Wayland conservation panel agrees to revisit Sherena Road subdivision ruling

WAYLAND — December 4, 2024 — Wayland Conservation Commission will reconsider a binding wetlands ruling after neighbors documented a centuries-old spring. The commission voted unanimously Wednesday to continue the 13 Sherena Road hearing to Dec. 18 after abutter Vanessa Jason and neighbor Barbara DeCristofaro presented land records, an 1840 genealogical history and a state historical marker tied to Edmund Rice's 1640s homestead, arguing the adjacent stream is perennial and should carry a 200-foot riverfront buffer. Commissioner Luke Legere said the evidence suggested "a mutual mistake of fact" that could override the unappealed 2023 ORAD classifying the stream as intermittent. Applicant's engineer Kevin O'Leary defended the original finding, saying "there's nothing overlooked." The commission separately backed Conservation Administrator Linda Hansen's $1.4 million Community Preservation Committee request for the Snake Brook Dam, whose rehabilitation cost has climbed from $1.6 million to $2.95 million.