Planning Board demands staked site walk, revised plans for Coptic church

WAYLAND -- December 3, 2025, Wayland Planning Board pushes Coptic church team on tree loss, lighting and site staking. The board, chaired by Anette S. Lewis, continued the 169 Rice Road site plan hearing to Dec. 17 after peer reviewer Bert Corey of BGT said new soil testing now requires a groundwater mounding analysis for one infiltration system, and traffic peer review remained incomplete. Vice Chair Robin Borgestedt challenged a revised lighting plan showing illumination on the spires facing Rice Road, calling it a "great departure" from prior representations. Attorney Jonathan Silverstein said the church is seeking "zero zoning relief" and has spent more than $30,000 marking trees and roughly $200,000 on perimeter plantings to serve a congregation projected to grow from 300 to 570. Conservation Commission member Shannon Fisher said she was "appalled" at the proposed removal of about 500 trees. The board separately continued the Carroll School hearing at 3745 Waltham Road to Jan. 7.