Weston ZBA Signals 200-Unit South Avenue 40B Project Is Too Dense

WESTON — March 8, 2022 — Weston ZBA members say proposed 200-unit South Avenue 40B project is too large and set a March 29 deadline to formalize conditions. All three board members — Chair Jane Carlson, Winifred Lee, and Sujit Sitholy — stated openly at the March 8 continuation hearing that the 518 South Avenue rental development, which would place 200 units including 50 affordable on 9.54 acres of wetland-adjacent land, exceeds what the site can support. Applicant representative David Hall of the Hanover Company said flatly that the applicant would not reduce the project's 180 units, and applicant Jonathan Buckman confirmed: "If you guys feel that you want a reduction in density, that's not going to happen." Town Counsel John Witten of KP Law warned the board its 180-day Chapter 40B clock expires May 23 and pressed for a formal request for the applicant's financial pro forma before that deadline. Peer reviewers cited unresolved concerns including a disputed ModFlow groundwater mounding model showing water rising two feet into stormwater basin three, an emergency access bioswale deemed unsafe by PSC Engineering, infeasible school bus circulation, and inadequate snow storage. The board voted 3-0 to reconvene March 29, where Witten will present a draft conditions memo.