Weston ZBA approves two special permits, drops fire pit from Meadowbrook plan

WESTON — September 2, 2021 — Weston ZBA approves outdoor fixtures and an accessory apartment after carving out a fire pit and a porch. The Zoning Board of Appeals voted 3-0 Sept. 2 to grant Gretchen and Stephen Winchester a special permit for a spa, gas grill and garbage enclosure at 180 Meadowbrook Road, but only after applicant Dan Gordon withdrew a proposed gas fire pit that would have sat 19.9 feet from the property line — closer than the existing 28.9-foot non-conformity. Member Steve LaRocque said he had "a lot of trouble seeing how a fire pit would ever be able to fit the variance standard." In a second 3-0 vote, the board approved Teresa Nibby's already-built 1,256-square-foot basement accessory apartment at 73 Chestnut St., after member Natalie Sawyer pressed her colleagues not to treat the bylaw's 10-year construction requirement as "waivable" and the board instead read "additions or enlargements" to mean habitable living area — excluding a recently roofed but unwalled porch.