Woburn City Council Limits Minor Modifications To Special Permits

WOBURN, MA — Property owners trying to make changes to their special permits are going to have to do a bit more work from now on, in many cases. Woburn City Council voted Tuesday to specify types of changes that do not count as "minor modifications": those changes will now require full public hearings before the council or planning board. Mayor Scott Galvin signed the amendments Thursday.

The new rules, proposed by Aldermen Lindsay Higgins, Darlene Mercer Bruen and Michael Anderson, include nine examples of "major modifications," which will require public hearings, and eight examples of "minor modifications," which will not. Neither list is comprehensive, but previously, the rules on which changes count as minor were much looser.

The amendment was approved unanimously, with three aldermen absent: Richard Gately, Lindsay Higgins and Edward Tedesco.

The following changes are major, under the newly-adopted amendment:

"1. Any major change in the pattern or volume of traffic flow either on or
off the premises.
2. Any change in the nature of the use or the mix of uses.
3. An increase in the gross floor area of a building which exceeds ten
percent (10%) of the approved gross floor area.
4. Any increase in the number of dwelling units.
5. Any material change in lot coverage, height, or setbacks.
6. Reductions of five percent (5%) or more in the amount of landscaped
usable open space.
7. Any change in floor area or use which increases the number of
required parking spaces.
8. Any material changes in the orientation or location of one or more
structures on the premises which is subject to the special permit.
9. Any change that does not constitute a Minor Modification as set forth
above."

Minor modifications can be approved by a simple majority, without a public hearing, while major modifications require a two-thirds vote and a public hearing. The council or planning board will also be able to apply additional conditions, when approving a major modification.

The Daily Times Chronicle notes that the definition of a "minor modification" has come up repeatedly in recent council deliberations.

"Some of the more notable minor modification debates over the past year revolved around the relocation of utilities at the Shannon Farm townhouse site on the West Side, the removal of a sidewalk installation mandate for the Woburn Landing project in East Woburn, and a proposed Woburn Mall redevelopment change that allowed for apartment tenants' future use of a new rear access road onto Commerce Way," reporter Patrick Blais wrote.

Christopher Huffaker can be reached at 412-265-8353 or chris.huffaker@patch.com.