Weston Planning Board Sends Barno Lot Case to Town Counsel for December Decision

WESTON — November 16, 2022 — Weston Planning Board continues disputed Hemlock Road lot case and revokes occupancy certificate over landscaping violations. The board voted unanimously at its November 16 meeting to continue a six-hearing subdivision special permit application from Richard Barno for a buildable lot at zero Hemlock Road to December 7, when Town Counsel is expected to weigh in on whether unresolved easement questions preclude the board from acting. Applicant's attorney Jonathan White argued that a 2005 deed confirmed the easement was never extinguished, saying the board "has to go forward with the idea that it is a good easement until they file a lawsuit trying to extinguish it." Opposing attorney Gwen King countered that Barno must first obtain a declaratory judgment from a court before the planning board can grant approval. Separately, the board revoked the certificate of occupancy for a recently completed house after a consultant documented that the landscaper had cleared a protected no-disturb area, installed roughly 200 unauthorized arborvitae in straight rows, and replanted three trees in the wrong locations, directing the owners to submit a fully detailed remediation plan before December 21.