Conservation Commission Approves 169 Ridgeway Order of Conditions After Four Hearings

WESTON — September 5, 2023 — Weston Conservation Commission votes 4-0 to approve a contested garage-and-living-space addition at 169 Ridgeway Road after four hearings dating to June. Chair Rees Tulloss and members including Ellen Freeman Roth — who said she voted on jurisdictional grounds rather than personal preference — approved the order of conditions under the Wetlands Protection Act's riverfront redevelopment standard, which requires the project to improve existing conditions in the 200-foot resource area, recorded at 6.89 percent cumulative disturbance. Conditions require stormwater and Health Department permits before construction starts and direct the conservation administrator to approve a final planting plan, including one-for-one replacement trees for each healthy tree removed from the 11 slated for cutting. Neighbor Ken Galpin of 171 Ridgeway argued in public comment that removing a canopy-covered hillside and blasting ledge "is going to cause water problems" for abutters and cannot constitute a net improvement to the wetland. The commission also issued a Negative Determination of Applicability for driveway and retaining-wall work at 128 Wellesley Street and authorized placement of a historical interpretive sign at the Shattuck Mill site on Sears Land.