Planning Board confirms four MBTA overlay districts, schedules May 1 hearing on petitioner zoning

WAYLAND — April 9, 2024 — Wayland Planning Board unanimously affirms four MBTA Communities overlay sub-districts ahead of May 13 town meeting. The 4-0 vote endorsed Route 20 West, River's Edge, the West Town Center area and Planned Development District Central as "highly suitable for residential development for families with children," covering a town-surveyed 50.316 acres against the state model's 50.1-acre input. Chair Anette Lewis ran four parallel acreage calculations to preempt state pushback, saying she wanted an argument "if somebody at the state said, no, not quite." The board scheduled an April 24 joint community forum with the Select Board and Finance Committee and set May 1 for a second public hearing on Article KK, a petitioner zoning proposal tied to a 100,000-square-foot self-storage and Arts Wayland project that lead petitioner Rebecca Stinezzi defended with a 136-signature petition. The Energy and Climate Committee separately briefed the board on a Specialized Stretch Energy Code article that has cleared the Select Board 5-0, Finance Committee 4-1 and Permanent Municipal Building Committee 4-0.