Weston Commission Clears Window Swap, Orders Demo Hearing for 1919 Willis House

WESTON -- October 18, 2022, Weston Historical Commission declines to block window replacement at a 1934 Dutch Colonial and schedules a demolition hearing for a prized 1919 architect-built house. At the October 18 meeting, Co-Chair Phyllis Halpern and the commission voted unanimously to allow 26 replacement windows and one door at 52 Sunset Road, after owners Kathleen Daily and her husband explained their contractor had ordered the Anderson windows before the building permit was even filed, creating a supply-chain bind the commission called "a risk" that "shouldn't be your liability." The panel also voted unanimously to declare the 1919 Harold Willis house at 49 Concord Road historically significant and to schedule a November 15 public hearing on a total demolition request from neighbors Bill Mayo-Smith and Leslie Bensel, who said they bought the property to block a developer but face a $1.4 million restoration estimate with no viable lot-split option under current zoning rules. A third vote, 4-1, granted administrative approval for a rear addition at 66 Summer Street, with Halpern the lone dissent.