Zoning Board upholds Ridgeway Road garage permit on 3-0 vote

WESTON -- January 23, 2024, Weston ZBA upholds Ridgeway Road garage permit over abutter's guest-house challenge. The Zoning Board of Appeals voted 3-0 on January 23 to affirm Building Inspector John Field's issuance of a permit for a detached one-and-a-half-car garage with a roughly 935-square-foot recreation room above it at 169 Ridgeway Road. Abutter Ken Galton, an attorney representing himself and his wife Melissa, argued the structure was a guest house barred by the bylaw and by the Massachusetts Land Court's Witter decision, telling the board "everybody agrees that this is a guest house." Field said the state building code and Weston bylaw "happen to jive relatively well" and that he had required the removal of a wet-bar sink before approving the October plans. Acting Chair Stephen J. Larocque, member Wendy Kaplan Amour and Associate Member Tristan Colangelo all voted to find the structure accessory to the main house and not a separate residence.