Select Board declines to add senior housing project to Special Town Meeting warrant

A senior housing project that has been the center of town discussions will not be moving forward to a town vote.

On Tuesday, the Select Board finalized the warrant for the Nov. 23 Special Town Meeting. Residents will not get a say on HYM’s proposed senior housing development on Regis College land at 300 Wellesley St., but they will have the opportunity to weigh in on other housing projects and changes to the municipal budget.

The Select Board opted to leave the zoning amendment sought by developers of a proposed senior housing development on 30 acres of Regis College land off the warrant.  The project, first proposed to the Planning Board last December would have included a total of 215 townhome, independent living and memory care units.

Select Board member Rebecca Mercuri said she was against putting it on the warrant because the project had not been fully vetted by the Planning Board and residents still have outstanding questions.

“My concern is that we haven’t given this enough time and we haven’t given this enough public airing and consideration of concern,” she said. 

While the Board voted 4-0 to exclude the zoning amendment from the warrant, a smaller senior housing project will be up for a vote at Special Town Meeting. Voters will be asked to authorize the Select Board to negotiate a lease for the 17 units at the Drabbington Lodge at 135 North Ave. Residents will also be asked to discontinue part of Riverside Road as a public way, which will help advance the proposed housing project the town voted on in 2021.

The Board is also using Special Town Meeting to amend the fiscal year budget. Town clerk expenses, merit pay and land use salaries are increasing. The clerk’s office needs $6,100 to cover the annual maintenance fee for the ballot addressing machine. An additional $48,000 for land use salaries will be used to cover electrical and plumbing inspections, as there has been an increase due to new housing units in Weston. The town also expects there to be a shortfall in merit pay, so it is requesting an additional $7,000.

The town will also ask residents to approve $128,140 for two new pieces of equipment: a skid steer leader and a salt/sand spreader. The Historical Commission is also requesting $7,500 to pursue a spot on the national historical register for the Weston Depot.

Residents will also be asked to put money toward a number of Community Preservation Act projects, including $875,000 for a playground at Burchard Park, a $5,000 plaque commemorating George Washington’s trip through town in 1789 and $800,000 in repairs for Brook School Apartments.

These warrant articles join the four others which the Board approved at its Oct. 13 meeting. Residents will be asked to approve $2.75 million for the school building project feasibility study, to bring the town’s fire sprinkler regulations up to date with state law, to establish a way for the Fire Department to charge contractors for fire alarm installation and to consider a ban on gas-powered leaf blowers. 

Special Town Meeting will be held at Weston High School on Nov. 23 at 7 p.m.