and said pervious pavement will “alleviate” but not solve Bennett Street flooding.

Councilors sought more information. Councilor DeMearns and others asked whether the proposed measures will meaningfully improve drainage in a low spot that collects runoff from surrounding higher streets; they pressed for DPW input and records of catch‑basin cleaning, pipe condition and any CCTV inspections. Councilor Marceau Bruin and Councilor Popolato both said Superintendent of Public Works Jay Duran’s comments must be addressed before the council completes its review.

Neighbors urged caution. Adam Carignan (owner, 6 and 11 Court Street) expressed concern about retaining walls and loss of backyard; Margaret Pinkham (owner of 42 Pleasant Street) said the council must make the express finding that the project is not substantially more detrimental than the existing use, and she criticized inconsistencies in the plans regarding basement egress. Christopher Sylvia (13 Bennett Street) argued the proposal departs from neighborhood character, warned of construction‑period traffic and noise, and described Bennett Street as a naturally occurring affordable neighborhood; Sasha Hernandez (13 Bennett Street) said converting the backyard to a parking lot and adding a retaining wall would harm the block’s character.

Giuliano told the council the petitioner would accept a condition to keep the basement non‑habitable and said egress windows were included so occupants would have an alternate escape route if bulkheads are not provided. The attorney repeated that full drainage upgrades are within the building‑permit review and the city engineer’s jurisdiction if stormwater thresholds were triggered.

Action: The council received the revised plans and departmental communications into the permanent record, opened the public hearing and then voted to continue the hearing to the Feb. 18 council meeting for additional review. No final permit decision was made.

Next steps and context: The petition will return to the council after the petitioner and staff provide additional responses to DPW and engineering comments. If the council later approves a special permit under section 7.3, state and local building and plumbing approvals will also be required before construction.