Woburn commission issues amended order for Fairfield Residential regrading and landscaping at 316 New Boston Street

The Woburn Conservation Commission voted Jan. 9 to issue an amended order of conditions for the Fairfield Residential project at 316 New Boston Street, allowing regrading and landscaping changes while leaving an isolated vegetated wetland undisturbed.

Why it matters: the amendment adjusts grades and planting plans on the landfill side of the site and along the municipal boundary with Wilmington. The commission’s action replaces the order issued Sept. 16, 2021 (previously extended and, per the draft, extended through Sept. 16, 2029 by Chapter 2/38 of the Acts of 2024).

Brian McCarthy, civil engineer with RJ O’Connell Associates, and wetland scientist Tom Liddy of Lucas Environmental described the amendment as a revised plan that avoids work inside the isolated vegetated wetland and raises surrounding grades to provide screening and stabilization. McCarthy said the plan raises the grade adjacent to the isolated wetland approximately 4 to 5 feet in one area and increases a proposed berm along the landfill side by roughly 2 to 5 feet over the prior design. He said those regraded areas will be loamed and seeded with a native flowering meadow mix and supplemented with trees and shrubs for screening.

On the site’s northern edge and along the municipal boundary with Wilmington, the proposal calls for regrading between about 2 and 4 feet in places and for planting trees and shrubs between the site and the MBTA railroad corridor; McCarthy said the Wilmington Conservation Commission approved work on the Wilmington side at its meeting the night before.

Erosion‑and‑sediment controls will remain in place until stabilization, McCarthy said, and the project team noted that the site’s NPDES (EPA) permit and the associated Stormwater Pollution Prevention (SWPPP) monitoring and weekly reports will apply during construction. McCarthy listed proposed plantings including eastern white pine, Norway spruce and dogwood, and also referenced “sumet shrubs” in the materials submitted to the commission.

Commissioners asked about erosion risk on steeper slopes; McCarthy said disturbed slopes would be graded to a maximum 3:1 slope and that additional monitoring and stabilization measures would apply. The applicant also noted that erosion controls previously modified to allow access to a fire hydrant during demolition will be restored to their prior condition at project completion.

The commission voted to close the public hearing and then voted to issue the amended order as drafted; the draft language makes explicit that the amended order replaces the 2021 order of conditions and records an expiration date of Sept. 16, 2029. A motion to issue the amended order carried by voice vote.

What’s next: the amended order and related documents will be reflected in the commission’s file; the applicant will continue to maintain erosion controls, file required NPDES/SWPPP documentation and proceed with the revised landscaping and regrading under the amended order.