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Board approves special permit for enlarged garage at 68 Arlington Road
Summary
The Woburn Board of Appeals approved a special permit allowing homeowners at 68 Arlington Road to replace and raise a detached garage to a 26-by-40 structure with limited storage above, subject to conditions that prohibit business use, rentals and separate utility meters.
The Woburn Board of Appeals on Oct. 1 approved a special permit allowing property owners Brian Butler and Siobhan Curran to replace and raise a detached garage at 68 Arlington Road.
Attorney James Giuliano, representing the applicants, told the board the existing 22-by-22 garage (about 484 square feet) would be replaced by a 26-by-40-foot structure totaling roughly 1,122 square feet, with 12-foot main-level ceilings and about 82 square feet of storage above 7 feet. Giuliano said the expanded garage will be set farther from the side lot line (moving from 3.6 feet to 5.2 feet) and that overall lot coverage and landscaping stay within zoning limits.
Giuliano read seven conditions into the record, including that the accessory structure be for the residence’s use only, that there be no business activity or rental of the garage in perpetuity, no conversion of the garage to residential use, and that all electrical and plumbing tie to the main house (plumbing permitting must comply with CMR plumbing codes). On noise, Giuliano said the applicants would limit use of air-impact or "compression" guns to hours permitted by the city noise ordinance; the board preferred tying the condition to the ordinance rather than listing specific hours.
Board members asked the applicants’ architect about the attic/storage area; architect Richard Lee estimated about 80 square feet of standing room above 7 feet and emphasized the dormers are primarily architectural, not intended to create habitable space. Giuliano also submitted a corrected plan sheet (A1) after board members identified discrepancies in the earlier square-footage summary.
After discussion the board member identified as Speaker 11 moved to approve the special permit with the conditions read into the record; the motion was seconded and the board voted to approve the application. Giuliano said he would provide the board clerk with the typed conditions and the corrected plan sheet for the decision file.
The permit approval is tied to the conditions the applicants put on the record; the board noted it expects accurate, stamped plans and that utilities to the accessory structure will be supplied from the main residence, not by separate meters.
What’s next: The board’s decision will be memorialized once the corrected plans and the written conditions are filed with the clerk.
