Cohasset Conservation Commission Approves Two Home Projects, Continues Disputed Pond Street Development

COHASSET -- January 8, 2026, Cohasset Conservation Commission approved two residential projects and continued a third amid a sharp buffer zone dispute at its January 8 meeting. The board voted 4-0 to issue an order of conditions for a new home at 259 Atlantic Avenue for applicant Susan Davis, conditioning engineer Brendan Sullivan of Merrill Engineers to relocate infiltration systems as far outside the 100-foot coastal bank buffer as practicable. A second 5-0 vote issued an order of conditions and buffer variance for a new home at 53 Beechwood Street for applicant Jim O'Leary, after engineer Mike Joyce addressed all prior commission comments including a downsized three-bedroom septic and a 29-tree planting plan. The evening's most contested matter, paired new-home proposals at 40 and 46 Pond Street by Weathervane Builders, was continued to January 22 after a motion to approve drew no second; commissioners Tom Bell and Steve Magnell questioned whether the plans, which place one structure almost entirely within the 100-foot wetlands buffer, represent the least-intrusive practicable alternative, while applicant attorney Adam Brodsky argued the project unequivocally meets all state and local performance standards.