Weston Fire Station Working Group Advances Site Re-Ranking, Flags Cemetery Concerns

WESTON — September 16, 2024 — Weston's Fire Station Working Group reviewed test-fit designs for up to nine candidate sites at its September 16 meeting, directing its design firm, Tecton Architects, to produce a professional re-ranking before the next session. Architect Rebecca presented multiple layout iterations constrained by wetland setbacks, state highway frontage, grade differentials of up to 18 feet, and, at one parcel near Linwood Cemetery, potential restrictions under Massachusetts General Law Chapter 114 governing burial grounds more than 100 years old. Two residents — Lenora LaBelle and a speaker identified as Adrian — told the group that routing apparatus through or adjacent to the cemetery processional road would constitute "desecration" and require an act of the legislature with no viable hardship claim. A site directly across Boston Post Road from the cemetery was assessed as infeasible after the wetland scientist confirmed two perennial streams requiring 200-foot riverfront setbacks. School-area parcels along Wellesley Street scored best on fire department response analysis, though proximity to school dismissal traffic and the Hultman Aqueduct posed additional complications. The group's initial $1.5 million design contract has roughly $100,000 remaining, with a contract amendment likely needed if site selection extends past October.