Wayland ZBA sets July 11 site visit on 60-unit Cochituate Road 40B

WAYLAND — June 28, 2023 — Wayland ZBA continues St. Ann's 40B hearing, sets July 11 site visit and July 13 draft decision. The Zoning Board of Appeals voted 8-0 Wednesday to continue the comprehensive permit hearing on the Planning Office for Urban Affairs' 60-unit, 100 percent affordable rental project at 124 Cochituate Road. Chair Joshua Wernig led the session as town counsel Amy Kwesel walked members through the applicant's waiver list, saying the only substantive dimensional asks are a 45-foot height — versus the 35-foot R40 limit — and a 25-foot front setback. Peer reviewer Sean Reardon of Tetra Tech flagged that the leased parcel encompasses the existing rectory, raising site-control questions Kwesel said "all boils down to site control." Landscape architect Rebecca Bachand presented a buffer of 14 green giant arborvitae and a six-foot board fence along Windy Hill Lane; abutter Barbara Rutledge called it inadequate. Resident Rebecca Stenzel said an online support petition had drawn nearly 300 signatures in three days.