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.