Scaled-down project may be presented to Wayland voters
Wayland voters may get a chance to vote on a slimmed-down version of the controversial Town Center project this spring.
The developers of the project, which would include shops, offices, and residences, agreed last week with town officials to reduce its size by 15 percent. At a joint meeting of the Planning Board and the Board of Selectmen last week, the developers said they would proceed if the zoning process is streamlined.
The Congress Group Inc. and Streetscape, a subsidiary of KGI Properties, partners in the project, said they would also continue to pursue an option: building a 200-unit housing development on the former
A zoning change needed for the original mixed-use proposal failed to garner enough support at a November Town Meeting after concerns were raised that the project was too large for the town.
Early architectural drawings for the housing project have been presented to the Board of Selectmen, but have not been formally submitted to the state. The project, which vice chairman Joseph F. Nolan described as ''horrible," would not require town approval because one-quarter of the units would be affordable housing, and the town has not yet reached a state-mandated minimum level of affordable housing.
''We are already getting a lot of calls from people who are interested in these units," said Chuck Irving, a partner at KGI.
But the developers agreed that a mixed-use project would be more profitable if it proceeds quickly. Under the agreement discussed by the developers and town officials last week, a new zoning bylaw would be submitted to Town Meeting that would lock in the size of the project. The Planning Board would be unable to alter the project's size but would retain authority over site plan details, including landscaping, architecture, parking, and lighting.
Some of the issues that were controversial with opponents of the project last year, including traffic and septic system concerns, would be dealt with in a development agreement drafted by the Board of Selectmen. The developer would be required to mitigate any problems, said Fred Turkington, town manager.
The project would include 180,000 square feet of retail and office space, rather than the 200,000 originally proposed, and 167,500 square feet of housing, rather than the 210,000 originally proposed.
The Planning Board, which voted unanimously not to support the zoning changes needed for the original project, is to meet today to discuss the agreement and decide whether to formally support the revised project.
The Board of Selectmen, which gave its unanimous approval to the original proposal and drafted a development agreement that called for the town to receive millions of dollars in incentives, is scheduled to discuss the new proposal Monday.
''We're hopeful the Planning Board, when they meet this week, will remain comfortable with what we came up with" in last week's joint meeting, said chairman Michael L. Tichnor.
After the project was defeated at the November Town Meeting, the Board of Selectmen and the Planning Board came together to try to craft a compromise and engage the developer again.
''We were actually fairly impressed with what they came up with," Irving said.
The two boards had agreed on a compromise of 150,000 square feet of retail and office space. But after a meeting with the developers last week, the number was bumped up by 30,000 square feet.
