Weston ZBA Continues 40B Hearing as Reviewers Cite Design, Safety Flaws

WESTON — February 17, 2022 — Weston's Zoning Board of Appeals heard sweeping criticism of a proposed 200-unit rental development at 518 South Avenue at its February 17 continuation hearing. Architectural peer reviewer Cliff Boehmer called the project's engineering challenges "inescapable," flagging unresolved structural questions about retaining walls reaching 11 feet in height and the impact of a courtyard layout on roughly 56 units whose primary views face inward. Landscape peer reviewer Karen Sebastian, a Massachusetts-registered landscape architect, said more than 350 trees would be cleared from the site and identified exterior lighting levels she calculated at roughly three times Weston's typical 22,000-lumen residential limit. Weston School Committee Vice Chair Kenneth Newberg warned that the project's proposed bus stop cannot safely accommodate the estimated 31 elementary-age students the applicant projects will live there, citing a turning radius of only 58 feet where 90 feet is required for a full-size school bus. Traffic consultant Greg Lucas of Environmental Partners disputed the applicant's use of a 41-mile-per-hour design speed for sight line calculations, arguing 45 miles per hour is more appropriate. The board, chaired by Jane Carlson with members Winifred Lee and Sujit Siddholy, voted unanimously to continue the hearing to March 8, 2022.