Weston Select Board Unanimously Appoints Former Planning Board Chair to Fill Vacancy

WESTON — April 29, 2025 — Weston appoints veteran planner Alfred Aydelott to Planning Board as MBTA Communities Act deadline looms. The Weston Select Board and Planning Board voted eight to zero Tuesday in a joint session to fill a vacancy left by Lori Hess's resignation, choosing Aydelott, a former 22-year chair of the Planning Board, over two other candidates for a one-year term expiring in 2026. Planning Board Chair Leslie Glenn said she recruited Aydelott specifically because the town faces a critical year on MBTA Communities Act zoning compliance, and board members cited his prior negotiations with Boston Properties representative Keir Evans — a key figure in any deal involving the Biogen site — as decisive. The board also confirmed that Article 14, the 3A zoning bylaw on the May 5 annual town meeting warrant, will not be taken up after Town Counsel advised that a Planning Board two-to-one vote against the article triggered a state law barring substantially similar bylaws from consideration within two years of rejection. Select Board member Rebecca J. Mercuri said the board plans to convene a public working group immediately after town meeting and target a fall special town meeting for a revised plan. The board voted two to zero with one abstention to support spending up to $561,000 in Community Preservation Committee funds to restore the Central Cemetery's historic memorial entrance, and unanimously approved a zero-emissions vehicle policy enabling the town to seek Climate Leader designation and associated grant funding.