SAVE THESE DATES

- Monday, Sept. 19 at 7pm: Board of Selectmen meeting in Town Building with developer to negotiate developer agreement
-Thursday, Sept. 29 at 7:30pm: Planning Board public hearing on proposed Mixed-Use Overlay District (MUOD) zoning bylaw in Town Building’s large hearing room
-Tuesday, November 1, time tbd: Special Town Meeting to vote on MUOD zoning bylaw that would permit redevelopment of former Raytheon site; meeting to take place at High School; may extend to a second evening (two-thirds majority required to pass)

Planning Board Wraps Up Zoning Bylaw...
Selectman Nolan Pushes for Public Access to Developer-Agreement Negotiations...
Developer Presses for Major Shopping Center/Residential Complex on Raytheon Site

Labor Day week the Planning Board labored, for three long nights (midnight, 1am, and 3:30 am respectively) to complete drafting a zoning bylaw that will be presented to Wayland voters at a Special Town meeting on Tuesday, November 1. There were only a few Wayland residents present by the time the final vote occurred in the wee hours of Thursday morning, September 8, the day of the deadline for finishing the warrant articles imposed by the Board of Selectmen. The Planning Board is made up of hardworking volunteers, many with full-time jobs. They were tired, stressed, and under pressure. Is this any way to run a town?

We recommend that you take a close look at the proposed Mixed-Use Overlay District (MUOD) zoning bylaw that would permit the Wayland Business Center project, euphemistically dubbed a “town center” by the developer, to proceed. The zoning bylaw is available through the Planning Board’s Web site; click on top item in the right-hand column entitled “NEW: The Planning Board submitted the MUOD [Mixed Use Overlay Development] Warrant.”

The proposed MUOD zoning bylaw allows the developer to build 200,000 s.f. of retail/office space (5 percent of it for office). It also allows the developer to construct a large-scale residential development of 120 units, with a maximum of 240 bedrooms, for a total of 210,000 square feet. Together with a 16,000 s.f. “pad” for a multistory municipal building of 40,000 s.f., the entire project would total 450,000 s.f. The bylaw stipulates that 25% of the residential units be “affordable.” The bylaw also would allow the developer to turn the restricted-use driveway onto Rte 27 into a major entrance/exit for the project, striking down 50+ years of precedent-setting rulings by previous boards that have restricted the driveway’s use and helped maintain the rural character of Rte 27 and its surrounding neighborhoods, north and south of town center.

The Developer’s latest site plan calls for a 53,000 s.f. grocery store (roughly the size of the Super Stop & Shop in Natick), a 30,000 s.f. store, (same size as Barnes & Noble in Shoppers’ World), a 15,000 s.f. drive-through drugstore, and a host of other large retail shops. By comparison, the Omni strip in Weston totals 30,000 s.f., including a 13,000 s.f. grocery store. A copy of the developer’s latest site plan is available through the Planning Board.

Meanwhile, the Board of Selectmen hit some bumps Monday evening, September 12, when Selectman Bill Whitney, who has been conducting the negotiations on behalf of the Board, informed the Board that the developer proposed giving the Town a lump sum of $3 million, but that this “contribution” came with the caveat that it be used to cover the developer’s payments in lieu of taxes during the demolition and construction phase, eating considerably into the total. Whitney also informed the Board that the developer intended not to allot any portion of his 45,000 gallons of waste water capacity to the municipal building on the site. Selectman Joe Nolan noted that giving the town the “pad” for a municipal building without any water to flush a toilet was an empty offer.

Whitney said the developer would cover the cost up to $3 million of constructing a new waste water treatment plant, with the understanding that the town would request increased waste water capacity; if that extra capacity were granted, Whitney said, the developer would give the first 3,000 gallons of this extra capacity to the municipal building. Selectman Nolan noted that if the town was not granted additional capacity, the municipal building would be left high and dry.

Selectman Nolan expressed dissatisfaction with the negotiating process and called for conducting the negotiations before the public, where the developer could be held more directly accountable. Selectmen Doug Leard and Alan Reiss agreed, overruling Chair Michael Tichnor and Whitney.

That open negotiation will be held Monday, September 19 sometime during the BOS’s regular meeting, which begins at 7pm in Town Building; specific time tbd.

Many, many questions remain. What is the fiscal impact? The town’s own fiscal consultant Judi Barrett projected a $714,000 net gain, but it could be even lower, stated Barrett, because of the difficulty estimating public safety costs and, more fundamentally, because she lacked critical information from the developer necessary to make accurate projections. It’s very possible the town could end up subsidizing this project at the end of the day. Meanwhile, the developer’s towncenteryes site states a net gain of $1 million. Why are they posting this incorrect figure?

Substantial waste water concerns have been raised by both the town’s Waste Water District Commission and Selectmen and the necessary legal opionions about existing arrangments have not been provided to date.

Side effects of the project—increased crime, increased insurance rates, increased accidents involving pedestrians, bicyclists, and drivers—have not been assessed.

And then there’s the traffic. The project will bring thousands of out-of-town shoppers to Wayland seven days a week, and dramatically increase weekend traffic. Everyone in Wayland, not simply the surrounding neighborhoods, will feel the impact. Road Commissioner Chair Mark Santangelo has noted that the project will generate significantly more traffic than a fully occupied, commercial property, where traffic spikes would be limited to morning and evening commuter rush hours Monday through Friday. At the same time, neighborhood requests for meetings to discuss the traffic impact this project would impose on many secondary roads ((Glezen, in two parts, east and west of 126, Moore, Training Field, Plain, Claypit Hill, Glen, Bow, Milbrook, Pelham Island) have gone unheeded save for Bow Road.

Ultimately, voters will have to decide. Do you want this large-scale shopping mall/residential complex in Wayland?

What can you do? Get Informed. Become Involved.
Share your concerns with your neighbors. And visit us again!

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