Planning Board unanimously backs Drabbington Lodge age-restricted housing bylaw

WESTON — May 1, 2024 — Weston Planning Board recommends Drabbington Lodge zoning, splits on Route 30 funding. The board voted unanimously May 1 to back Article 22, which would allow age-restricted multifamily housing by right within historically significant 10,000-square-foot structures inside a half-mile of the Kendal Green commuter rail stop — a bylaw written around developer Bob Persakian's Route 117 mansion conversion, capped at 20 units. Vice Chair Sean Lanier said outside town counsel concluded the amendment was not illegal spot zoning because of its "very substantial connection" to public interest. The board also voted 3-1-1 to recommend $600,000 to advance Route 30 corridor design to 75 and 100 percent; member Alicia Primer opposed, citing 177 trees over six inches caliper slated for removal and 38 driveways crossing a proposed shared-use path, and Alex Selvig abstained. The board unanimously opposed Article 21, the sale of the Zero Hobbs Brook parcel near Kendal Green, until Weston's 3A multifamily compliance is resolved in December. May 1 was Primer's last meeting on the board.