Weston Planning Board Continues Tree Bylaw and Water Tank Hearings to April 6

WESTON — March 23, 2022 — Weston Planning Board continued two contentious zoning hearings — a tree preservation bylaw and a municipal water tank construction amendment — to April 6 after hours of public debate. Town Planner Imai told the board that state MBTA Communities Act rules classify Weston as a rapid transit community obligated to zone at least 50 acres for 1,011 multifamily units by right, a threshold he called unreachable at a town meeting vote; the board unanimously approved a comment letter to DHCD challenging the designation. On the Sustainable Tree Initiative, revised trigger conditions were narrowed to three scenarios — total demolition, new construction on a vacant lot, or doubling a building's footprint — with coverage limited to zoning setbacks only. Select Board member Lori Bent told the board that adding formal site plan review to the water tank project "opens a lot of doors for a legal process to object," but Planning Board members and several residents argued a project involving hilltop grading, blasting, and full infrastructure buildout demanded that review.