Wayland Select Board defers vote on Cochituate self-storage zoning article

WAYLAND — January 3, 2024 — Wayland Select Board defers decision on sponsoring controversial Cochituate self-storage zoning article. After a two-hour public forum that drew near-uniform opposition, the board on Wednesday put off until Jan. 8 a vote on whether to place an Economic Development Committee-backed amendment on the annual town meeting warrant. The article would allow developer George Bacharach to build a roughly 96,000-square-foot retail self-storage facility at 193 Commonwealth Road, with 3,500 square feet set aside as community space intended for Arts Wayland. Planning Board Chair Annette Lewis called the proposal "extraordinarily unusual," and Town Counsel Amy Quesel warned that tying the public-benefit space to a 501(c)(3) "is a little bit problematic" against a spot-zoning challenge. Bacharach said the project would generate "substantial six-figure" tax revenue and be the "lowest traffic-generating use" in the industry. Cochituate Village Shopping Center owner Joseph Strzula called the Arts Wayland component a "Trojan horse." The board split publicly over whether sponsoring constitutes endorsement, with member Adam arguing refusal would set a damaging precedent for advisory committees under the Town Manager Act.