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.