Weston Conservation Commission Approves Ditch Fill and Two Compliance Certificates

WESTON — October 13, 2022 — Weston Conservation Commission unanimously approves ditch fill, two compliance closures, and a pool-house wall shift at October 13 meeting. Chair Rees Tulloss and the full commission issued a Negative 3 determination of applicability allowing homeowner Vikram to fill a ditch at 21 Westerly Road within the 100-foot wetland buffer, with conditions requiring tree-protection inspections, clean fill, and native-species planting inside the 50-foot line; neighbor Douglas Keene raised concerns about an irrigation well's effect on the adjacent wetland, which staff said are routinely permitted statewide. Full certificates of compliance were closed out for 673 Wellesley Street (DEP 337-1403), where a two-year restoration monitoring period has concluded, and for 55 Loring Road (DEP 337-0661), a 21-year-old drainage permit. The commission also approved a request from contractor Rob Gemma to shift a retaining wall at 164 Orchard Avenue roughly 12 feet outward, moving its closest point from 61 feet to approximately 50 feet from the wetland. In discussion, members broadly backed staff research into a streamlined local permit for invasive-plant removal near wetlands, citing models from Lincoln and Stow.