Major Environmental Problems:
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Size of this apartment complex vs the small size of the site:
The developer wants to build 89+ bedrooms, 4 to 5 stories tall, plus parking for 120 cars. This would be a large development on a small lot -- and Pine Brook runs right through it. (See the map below.) There is no way to build and operate such a large development next to Pine Brook without damaging the Brook, adjacent wetlands and everything downstream.
So why is Pine Brook special?
(a) Pine Brook is one of only two 'cold water' streams in Wayland, which means that it supports a wide range of plants, insects, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals -- including native brook trout. Endangered species have been documented upstream and down, so they probably live in Pine Brook too.
(b) Pine Brook connects to the Sudbury River and Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge, one mile downstream in Wayland. Everything this developer does on the Mahoney site can impact nationally protected resources, which are vital to Massachusetts and Wayland citizens.
2. Huge amount of sewage:
This apartment complex will create >3.7 million gallons of sewage every year, equivalent 31 million pounds, all in one location. It is difficult to picture how
massive this is. Imagine the volume of 19 New England Aquariums or the
weight of 76 Boeing 747-400s, all stacked on the small Mahoney's lot -- year
after year. The water table on the site is high so contamination will flow
downslope into Pine Brook and Camp Chickami, into the protected Sudbury
River and Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge. Both are home to
endangered species. Is this the right place for 31 million pounds of sewage?
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This map shows how Pine Brook flows through the Mahoney lot:
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Traffic, Traffic, Traffic !
Route 20 is already jammed:
Route 20 is crowded during the daily commute, with stop-and-go in the morning that extends into Sudbury. Adding 120 more cars is like adding another entire neighborhood at this busy location. Neighboring roads will be affected, e.g. Glezen Lane, Concord Road, Old Connecticut Path, Old Sudbury Road and Plain Road. More drivers will use Ways to find alternate routes and cut-throughs in Wayland neighborhoods.
Concentrated traffic jams:
This small section of Route 20 has an
unusual traffic problem. Temple Shir
Tikva, the ICB, Carriage House, Camp
Chickami and Prime Bar Grill are all
located within 1/3 mile. When there
are religious services, holy days,
events, kids being picked up and
dropped off at Camp Chickami, etc,
traffic comes to a stop. Everyone who
lives in this area knows about this
recurring problem.
This is the worst possible location for
120 more cars -- all trying to exit and
enter Route 20, turning left and right,
often stopping traffic in one or both
directions.
October 26: Developer delivers a 'traffic study' -- full of errors Zieff hired a company to do a traffic study to prove that his big apartment building will have no impact. Wayland residents laughed when they heard the results at the October ZBA hearing. Your average speed on Route 20 eastbound toward Boston during the peak of the morning commute? Stop-and-go? 5mph?
Nope -- Zieff claims your breeze along at 28 mph! Unfortunately, the 'peer review' that Wayland paid for was also inadequate and missed major errors. ProtectWayland is going to deliver our own analysis, based on much more accurate data. Click here to see our review.
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