Weston Conservation Commission Denies North Avenue Permit Extension After 17 Years

WESTON — April 14, 2026 — Weston Conservation Commission unanimously denied a long-stalled permit extension and advanced fine proceedings against two properties at its April 14 meeting. The board voted 7-0 to reject a three-year extension of an Order of Conditions for 403 North Avenue — originally permitted in 2009 and kept alive through COVID tolling and Governor Healey's Permit Extension Act to April 2026 — citing an outdated 2016 wetland delineation, expanded abutter notification requirements under the town's revised bylaw, and DEP guidance against extensions beyond 10 years. Chair Rees Tulloss and the full commission directed staff to seek town counsel guidance on assessing daily fines of up to $300 per violation at 12 Robin Road, where a stone retaining wall was built up to seven feet high inside the buffer zone without a Notice of Intent, and at 95 Sylvan Lane, where 24 trees were cut without authorization. Member Glenn Butcher noted the commission is "starting to see more and more of this," and Member Ellen Freeman Roth warned that "the commission is getting a little tired of having to revisit these things when people should do their work appropriately at the beginning."