Weston ZBA Unanimously Approves High School Field Lights, October Lane Porch Addition
Zoning Board of Appeals · Meeting of July 15, 2026
Weston ZBA approves 60-foot light poles at high school Field 1 and a front-porch special permit on October Lane. The Weston Zoning Board of Appeals voted 3-0 on both items at its July 15 remote meeting, with Chair Stephen J. Larocque and Associate Members Laura Mintz and Tristan Colangelo in favor on each.
The town sought a variance at 444 Wellesley Street to install four light poles at Field 1, raising permitted structure height from 37 feet to 60 feet and allowing pole S1 to encroach about 8.64 feet into the required 85-foot Wellesley Street centerline setback. Larocque told the board he had confirmed with town counsel that the Dover Amendment applies, exempting the educational field structure from certain zoning requirements while allowing reasonable conditions. Photometrics presented by Activitas landscape architect Jonathan Charwick showed light levels dropping to roughly half a foot-candle at the street centerline, with an existing deciduous vegetation buffer expected to further limit spillage.
Colangelo raised whether the board could require the town to maintain that buffer long-term but the permit was granted without a vegetation-preservation condition. In the earlier hearing, architect Kent Duckham received a special permit to add covered porch entries at 38 October Lane for owner Erika McAuliffe, extending a front-yard setback nonconformity by roughly four feet on the side mudroom entry; three abutters submitted letters in support.
In the full story:
- Background and stakes
- The question before the body
- Substantive content
- The deliberation
- Procedural steps and outcome
- Implications
- The complete report — 2,151 words
Source: the Zoning Board of Appeals meeting of July 15, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.
Keep reading with a 14-day free trial
Subscribe to Middlesex County News to keep reading this post and get 14 days of free access to the full post archives.
A subscription gets you:
- Subscriber-only posts and full archive
- Post comments and join the community
- 24x7 access to local news