ZBA approves parking variance for tavern restaurant
Weston's Zoning Board of Appeals unanimously approved a special permit and parking variance for a 175-seat restaurant inside the town-owned Josiah Smith Tavern.
Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) · Meeting of September 30, 2026
Weston's Zoning Board of Appeals unanimously approved a special permit and parking variance for a 175-seat restaurant inside the town-owned Josiah Smith Tavern. The board voted 3-0 twice, with Chair Stephen J. Larocque and members Jane Fisher Carlson and Laura Mintz all in favor, clearing BU West LLC to open "The Woods at Josiah Smith Tavern" using 22 on-street parking spaces along Boston Post Road and the Town Green to meet the bylaw's 77-space requirement.
Attorney Luke Legere argued the tavern's 1757-era footprint made full on-site compliance a "practical difficulty" under a new state variance standard. Members debated and ultimately dropped a bylaw provision limiting counted spaces to a 200-foot radius, with member Laura Mintz asking, "Can someone help me understand why we're limiting it to 200 feet?" A town official identified as Town Manager Leon told the board the Select Board had "unanimously voted to support" the variance.
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Source: the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) meeting of September 30, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.
Checked against the record: before publication this article was automatically compared with the meeting transcript. It was corrected where it differed.
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