Wayland design board approves smaller sign for Main Street bagel shop

WAYLAND -- April 11, 2024, Wayland's Design Review Advisory Board unanimously approved new signage for a bagel shop at 24 Main Street. The replacement circular sign measures 12.56 square feet, down from the 15.41-square-foot sign approved at the site in 1997 and well under the town's 40-square-foot bylaw cap. Chair William Sterling said he had pre-cleared the application with the fabricator, who agreed to drop internally lit faces and rely on existing gooseneck lamps. Members Robin Borgestedt and Sterling then turned to the board's design guidelines, which Sterling called outdated and potentially incompatible with Article NM, a proposed 10-unit "solar compact" net-zero development. "If you're going to do something, at least make it sustainable," Sterling said, faulting current rules that push colonial styling over solar orientation and native plantings.