Wayland Town Crier March 13, 2014
River’s Edge Proposal Revised for 2014
The Wayland Economic Development Committee (EDC) is returning to 2014 Town Meeting with
a revised proposal for a River’s Edge residential community which will:
1) generate significant revenues to provide tax relief for taxpayers
2) provide new affordable and market rate housing options for Wayland
3) make major progress toward Wayland’s 10% affordable housing requirement
River’s Edge Warrant Articles for 2014 include Article 15, a proposed zoning overlay district for
affordable and market-rate rental housing at 484-490 Boston Post Road (from the Transfer
Station Access Road up to and including the former Wayland/Sudbury Septage Facility); and
Warrant Article 16 which allows conveyance of the land parcels if an acceptable bid and
developer are selected.
Similar articles were voted on at Annual Town Meeting in April 2013. Both articles garnered
majority support but fell just shy of required 2/3 majority: the initial River’s Edge vote had 239
in favor (64.5%) and 129 in opposition, missing by just 7 votes.
During and since Town Meeting last year, EDC has received a wide range of public comment and
advice about the features and benefits that citizens desire in such a project. We thank everyone
who has made an effort to visit our meetings, send emails, and otherwise reach out to us. We are
pleased to return to Town Meeting in 2014 with updates, additional research, as well as with
several refinements to the project to help respond to comments and concerns.

A notable change from last year is that Wayland’s new DPW facility was approved Fall
2013. This releases any concern that River’s Edge might be needed for the DPW.

A second concern raised at Town Meeting last year was that River’s Edge could usurp or
“destroy” the Wireless Communications Overlay District (WCOD), since no new towers
could be installed within 900 feet of the River’s Edge property. Only 37 of the 71
WCOD acres would be affected (52%), not 90-100%; further, EDC engaged IDK
Communications, a wireless consultant, to confirm that remaining areas remained viable.
IDK analyzed potential locations and verified the Wireless District remains viable for
use by cell service providers, in multiple locations.

A third-party peer review was completed which updated and confirmed positive River’s
Edge revenue and land sale projections for Wayland voters. The land is estimated to
generate $3-5 million for Town coffers; after completion, net new tax revenues are
projected to be approximately $300,000 per year, in perpetuity.
EDC also refined River’s Edge to try to be more acceptable to more voters. An astute public
commenter suggested that instead of just scraping by with 67% of the vote in 2014 with no
changes, we should try to modify the project to reflect the design ideals of a wider range of
people, aiming for resounding 80% approval. We took this goal to heart:

In response to concern about density and visual impact, the number of housing units
has been reduced from 216 down to a lower range of 150-190, and the maximum
building height over the majority of the site has been reduced by one floor, from 3-4
stories down to primarily 2-3 (four stories is now only allowed at the back corner of the
site, behind the Septage Facility hill). While revenues and the number of units that count
as affordable decrease a bit, there are still substantial gains in both – and the project stays
more in keeping with Wayland precedent.

To address concerns whether senior housing would be poor quality, too dense, or
whether it makes sense at River’s Edge site at all, the percentage of units restricted to
persons 55+ has been reduced from two-thirds down to 25%, so that a wider band of
potential bids (anywhere from 25% to 100% age-restricted) can be entertained, and the
best fit can be determined for Wayland based on actual bids and designs.

To help demonstrate the quality of current new rental housing, on February 27th EDC
hosted a tour of two nearby non-profit senior-focused developments: 150-unit Shillman
House in Framingham, and 57-unit The Coolidge in Sudbury, under construction at the
corner of Route 20 and Landham Road. An upcoming tour on March 20 will visit The
Mews, a for-profit, non-age-restricted, 350-unit 40B development in Concord MA. Real
life is often the most helpful example.
Recently, a few people have asked whether River’s Edge housing will be safe, given the
proximity of the Sudbury cell tower. Cell antennas are more and more common these days, in
fact can often be seen mounted right on top of residential buildings in cities and along major
roadways; regardless, we have asked IDK, our wireless consultant, to provide analysis for EDC
and the Board of Health to confirm that any River’s Edge housing will be well within any
regulatory safety standards. (For a readable, researched overview about the safety of cell towers
in general, we suggest the American Cancer Society webpage:
http://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancercauses/othercarcinogens/athome/cellular-phone-towers)
We are pleased to report that we have received inquiries from experienced, high-quality
developers who are interested in building at River’s Edge according to the proposed zoning and
Design Guidelines. They include non-profit and for-profit developers, in a range of senior and
non-senior focuses, which should provide an excellent range of bids for the Town.
With this incremental research and the additional design enhancements completed, the Economic
Development Committee recommends that the River’s Edge project is ready for approval. Please
join us to vote “Yes” for River’s Edge at Town Meeting Spring 2014.
For more information, please see your warrant book arriving in the mail, visit EDC’s River’s
Edge webpage on the Town of Wayland website, or email us at [email protected].