Historical Commission approves Newton Street barn conversion, advances Maple Street hearing

WESTON -- January 16, 2024, Weston Historical Commission clears Newton Street barn conversion, sends Maple Street expansion to February hearing. The commission voted 7-0 to approve architect Mike Tartamela's plan to lift an 1870s barn at 126 Newton St., slide it 12 feet forward, and link it to the main house, conditioned on removing decorative shutters and reworking a triple front window. Members were less receptive to a near-doubling of 20 Maple St., where architect Joe Forney proposed a 4,400-square-foot addition against a 3,154-square-foot existing home; member John Thompson said the massing "looks like a rooming house" and member Alfred Aydelott said the grey-clapboard elevation would "look like a battleship" without material breaks. The commission also waved through a renovation of the 1892 Roland Rand House at 227 Merriam Street with no delay, and signaled support for a roughly $700,000 Community Preservation Committee application to rebuild the Central Cemetery gates.