Conservation Commission defers vote on Wellington Farm restriction pending counsel review

WESTON — November 30, 2021 — Weston Conservation Commission greenlights Wellington Farm restriction draft and skips enforcement on a South Avenue tree-cutting. The commission gave consultant Emily what Chair Joe Berman called "enthusiastic approval" to send a 24-page conservation restriction on the 13-acre town-owned farm to Weston Forest and Trail's Jan. 6 board meeting, with a return vote set for Jan. 18 once town counsel weighs in on act-of-God restoration obligations. The draft pushes the state template's 2 percent structure-footprint cap up to 4 percent — roughly 22,000 square feet — to allow future hoop houses; Waltham Fields Community Farm signaled it could live with either. Separately, the commission took no enforcement action over three trees and undergrowth cleared in the 100-foot buffer at 526 South Avenue, where Conservation Agent Jordan said rotted stumps suggested hazard-tree status that would have been administratively approved. Abutter Jonathan Buckman said crews "crossed the line" into his 25-foot no-disturb zone, an issue Berman noted falls outside the commission's jurisdiction. The commission also approved a 7-0 order of conditions for additions and a five-bedroom septic upgrade at 162 Winter Street under DEP file 337-1432.