Image courtesy of CUBE 3 Architects
A Middlesex Superior Court judge supported developers’ seven-year-long attempt to build a 180-unit apartment complex in Weston in a ruling Tuesday.
Judge John Fraser affirmed the state Housing Appeals Committee’s 2025 decision issuing a comprehensive permit for the 4-story building at 518 South Ave. under Chapter 40B, the state’s affordable housing zoning law.
“We are pleased with the court’s decision, which reaffirms the project’s compliance with both the goals and requirements of Chapter 40B and paves the way for an urgently needed affordable housing project to move forward,” attorney Valerie Moore of law firm Nutter, which represented the developers, said in an emailed statement today.
Wayland-based Banner Construction, led by Jonathan Buchman, owns the property and is partnering with The Hanover Co. as its development manager, Buchman said.
Houston-based Hanover Co. initially proposed the project on the 9.5-acre parcel in 2019. Weston’s ZBA rejected the project in 2021, stating it violated the town’s stormwater bylaw. Opponents objecting to the project posted yard signs decrying the “Weston Whopper” and its effects on traffic and the environment.
The developer challenged the ZBA decision at the state Housing Appeals Committee (HAC), which reviews local decisions on Chapter 40B projects. In January 2025, the HAC instructed the town to issue a building permit ‘without undue delay’ after ruling that the region’s need for affordable housing outweighed the town’s arguments.
Year-to-date through May, the median single-family sales price in Weston was more than $2.4 million, according to data compiled by The Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman.
In February 2025, the ZBA and a group of six opponents filed lawsuits in Superior Court seeking to overturn the HAC decision.
In this week’s 16-page decision, Fraser rejected opponents’ arguments.
Opponents argued that the town of Weston is exempt from Chapter 40B because more than 1.5 percent of the town’s land area is occupied by subsidized housing. In the decision, Fraser said the calculation only applies to the portion of a property occupied by subsidized housing, not the entire property.
Addressing the town’s stormwater and wastewater arguments, Fraser noted that developers submitted competing expert testimony supporting their designs and that the HAC “appropriately weighed the credibility of competing experts.”
Fraser also rejected the plaintiffs’ argument that only the local ZBA, not the state HAC, can issue a comprehensive permit.
“The [HAC] ‘directed’ the board to issue a comprehensive permit consistent with its decision,” the ruling states.
A message was left with the town of Weston’s communications department seeking comment.
