We all agree that Weston needs a safe and reliable water system, but until critical questions are answered, the Select Board should do more than simply put forth another version of the same proposal that voters have rejected. 

Summary of Focus on Weston positions on the Warrant articles that will be voted at the upcoming Special Town Meeting on December 3, 2024 at 7:00 pm at the Weston High School auditorium.

This article discusses the far-reaching impacts of the Weston Planning Board’s proposed 3A Zoning plan, and the importance of voting “NO”, to defer action until the Supreme Judicial Court’s decision on the Town of Milton case clarifies compliance requirements and the potential consequences of alternative approaches.

At Weston’s December 3rd Special Town Meeting, we will be asked to vote on several important zoning proposals, some of which could significantly transform the appearance and character of Weston. One of these is an Article which seeks to give Weston’s Select Board unlimited, unchecked authority over the height of all Town municipal buildings and other structures, eliminating any Planning Board, other Committee, or Town Meeting voter oversight. This proposal must be voted down – AGAIN!

Weston is currently threatened by severe new State zoning mandates that undermine our local zoning authority and, if enacted without challenge, will significantly harm the character of our community. The most alarming is the 3A MBTA Zoning, which alone requires the addition of 750 new dense housing units. Combined with the new Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) regulations and the ongoing 40B Affordable Housing developments, we could see an increase of 1,400 to 1,600 mostly high-rise apartments added to our existing 4,000 residences—a staggering 35-40% increase in just a few years.

The Select Board’s failure to implement Article 24 defies the explicit desires of Weston voters and democratic process. Lise Revers, our recently elected Select Board member, heard repeatedly from residents about this issue during her campaign and promised to push it forward. She began her tenure by requesting a discussion at her first Select Board meeting on  May 14th and addressed the issue directly, but remains in the minority.

We are being asked to authorize the Select Board to sell a small parcel of land near the Weston Transfer Station and Kendall Green train stop, which the Town acquired many years ago and has recently been leasing to Granite Brook Materials. The parcel was until now administratively unimportant, but with the State’s newly enacted 3A rezoning mandates, it becomes critical piece of how to manage this state-mandated development nightmare.

Rather than sell this land and significantly weaken our control over potential future development of nearly ten acres of surrounding land, we should hold onto the land as long as we need to explore our 3A rezoning options.

In this upcoming election, Weston is fortunate to have the opportunity to choose between two candidates, Lise Revers & Chris DeBenedetto, to fill a single pending vacancy on the Select Board.  

The Select Board is comprised of three elected members. It is the Town’s executive body and primary policy-making entity affecting service delivery, financial health, development, and oversight of Town’s administrative departments. Decisions made by Select Board directly affect the quality of life in Weston. 

We are opposed to additional funding for the design and engineering of a shared use bicycle path along Route 30 as described in Article 17.

At the May 2018 Town Meeting voters authorized approximately $1 million in design fees for a Route 30 roadway improvement project that included a 5-foot sidewalk. Six years later, Weston has been presented with a project that bears little resemblance to what was described to and approved by voters.

Attend the Weston Annual Town Meeting
7:00 pm Monday, May 8, Weston High School Auditorium

Important issues will be voted at Weston’s Annual Town Meeting on Monday, determining the size of our property taxes in the coming year, how Weston property owners can develop their properties, the availability and cost of our drinking water, and priorities for Community Preservation spending. Usually only 3-5% of residents attend, so a few voters make big decisions for all of us. YOU can make a big difference. Please familiarize yourself with the Warrant Articles, attend, and cast your vote.

A couple days ago, Focus on Weston published an article where we reviewed the Community Preservation Act (CPA for the Act, versus the CPC for the Committee), its implementation in Weston, the projects completed to date, and their financial implications. We continue today with the arguments for and against the CPC proposals to spend $1.9 million for new pickleball and tennis courts, and design funds for an ultimately $375,000 Case Estates Rhododendron Garden. We urge you to attend the Annual Town Meeting on May 8th, and to VOTE NO on these CPC proposals (Articles 19 and 20).

The Weston Finance Committee recently voted to oppose the Community Preservation Committee’s (CPC’s) proposals to spend $1.9 million for new pickleball and tennis courts, and design funds for an ultimately $375,000 Case Estates Rhododendron Garden. At the Annual Town Meeting on May 8th, the Fincom will explain their rationale, that the CPC does not have an overall plan and priorities for future projects, so it seems imprudent to commit these significant sums for expensive, nice-to-have ideas without an overall Community Preservation plan. There is also at least some feeling that these two specific projects are very expensive and fundamentally misguided ways to spend taxpayer money, even if it has already been collected from taxpayers.

We concur with the Fincom’s assessment, and urge you to attend the Town Meeting, and to VOTE NO on these two CPC proposals (Articles 19 and 20). To understand why, it is useful to review the Community Preservation Act (CPA), its implementation in Weston, and the arguments for and against these specific proposals. 

We all benefitted from the discussion on Water Management at the March 28 meeting of the Select Board. Based upon a recommendation from Laurie Bent , the Select Board decided to withdraw two planned Warrant Articles related to our Water Management challenges. The first of those would have authorized $26.2 million for the replacement of two water storage tanks, plus additional remedial work related to water sourcing and distribution, including the Pumping Station at Wellesley Street, our only source of water from the Massachusetts Regional Water Authority (MWRA). The second Warrant Article would have changed our zoning bylaw to enable the Select Board to govern the height of related new structures, pre-empting the Planning Board and the interests of the resident abutters who would be affected by any new structures.

While Weston has a number of sources of funding other than Property Taxes, the quarterly real estate tax payments we make to “Town of Weston” cover around 90% of the Town’s operating budget and debt service. State Aid, such as State-funded reimbursement for certain aspects of Special Education, State contributions toward METCO bussing expenses, the State’s various transportation grants, plus many other small grants and reimbursements make up about half of the remainder. And most of the rest is funded by the Excise Taxes we all pay annually on our automobiles and other significant personal property.

None of that is free money, not even the State grants…

Sometimes we see things that we wish weren’t true. Sometimes we ignore facts that get in the way of whatever we have imagined or the outcomes we have expected. Sometimes we put our heads in the sand when we don’t want to address the challenges that are happening around us.  The truth can be inconvenient.

Governing a town like Weston is hard work. Even our small town has a $100 million budget and faces many complex management challenges. 

What do trees and trust have in common? Weston taxpayers invested $19 million in the Town Center Improvement Project, but the contractors mishandled the tree planting and our Town leaders – entrusted with managing this important project – have failed to hold the contractors accountable and get the problems corrected.

There was a post this week on the Weston Community group Facebook page regarding the teacher contract negotiations that must be addressed with facts to straighten out the situation for Weston residents and support the School Committee as it strives to secure a reasonable contract renewal.

The chart was posted on behalf of the Weston Education Association (the local teachers’ union), summarizing the terms they are seeking in the current contract negotiations, including base salary increases of 17.25% over three years.

Residents should not have to settle for the consequences of too little attention to financial management by the Select Board, the School Committee and the Finance Committee. Weston property taxes are far higher than neighboring comparable towns – whether measured by the average or median household, or per capita – as are Weston’s levels of debt and unfunded liabilities. Our per-pupil expenditures are now about 30% higher than in similar districts, despite school performance that is roughly in line. These tax and financial burdens contribute to our underperforming real estate value appreciation compared to those same towns.

At the May 2018 Town Meeting voters approved Article 17, which authorized approximately $1 million in design fees for a Route 30 roadway improvement project that included a 5-foot sidewalk. Four years later, Weston has been presented with a project that bears little resemblance to what was described to and approved by voters.

At the May 2022 Town Meeting, residents overwhelmingly approved Article 24, a petition to increase the size of the Select Board from three to five members. The Select Board had opposed this Article, and instead spoke in favor of Article 23, which sought authorization to fund a consulting study on the size and structure of Town government generally. The residents’ vote, however, was compelling – 72% voted in favor of expanding the size of the Board and 82% voted against the proposed consulting study. Nevertheless, this week the Select Board confirmed their intentional delay and questionable future support of Article 24 to increase the size of the Board, and are instead moving ahead with their broader Town government study.

We are arguably facing what could be the largest, most technically complicated infrastructure challenge the Town has had to deal with. And it deserves much more professional attention than it is getting.

If you’re unfamiliar with the term “asleep at the switch,” it means not having one’s eye on the ball, or letting things slip through the cracks, usually due to inattention. The term came from 19th century railroading, when a trainman was responsible for manually operating levers that switched trains from one track to another. Failure to pay attention can result in a train wreck. There is a short list of important town issues or projects that don’t seem to have the level of attention – and active management – that they deserve:

First, we'd like to thank you for your continued readership and interest in Focus on Weston's positions on the topics that are important to our town. With so many critical issues facing Weston voters, we want to provide you with some additional background about our values and how we operate in advance of the articles we will be writing over the next several months.

This coming Tuesday, you have the opportunity to attend a Special Town Meeting, listen to the articles presented, and help to determine Weston’s future.

Only 3-4% of residents come to regular Town Meeting in the Spring, with even fewer attending Special Town Meetings like the one on September 13. Very few voters make big decisions for all of us. Your presence at this upcoming meeting will influence our future. We implore you to familiarize yourself with the warrant articles, attend the Special Town Meeting, and cast your vote.

Article 8 is a proposal to create a reserve fund of up to $900,000 specifically for Special Education. However, this proposal has no bearing or effect on Weston’s actual Special Education program. It is merely an accounting mechanism that is unnecessary, would increase your taxes, and would accomplish nothing other than parking a significant amount of taxpayer money in a low return fund, with no tangible benefit to Weston students, families, or taxpayers.

Article 7 is a proposal by the Recreation Master Plan Steering Committee to use $85,000 of Weston’s Community Preservation Act funds to design a pickleball complex at Burchard Park. We oppose this Article because at an all-in cost of $1 million, this complex would be extremely expensive, there is no demonstrated demand, no estimate of post-build maintenance costs, no clarity on the cost to residents for playing time, and no restriction on usage by non-residents.

Article 6 is a proposal by The Recreation Commission for residents to approve $3.3 million for Memorial Pool repairs, enhancements, and renovations necessary to meet code requirements. This will create a more valuable “quality of life” amenity for residents, and increase both usage and revenue.