Planning Board orders peer review of Riverside Road life-science rezoning

WESTON — April 14, 2021 — Weston Planning Board signals Riverside Road rezoning isn't ready for May 15 Town Meeting. Acting Chair Alicia Primer told Greatland Realty Partners' Kevin Sheehan the board will hire outside consultants to review the life-science zoning, including the proposed 40-dBA property-line noise cap, the prescriptive exhaust-stack standard (10,000 cfm combined flow, 3,000 fpm exit velocity, stacks 10 feet above roof), and the 25-foot rooftop mechanical screen set back 20 feet from the roof line. Sheehan pitched more than $100 million in private investment, an estimated $1 million in new annual property tax, and a fresh $2 million contribution to the town's general fund for housing and conservation. The town-initiated housing overlay tied to the same site — allowing up to 20 units per acre on roughly two acres — drew unanimous neighborhood opposition. Kelly Murphy of 44 Tamarack Road called it "the most radical zoning change ever proposed in Weston." The board continued the hearing to April 28, with housing taken up first.