Planning Board denies bid to lift residential-use ban on 154 Church Street outbuilding

WESTON — December 1, 2021 — Weston Planning Board rejects bid to convert Church Street storage building to apartment. The board voted 4-0 Wednesday to deny attorney Beth Nolan's request to strike Condition 12 of the 17-year-old certificate of action governing 154 Church Street, which bars the 1,920-square-foot outbuilding from any residential use. Petitioner Joellen Bichard had sought the amendment as a preliminary step toward a Zoning Board accessory apartment permit following the February death of co-owner Tom Tanner. Chair Alicia Pramer framed the question as precedent: "For what reason would this planning board go back and rescind the decision of a previous planning board?" Former Planning Board member Al Adelot testified Tanner himself had proposed the storage-only restriction in 2003 as the trade-off for preserving the 14,178-square-foot barn. The board also pressed Boston Properties on a 1.12-to-1 tree replacement ratio for 208 removals at its Riverside Road life-sciences project, below the board's 1.2-to-1.3 minimum.