Weston Conservation Commission Declines to Endorse Proposed Town Tree Bylaw

WESTON — April 26, 2022 — Weston Conservation Commission takes no position on proposed tree bylaw ahead of Town Meeting vote. Conservation Commission Chair Rees Tulloss and other members raised concerns Tuesday about the enforcement mechanism, equity, and governmental overreach in the proposed Weston Sustainable Tree Initiative, Article 30, which would require replanting or payments of up to $800 per inch of trunk diameter when trees are removed during new construction or major redevelopment. Planners Alicia Primer and Laurie Bent, who drafted the bylaw modeled on Wellesley's 2011 ordinance, sought a formal letter of support; the commission declined, with Tulloss saying he would "not want to support this officially" and the body concluding that individual members could speak at town meeting in a personal capacity. In separate action, the commission voted unanimously to recommend the Select Board allocate remaining Community Preservation Act funds — estimated between $25,000 and $110,000 from the original $8.9 million Case Estates acquisition — for capital repairs to stone walls along Newton Street and Wellesley Street.