Planning Board accepts engineering peer review for 255 Merriam, sets April 15 vote

WESTON — April 7, 2020 — Weston Planning Board signs off on engineering review for 255 Merriam, targets April 15 vote. Acting Chair Alicia Primer and members Sue Zacharias and Steve Oppenheimer unanimously continued the public hearing on the seven-unit Alternative Residential Compound after the town's engineering peer reviewer said nothing material remained outstanding and the landscape peer reviewer confirmed the applicant's team at Bowler had grown the rear buffer from roughly 60 to 96 evergreens, including 10-to-12-foot firs. Oppenheimer flagged a continuous 8.5-foot retaining wall behind unit 3 as a concern; developer Jeff defended the layout, saying "people that want sprawling backyards aren't going to buy this unit. And we're okay with that." KP Law attorney Katie restructured the draft bylaw so a new Section 6C governs future ARC applications after Sept. 1, 2020 while Section 6D applies only to 255 Merriam, and Zacharias secured added language requiring native regional species as the preferred planting choice.