With parking resolved, JST restaurant takes another step forward

The road to The Woods restaurant now has two fewer hurdles to worry about.

The Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) approved both a parking variance and a special permit for proposed use for the Josiah Smith Tavern restaurant at its Sept. 30 meeting. The parking variance, which will allow the restaurant to count street parking toward the town’s required minimum, is one of the last outstanding steps before construction can begin on a project that has been in the works for years.

Town bylaws require the Woods to provide 77 parking spaces for the restaurant’s 175 person capacity. The parking lot provides 43 spots, and 12 on-street spots were approved at an earlier date, according to Luke Legere, counsel for BU West LLC, the business behind the restaurant. He said that on-street parking was the only feasible option because there is no place to build more parking.

“Essentially, it would render it impossible for the restaurant to be able to operate,” Legere said. “The property and the tavern are both uniquely constrained due to their shape and configuration and location, all of which really stems from the fact they were established and constructed back in 1757.”

Restaurateur Brian Piccini said the restaurant will serve lunch from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and dinner from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, with later hours on Friday and Saturday. Brunch will start at 10 a.m. on Sundays. Rev. Jeffrey Barz-Snell of the First Parish Church in Weston and Rev. Scott Euvrard of St. Julia Parish have both written letters in favor of the street parking proposal.

ZBA Chair Stephen Larocque said he was in favor of the variance, but asked whether the amount of street parking would become an issue during large town events, including graduation. ZBA member Laura Mintz said that while parking might be competitive during events, there is no other solution.

“It’s entirely possible that a Town Green event could also draw patrons who will then use [a parking spot] for both,” she said. “I don’t think there’s a way to fully resolve this. Without sufficient parking, this is a doomed situation.”

Town Manager Leon Gaumond spoke in favor of the parking variance, which received a vote of approval from the Select Board in June. Gaumond said that in addition to the Board’s approval, as someone who works nearby, he was in favor of the parking variance.

“As a town employee who happens to be in town center for pretty much 40 hours a week, I can assure you that the number of available spots in town center is plentiful,” he said.

The ZBA unanimously approved the variance. It also signed off on the proposed use, which gives Piccini the formal approval to put a restaurant in the building. The Woods will have to come back to the ZBA to approve a proposed wooden blade sign, according to Larocque.

Jay Valenta, president of the Friends of the Josiah Smith Tavern, said he did not believe having to do so would delay the project. In an interview with the Observer, he said the goal to open the restaurant this spring remains the same, but that he worried about whether construction would start in time before the cold weather sets in.

“We’re still on track, with the significant caveat that the window is closing here to get construction starting this fall,” he said.

Before construction can begin, a building permit has to be submitted and approved.

Piccini did not respond to requests for comment.

While major questions at the ZBA have been answered, the tavern remains a topic of conversation at the Select Board. The Board has met in executive session– which the public cannot attend– five times to discuss the tavern since the beginning of June. 

On June 4, the Select Board issued an ultimatum to the Friends of the Josiah Smith Tavern, the nonprofit organization leasing the tavern from the town, demanding updated documents and timelines. 

In the Friends and Piccini’s response, the organization asked the town to amend the sublease agreement. The new contract is still under discussion. Gaumond said he was not at liberty to discuss what happened during executive session, but that he expected town counsel to send something to the Friends in the coming days.

George Hanson, the vice president and treasurer of the Friends of the Josiah Smith Tavern, said he believes the process will continue to move forward now that the ZBA has issued its approvals and that the Select Board’s support for the parking variance shows that the town is behind them.

“We feel very optimistic about milestones that have been met and the momentum is moving us forward,” Hanson said. “Our point of view is that this is very, very positive and these are major, major breakthroughs. They address a lot of Weston residents’ feelings and concerns.”