Wayland Select Board advances MWRA water connection and two housing reviews

WAYLAND — January 23, 2023 — Wayland Select Board advances $22 million MWRA water connection and two affordable housing reviews. Kleinfelder hydrogeologist Kirsten Ryan recommended a "hybrid alternative" — a 24-inch main along the Hultman Aqueduct easement plus a 2.5-million-gallon-per-day pump station, with a permanent PFAS plant at Happy Hollow — telling the joint meeting it carries the lowest life-cycle cost as state and federal PFAS limits are expected to drop. DPW Director Tom Holder called it "a legacy decision" and noted the MWRA has waived a $7 million admission fee. The board voted 5-0 to decline at this time to join Mill Creek Residential's Local Initiative Program request for 172 units at 297 Boston Post Road, scheduling a March 6 public forum, and 5-0 to seek other boards' comments to DHCD on the suitability of 124 Cochituate Road for the Planning Office of Urban Affairs' proposed 60-unit senior affordable building at St. Ann's. Abutter Quentin Allen called the structure "the size of Whole Foods and McDonald's combined."