Wayland Planning Board opens public process on state-mandated multifamily zoning

WAYLAND -- December 6, 2022, Wayland opens public process on state-mandated MBTA multifamily zoning. The Planning Board held its first community forum Dec. 6 on Chapter 40A Section 3A compliance, which requires the town to zone at least 50 acres allowing 15 units per acre by right and the capacity for 750 multifamily units by Dec. 31, 2024. Chair Anette S. Lewis told residents that although Wayland has no commuter rail station, its borders with Weston, Lincoln, Natick and Framingham make it an "adjacent community," and warned that "we have to start now, because we'll never get to where we need to be." Town Planner Robert Hummel confirmed every applicant to the Mass Housing Partnership's 3A Technical Assistance Grant will be funded; the board has set aside $75,000 in its proposed budget for legal and planning help. Lewis cited a roughly $300,000 grant clawback in Waltham as evidence the state is enforcing the "shall" language. The board also heard an informal pitch from Dylan Del Florio of Forge Team Inc. to gut-renovate 12 former Nike-battery houses at 96 Oxbow Road, with target sale prices of $700,000 to $800,000.