HYM Zoning change will not be on Town Meeting warrant

Following two public hearings on a proposed senior housing development on Regis College land, the Weston Planning Board is recommending that a requested zoning change be postponed to Town Meeting next fall, rather than this spring as sought by the developer.

The hearing has been continued to Wednesday, March 18.

HYM Investment Group of Boston has proposed building a senior living complex on 30 acres of Regis College land. The company submitted a request for a proposed zoning bylaw change to create a Senior Living Community Overlay District for inclusion in the warrant for Weston’s upcoming Town Meeting in May. Developing the parcel, which is about two miles from the town center, requires approval of a zoning bylaw amendment at Town Meeting and special permit approval.

As proposed, the development would include 24 independent-living cottages, a main building with 131 independent-living units, 40 assisted-living units and 20 memory care units for a total of 215 units with 215 parking spaces. HYM had hoped to receive the necessary special permit next January and complete construction in fall 2029.

The Planning Board and abutting residents expressed concern regarding the development’s potential impacts to traffic and the environment. They also raised questions about affordability and impact on the community. Primarily, board members were concerned about time being insufficient to address all questions before Town Meeting.

Planning Board Chair Leslie Glynn said, “We know this type of zoning bylaw takes time. It takes due diligence, and it takes a lot of time for recrafting and for folks to give testimony to see if there is a way forward. This is something that is not going to be accomplished, in my opinion, and in the opinion of several other folks on the Planning Board, in time for Town Meeting.”

Even getting a proposal ready for fall “would still require a lot of work,” Glynn said. “We, the Planning Board, the abutters and the town and the developer will have quite a bit of work to do.”

The town’s housing production plan includes senior adult or active adult residential developments as a type of housing Weston needs to meet the needs of an aging population. Such projects could potentially be added to Weston’s affordable housing inventory. Resident Alan Day argued, however, that the units proposed would be out of financial reach for about half of the targeted population identified in the town’s housing plan.

“Fifty-two percent of the over-65 population in town earns less than $75,000 per household, and that would put this proposal a complete miss for more than half of our neighbors, and would leave them watching but excluded,” he said. “From an income standpoint, it doesn’t seem to me like it’s something that should fly in town.”

Alex Faigel of Chestnut Street called Wellesley Street a “heavily trafficked, overburdened street,” saying he was concerned about residents, staff and additional transportation from vendors and deliveries adding to the level of traffic.

“We already wait,” he said. “We already sit all the way back up to Regis College at times, waiting for the intersection at Route 30. I’m concerned about the amount of additional traffic that this will add. We think it is a significant burden.”

HYM CEO Tom O’Brien said he expected that there would be a full peer review process and traffic study to analyze traffic concerns. He also emphasized benefits to the town, including tax revenue, little to no impact on the schools and housing for seniors who want to stay in town.

However, resident Sunny Gustin of Wellesley Street said she would be very upset to see the project impact her community.

“I am very, very against this project,” she said. “Aside from the traffic, the chopping down of the trees, the noise, the lighting and the amount of fire engines and ambulances that will be here will change the whole flavor of the neighborhood.”