Weston Conservation Commission Defers Golf Course Pesticide Dispute to May 26 Hearing

WESTON — May 12, 2026 — Weston Conservation Commission defers Weston Golf Club pesticide dispute to a May 26 amendment hearing. The commission, chaired by Rees Tulloss, spent the majority of its May 12 Zoom meeting debating whether to relax a standard perpetual condition in a recently issued Order of Conditions that prohibits pesticide, herbicide, and fertilizer use within the wetland buffer zone — an area comprising roughly 25 to 35 percent of the golf course, by the applicant's estimate. Attorney Kelly Durfee-Cardoza argued the club's five licensed pesticide applicators, annual state reporting requirements, and longstanding management practices distinguish it from ordinary homeowners; Cambridge Water Department pushed back, saying it was "concerned about opening up a can of worms" and requesting water quality monitoring if the condition is relaxed. Staff advised a formal amendment application, with legal notice and abutter notification, is the cleanest path, and the matter will be heard at 8:15 p.m. on May 26. The commission separately voted 5-0 and 6-0 to issue Negative Type 3 Determinations for a 350-square-foot driveway expansion at 60 Westerly Road and a shed replacement with a wood-chip path at 33 Skating Pond Road.