Watertown Conservation Commission Approves Self-Storage Project Near Sawins Pond

WATERTOWN -- July 15, 2026, Watertown Conservation Commission unanimously approved a self-storage development in the wetland buffer zone at 59 Clarence Street and elected a new chair at the July 15 meeting. The commission voted 5-0 to approve a notice of intent filed by SDG Development under DEP number 321-0192, authorizing redevelopment of two mid-1960s warehouse buildings, currently covering a site that is 96.8 percent impervious, into a five-story, 150,000-square-foot self-storage facility and a 10,000-square-foot building for a Mass General Brigham ambulance operation, both within the 150-foot buffer zone of Sawins Pond. Randy Myron of Bowler Engineering told commissioners the proposed stormwater system is designed to "capture and infiltrate the 100-year storm" with no off-site discharge, and that roughly 28,000 square feet of new landscaping would replace existing pavement. Commission member Leo Martin pressed the team on a 2022 wetland delineation used in place of a fresh one, after the adjacent property owner refused site access; the commission accepted the approach. Outgoing chair Patrick Shannon presided over his final meeting before leaving Watertown; Martin was then elected chair, and Rachel Slater was elected clerk, with vice chair selection tabled pending two new member appointments expected through the city council.