Planning board continues hearing on Central Square overlay zoning for Gustafino site

The Woburn City Planning Board on Jan. 14, 2025 continued a public hearing on a proposed Central Square Overlay District (CSOD) covering parcels around 660 Main Street, after a presentation by the applicant and questions from board members and neighbors.

Attorney Joseph Tabby of Rubin & Redmond, counsel for Gustafino Realty LLC, told the board that the zoning amendment and map change before the board are the first step in a multi-stage process. “City council cannot, approve any zoning amendment until it receives a recommendation from the planning board,” Tabby said, describing the subsequent city council and ordinance-committee reviews and then separate special-permit hearings if the amendment advances.

The draft overlay district would allow residential uses by special permit along with selected nonresidential uses (medical and dental offices, light manufacturing/research, retail under 10,000 square feet and accessory uses). Dimensional standards in the draft include a 5-acre minimum district size, 25% landscape/open space, minimum setbacks (10–15 feet front), a maximum of 225 residential units across the district, 1.5 parking spaces per residential unit, and a 39-foot/three-story maximum building height along Main Street with buildings behind Main Street up to 65 feet/five stories. The amendment text calls for compliance with other rules cited in the draft, including wetlands, floodway, affordable housing and energy code requirements; Tabby and staff referenced the Woburn zoning ordinance and Mass. Gen. Laws chapter 40A, §5 during the notice reading.

Developer representatives said the existing Guastavino-era building on the site would be retained. John Tocci of Gustafino Realty described long-term ownership and restoration history; Peter Carbone, a project development lead, said the two larger buildings proposed behind Main Street (referred to as Buildings A and B) would be five stories and that Building A contains roughly 93–95 units in the current concept. The team also described about 32 townhome units along Main Street and said the townhomes would be similar in scale to existing three-story buildings on the street. “The existing beautiful building that John described is not going anywhere,” Carbone said.

The developer presented a set of proposed mitigation and public-improvement measures tied to the project concept, including traffic modifications: realigning Clinton Street to create a 90-degree signalized intersection at Main Street, re‑aligning Eaton Avenue/Wilcox to reduce multi‑phase signal timing, and adding a dedicated right‑turn lane to improve flow. The team also proposed expanding the small park adjacent to the Main Street frontage from about 15,000 to roughly 25,000 square feet by limiting a short segment of Lowell Street to pedestrian use; they said the park expansion would be an amenity for the area and that design work is under way with a landscape architect (Copley Wolf).

On fiscal and infrastructure effects, the developer’s preliminary fiscal figures cited an estimated near‑term real estate tax increase of about $450,000 annually for the city and roughly $80,000–$90,000 in vehicle excise tax, plus an estimated $1 million in building permit revenue during construction. The team said stormwater controls would be upgraded and that runoff currently “largely sheets” to the canal and will be brought into compliance with stormwater regulations.

Residents who spoke at the hearing offered both support and reservations. John Curran of 2 Wyman Street said the site is “a little tired” and supports improvement but urged caution on density and process, recommending the planning board retain site-plan control rather than cede that authority to the city council. Curran said he is concerned about the mix of allowable uses in the draft (including light manufacturing and ground‑mounted solar installations) and asked that the board narrow permitted uses so they align with the neighborhood’s residential emphasis. “The density of these properties… 225 units — I think that’s too many for this area,” Curran said. Neighbor Cynthia Tachi, 16 Lowell Street, supported intersection and driveway improvements that would help the Boys & Girls Club’s drop‑off and pickup operations and said several small Main Street houses “are not savable.” Greg Burlingame of Sheila Ave. said he liked the plan but that the illustrated traffic fixes “don’t really seem tenable” in current form and urged more traffic study.

Planning staff recommended more detailed refinement of the ordinance language and suggested forming an ad hoc committee to work with the city solicitor and council on zoning text, along with a traffic peer review and coordination between the planning board and city council. The board voted 7–0 to continue the public hearing to Feb. 11, 2025 to allow staff and the applicant to address the board’s questions, pursue peer review on traffic if needed, and refine the proposed ordinance text before a formal recommendation to the city council.

The public hearing will remain open; the developer team said it expects additional architectural elevations and traffic/stormwater analyses for the board’s next appearance. Staff said it will attempt to coordinate a collaborative review with the city council on zoning language and traffic review prior to the Feb. 11 session.