Wayland Planning Board Advances ADU Bylaw, Pulls Back on Drive-Through Zoning

WAYLAND -- December 17, 2024, Wayland Planning Board advances ADU bylaw to public hearing while shelving a controversial drive-through zoning article. At its December 17 meeting, the board voted 4-0-1, Chair Anette S. Lewis abstaining, to schedule a January 7 public hearing on a proposed accessory dwelling unit bylaw amendment, after agreeing to strip an administrative review requirement and clarify deed-restriction language with town counsel. The board declined to advance a separate pre-order pickup window zoning article to the same hearing after Vice Chair Robin Borgestedt called the draft definitions of fast food and fast casual "lawsuits waiting to happen" and said no language she had found could withstand a legal challenge from a restaurant seeking to qualify for a permitted category. The board acted after a joint session with Select Board members reviewing a 1,516-response community survey showing 92 percent of residents support fast casual restaurants and 70 percent support residential units above Route 20 retail. The board also voted 5-0 to continue a lengthy public hearing on the Veritas Christian Academy school campus site plan to January 14, after the applicant's engineering team disclosed an 18.5-foot vertical datum error in the original site survey, affecting only elevation readings, not horizontal layout, and presented new stormwater and wastewater analysis the board had not seen before the night of the hearing.