Select Board endorses Route 20 sidewalk TIP submittal and JST restaurant pick

WESTON — January 9, 2024 — Weston Select Board picks restaurant operator for Josiah Smith Tavern and charts MBTA 3A middle ground. The Friends of the Josiah Smith Tavern announced Boston Urban Hospitality's Brian Buccini, a Weston resident, as operator of "The Woods," a wood-fired farm- and sea-to-table concept targeting an October 2024 opening; Member Tom Palmer said the master lease is roughly 95 percent finalized. On the state's Chapter 3A mandate to rezone 50 acres for up to 750 units, Chair Lori Bent and Members Palmer and Chris Houston rejected full compliance — "not a snowball's chance in hell of passing," Houston said — and backed a consultant-led partial-compliance approach through the Massachusetts Housing Partnership. The board also approved a Wellesley Street sidewalk extension (estimated $600,000 to $800,000) for inclusion in the Route 20 TIP, raised bulky-waste fees and tabled a proposed horse-manure ban after Beachwood Stables owner Lise Revers offered to find alternative disposal, and appointed Jeff Barsnell to the Affordable Housing Trust 3-0.