Weston ZBA Sends Away Two Variance Petitions Without Hearing Either on Merits

WESTON -- June 14, 2023, Weston's Zoning Board of Appeals turned away two variance petitions without ruling on the merits at its June 14 meeting. Chair Jane Fisher Carlson, member Wendy Kaplan Amour, and Associate Member Tristan Colangelo voted 3-0 on each case to accept withdrawals without prejudice. The first petitioner, Costas Lites of 53 Country Drive, was told the board could not consider his sports court setback variance without a signed and sealed survey. The second, Brandon Robinson of 120 Rockport Road, presented a detailed case for a residential height variance of approximately 3.96 feet above the bylaw's 37-foot limit, arguing that topography and fill requirements made average natural grade an unfair measuring baseline, but Kaplan Amour was blunt: "Future resale value, not a hardship," and said she could not support the variance knowing no shovel had yet entered the ground. Robinson must now pay a new $400 filing fee and return with revised plans; the board said even a reduced ask of roughly three feet over the limit would be "problematic."