Weston Planning Board takes peer reviews on Riverside Road, sets May 12 special session

WESTON — May 5, 2021 — Weston Planning Board hears peer reviews and gets simple-majority legal opinion on Riverside Road. Town counsel Jonathan Witten of KP Law told the board that Articles 30 and 32 — rezoning 9, 11, 13 and 20 Riverside Road and creating a multiple-dwelling transit-oriented overlay — require only a simple majority at Town Meeting under the Housing Choice Act, calling the state law "unfortunate" and "poorly written" but unambiguous on vote count. Beta Group's Jeff Maxtutis presented the traffic peer review of VHB's study, projecting 56 new morning-peak and approximately 121 evening-peak trips and accepting the 850-space, 3.0-per-1,000-square-foot parking ratio. Intertec acoustical engineer Jeff Fullerton said the bylaw's 40 dBA property-line limit and 5 dBA-above-ambient nighttime standard are achievable but recommended third-party baseline measurements and post-construction compliance testing. Town Planner Imai Aiu proposed lowering the by-right cap from 50 to 15 units and keeping a 20-unit ceiling by special permit, matching Greatland's concept study at roughly 14.5 units per acre on 1.38 acres.