Wayland Planning Board advances MBTA zoning article in 5-0 vote

WAYLAND -- January 9, 2024, Wayland Planning Board advances MBTA zoning article amid resident outcry. The board voted 5-0 Tuesday to submit placeholder warrant language for an overlay zoning district required by the MBTA Communities Act, while still debating its fourth sub-district. Three sites are locked in: Alta (5.7 acres), Town Center (10.75) and Route 20 West (10.59). Chair Anette S. Lewis said the board is now focused on Stone Ridge, closer to Route 30, choosing between a single 25.1-acre Coltsway parcel modeled at 230 units or four southern parcels totaling about 26.5 acres modeled at 398 units. Five residents opposed any Mainstone inclusion; Sherry Anderson called Rice Road "windy, narrow, dangerous," and Jackie Green said an overlay would "immediately devalue our properties." Member Dan Hill, frustrated by an undocumented minimum-lot-size rule in the state model, urged the board to "act in good faith" and "let the state tell us that we're wrong." Wayland must zone for roughly 750 units.