Medford Conservation Commission Continues Sycamore Avenue Parking Lot Case, Orders Soils Study

MEDFORD — December 18, 2024 — Medford Conservation Commission continues two wetlands permit applications amid flooding and habitat concerns. The commission voted unanimously at its December 18 meeting to continue a Notice of Intent from NRL Medford-i LLC for a proposed 15-space parking lot expansion at 28 Sycamore Avenue, using pervious asphalt over isolated land subject to flooding, to January 22, 2025, with a site visit to be scheduled before that hearing. Engineer Rick Salvo of Engineering Alliance presented on behalf of property owners Andy and Ben Dulac, who need the additional spaces for a planned gym tenant requiring 60 total parking spaces. Commission members demanded soil testing, a wetland delineation, updated isolated-land-subject-to-flooding calculations, a cut-fill analysis, pre- and post-development stormwater modeling, and a written performance-standards demonstration before any permit decision. More than a dozen abutters from Sherman Place, Sherman Court, Hamlin Avenue, and Gibson Circle testified to chronic basement flooding and a diverse wildlife population including nesting red-tailed hawks and owls. In a separate matter, the commission continued a City of Medford Notice of Intent for a pedestrian and bicycle boardwalk beneath the Route 28 Fellsway Bridge — which would connect McDonald Park to Station Landing and Wellington Station — to January 8, 2025, requesting a planting plan, stormwater alternatives analysis, and review of environmentally friendlier alternatives to ipe tropical hardwood decking.