Conservation Commission delays Coptic church review, citing 500-tree removal

WAYLAND — September 10, 2025 — Wayland Conservation Commission delays Coptic church review over plan to cut 531 trees. Members voted unanimously Sept. 10 to continue the notice of intent from Saints Mercurius and Mina Coptic Orthodox Church to Oct. 8, after Vice-Chair Shannon Fischer called the proposal to "clear cut and deforest acres" of the 5.5-acre Rice Road site "egregious and reprehensible." Project materials show 38 trees would come down within the riverfront area of Snake Brook and 493 elsewhere, with a 913-square-foot increase in impervious surface offset by 4,000 square feet of offsite invasive removal. Chair Sean Fair declined to authorize a stormwater peer review before the Planning Board's Oct. 15 hearing, saying "we've never done this before this early." Conservation Administrator Linda Hansen also reported an $884,000 state Office of Dam Safety grant toward Snake Brook dam repairs originally expected to draw $1.4 million from FEMA.