Planning Board Demands Smaller Design for 275-Unit South Avenue Apartment Proposal

WESTON — April 10, 2019 — Weston Planning Board challenges 275-unit South Avenue apartment proposal as too dense and too tall for the town's semi-rural character. At an April 10 advisory session on the Chapter 40B application for 518, 510, and 540 South Avenue — a 9.5-acre parcel owned by developer Jonathan Buckman — board chair Leslie Glynn told the applicant that other projects already in Weston's pipeline mean the town can reach its state-mandated 10 percent affordable-housing threshold without 275 units, or even 200. "We don't need 275. And we actually don't need 200," Glynn said. A board member grilled the development team on pro forma line items including a roughly $53 million building cost and approximately $1 million landscaping budget. Neighbor Lisa Revers, who said her farm sits directly across Route 30, denied being a supporter and called the project "massive and completely out of proportion." The developer confirmed no interest in going below 200 units; the board won a commitment to a second public meeting once revised 200-unit plans are submitted.