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Planning board approves covenant approach instead of conveying Marcy Street parcels
Summary
The Woburn City Planning Board voted to amend a March 13, 2024 subdivision condition so abutters will execute restrictive covenants (areas A, B and C) to preserve a wooded buffer while maintaining legal access to Lot 1; the board required law-department review of covenant language before recording.
The Woburn City Planning Board on Sept. 24 voted to amend one condition of a March 13, 2024 subdivision approval for a project affecting Marcy (Massey) Street, substituting a requirement to execute a declaration of restrictive covenants for an earlier requirement to convey specific right-of-way parcels to the city.
The change stems from a practical access issue raised by Michael Evaney, an architect with Cummings Properties, who told the board that transferring areas labeled A, B and C in the subdivision plan would leave Lot 1 without legal street access. Evaney said the developer had secured a lot-size variance from the Zoning Board of Appeals and city-council acceptance of two buffer parcels but that condition 3 of the earlier approval created an unintended access problem.
The board’s recommended fix replaces the outright conveyance with a declaration of restrictive covenants to be signed by all owners abutting Marcy Street, maintaining the wooded buffer while preserving pass-and-repass rights for the lot owner. The board’s legal memo, prepared by the city solicitor, endorses covenant language as an acceptable solution; members asked that the planning department provide a draft covenant to the law department for review before any signatures or recording.
Claudia moved the amendment and Carolyn Turner seconded. The motion passed unanimously, 7–0. Planning staff and the applicant discussed next steps after the vote: whether an ANR (Approval Not Required) plan or a revised mylar will be recorded, how the covenant will be executed by all abutters (including parcels controlled by New Horizons Beverly), and whether the zoning board’s decision will need further action depending on timing.
Board members and staff agreed that if the covenant language and administrative filing (ANR/mylar, signatures, solicitor clearance) are completed in order, the planning board likely will not require another substantive hearing; staff will ensure the final plan and decision documents are dated and titled appropriately for recording.
The board’s action leaves in place the other conditions of the March 13 decision and directs planning staff to coordinate with the city solicitor on final covenant language prior to recording.
