Wayland Design Review Board Continues Carroll School Hearing, Eyes Coptic Church Lighting and Screening

WAYLAND — October 14, 2025 — Wayland's Design Review Advisory Board continued a Carroll School hearing twice and previewed design objections to a proposed Coptic church complex at its October 14 meeting. Chair William Sterlin and members Robin Borgestedt and Tatiana Person voted 3-0 to continue the Carroll School application at 37 to 45 Waltham Road to a date to be determined, citing an incomplete submission that lacked a lighting plan, landscape screening details, and adequately scaled building elevations; the board later voted 3-0 a second time after applicant representative Bill Proya joined the Zoom session and confirmed the team would submit a comprehensive supplemental package. On the Coptic church proposal at 725 Old Connecticut Path, Borgestedt argued the board should "review it as if it's a regular application" and issue a design opinion independent of the project's Dover Amendment status, since the board is advisory and issues no denial. The board agreed it could comment on building height relative to existing Wayland religious structures, recommend a 50-foot landscaped buffer citing a precedent from an assisted living conversion near St. Anne's Church, and require shielded pole lighting no taller than 12 feet to protect abutters on the designated scenic road.