Weston Historical Commission approves Cases Corner addition, clears log cabin demolition

WESTON -- August 19, 2024, Weston Historical Commission unanimously approved a rear addition to a Queen Anne home in the Cases Corner National Register Historic District and cleared demolition of a crumbling log cabin at 22 Church Street. Co-Chair Phyllis Halpern led the August 19 meeting, during which the commission first voted the 1891 house at 55 Wellesley Street historically significant before waiving a public hearing for the proposed addition, a decision that spared the applicants a delay ahead of a mid-September family deadline. The commission also received a preview of a forthcoming Community Preservation Act application from First Parish Church in Weston to restore a deteriorating clock tower face, estimated at $65,000, with cleanup of the two remaining faces estimated at an additional $20,000; member Steve Wagner moved to place a formal vote on the September 10 agenda. On 55 Church Street, the former MBTA rail station, members reported the prior lessee has vacated following lease expiration, the building has suffered severe interior damage, and the current 4,000-square-foot footprint is too small for a leach field, with the building's owner reportedly willing to transfer title to the town in exchange for forgiveness of more than $150,000 in back taxes.