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.