Weston Planning Board backs wetlands bylaw and water tank study at Town Meeting

WESTON — May 3, 2023 — Weston Planning Board votes to support wetlands bylaw and conditionally backs $1M water tank study. The board voted 5-0 at its May 3 meeting to endorse the Conservation Commission's proposed local wetlands bylaw, which would cover vernal pools and isolated vegetated wetlands not protected under state law, establish a 25-foot no-disturb buffer zone, and grant the commission authority to issue fines — tools currently unavailable. The board also voted 5-0 to support the water tank engineering and design funding article at Town Meeting, contingent on the word "construction" being stricken from the warrant language, after Chair Leslie Glynn noted the Select Board had pledged a two-phase approach. In other action, the board approved a site plan amendment for 45 Hidden Road 5-0, accepting a revised planting plan with 55 percent native trees and 77 percent native shrubs, and retook a 4-0 vote approving an amended special permit at 102 Ash Street after a procedural error at a prior meeting. The board continued a contentious debate over a proposed unified master plan, with Vice Chair Alex Selvig objecting that no formal vote had authorized the process and that the Planning Board holds only one of nine seats on the proposed steering committee.