Historical Commission declines to recommend lifting stop order on Meadowbrook Road addition

WESTON — February 10, 2021 — Weston Historical Commission refuses to back lifting stop order on 300 Meadowbrook Road addition. Co-Chairs Steve Wagner and Phyllis Halpern told attorney Beth Nolan, representing owners Patrick Murphy and his wife, that the partly built addition to the 1922 Case's Corner Historic District house departs from the 2019 approval in at least seven ways, including a raised gambrel ridge, a flared end visible from Wellesley Street, a gable roof installed where an approved shed roof and balustrade were drawn, an untapered chimney, eliminated brackets and altered windows. Nolan called the building department's stop order "draconian" and said a professional engineer extrapolated dimensions from the approved plan's scale legend. Wagner cited Note 3 on the approved drawings: no changes to footprint, elevation or floor area without prior written permission. "If the rules aren't followed, why do we even have the rules?" he said. The commission voted 5-0 to close the meeting and reconvene once the owners submit dimensioned elevations, a roof plan and finish specifications; Nolan said she will appeal the stop order to the Zoning Board of Appeals.