A Massachusetts agency approved a controversial housing development in Weston on Jan. 23 and ordered the town zoning board to refund the developer nearly $13,000 in consultant fees.
The Housing Appeals Committee ruled that the Weston Zoning Board of Appeals’ decision “is not consistent with local needs” and that the board must issue a permit for the development, according to the ruling.
518 South Ave. LLC submitted an application on July 2, 2019, to develop 200 apartments in a four-story building on 9.5 acres — a development locals have dubbed the “Weston Whopper.” About 25 percent of the units would be below market rate under the proposal. (The LLC later amended the project to 180 units overall.)
The Weston Zoning Board denied the permit in July 2022. The “project as proposed represents a direct threat to public health and safety … and with normative understandings of site planning and land development,” the board wrote. “The Board denies this project because it has to.”
Several residents were also against the project. Shortly after the developer requested a permit, they put up signs displaying an angry red building with text saying “STOP The Weston Whopper!”
Common concerns included its proximity to the middle and high schools, environmental impact, and the disruption it could pose to the community.
“This project is too big for our small town and will have too many adverse consequences, including environmental dangers, child-safety concerns, and traffic flow and congestion issues,” Weston resident Paul Nolan wrote in a 2022 letter to the Zoning Board of Appeals. “Weston has always been a quiet, rural town and we hope it will remain so in the future.”
In its denial, the zoning board found that the project’s stormwater and wastewater management, landscape design, and traffic control did not meet standards. But the state committee ruled that the board did not provide evidence beyond speculation that “a valid local concern outweighs the regional need for affordable housing.”
The state committee specifically handles rejected applications of projects issued under Chapter 40B. The Massachusetts statute aims to promote more affordable housing across the state.
Weston tried to claim “safe harbor,” that it had already met the general land area minimum for subsidized housing inventory — 1.5 percent of the total land zoned for residential, commercial, or industrial use, according to guidelines from the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities.
Weston did not meet the rule, the state committee said.
Further, the committee said the town did not support its concerns about stormwater management with evidence.
“If the Board or Interveners had proven a local concern, in order to prevail they would still have needed to prove that that concern outweighs the regional need for affordable housing. They have not,” the state wrote in its decision.