Wayland Planning Board narrows MBTA zoning to three sites, targets 50 acres

WAYLAND -- November 14, 2023, Wayland Planning Board narrows MBTA Communities zoning to three sites ahead of January deadline. The board reached preliminary consensus Tuesday on Alta Oxbow (5.7 acres), an 11.45-acre Town Center parcel where the owners have proposed roughly 150 units across four buildings, and a 25-to-33-acre portion of Mainstone, aiming for about 50 acres and 750 units total. Chair Anette S. Lewis said the board would also present rejected sites, Holiday Road, Greenways and Boston Post Road West, at a hybrid public forum tentatively set for Dec. 11, 12 or 19. Member Dan Hill said the board must "exercise leadership and create a district" while member Jen Steele pushed back against "making executive decisions" without public input. A 5-0 vote allowed Mendler Woods Eco Development LLC to withdraw its five-lot Shaw Drive subdivision without prejudice, ending its zoning freeze; a separate 5-0 vote approved an amendment to the 1998 Greenways special permit, including a 28.54-square-foot monument sign.