Burlington Conservation Commission Casts Doubt on Cambridge Street Daycare Proposal

BURLINGTON -- February 12, 2026, Burlington Conservation Commission signals it may deny a waiver needed for a proposed Cambridge Street daycare center, citing harm to streams, wetlands, and downstream residents. The commission voted 6-0 to continue the notice of intent hearing for Foxboro Learning LLC's proposed early childhood education center at 0 Cambridge Street to February 26, after Chair Larry Cohen and Vice Chair Bill Boyvin raised serious doubts about whether the project could satisfy the Burlington Bylaw Article 14 waiver standard, which requires either an overriding public interest or a demonstration of no significant harm to flood control, water quality, and wetland hydrology. The applicant's plan calls for filling three town-regulated stream channels, grading the site up to 20 feet deep near rear retaining walls that abut Anna Road residences, and routing MassDOT stormwater through a grass swale and underground infiltration chambers. Abutters from Anna Road and Arlington Road testified that the lower wetland already floods neighboring basements and driveways during heavy rain. Conservation Administrator Eileen Coleman flagged missing low-impact development measures, a post-construction runoff volume that exceeds pre-construction levels in violation of the town's stormwater bylaw, and a planting schedule populated largely with non-native species. Cohen told the applicant: "I don't see how the system easily works with all the things we've talked about."