The following press release was submitted by the Board of Selectmen:

The Town of Wayland is very pleased to announce that it has settled a 10-year long legal dispute between 20 Wayland, the Town, and the Wastewater Management District Commission (WWMDC).  The legal dispute about sewer capacity arose in 2005 and led to the judgment against the Town parties in the 2011 Superior Court Case and was subsequently appealed to the Massachusetts Appeals Court.  The settlement is the end result of nearly one year of negotiations.

• This settlement modifies the monetary part of the judgment issued against the town by the Superior Court by reducing it from $1,227,485 to $895,000, a reduction of $332,485 or 27%.

• 20 Wayland further agreed to waive its claim for post-judgment interest of 12% or approximately $200,000. When this is contemplated, the reduction in town exposure in this negotiating settlement is in the neighborhood of $530,000.

• The settlement also ends the appeals process in the Superior Court and all ongoing associated legal costs, claims, and counterclaims.

• Payment of the reduced judgment will have no financial impact on taxpayers or wastewater rate payers. It is being funded solely from gifts received and to be received from 20 Wayland.

• 20 Wayland has agreed to accelerate payment of, and remove restrictions from, gifts to Wayland for $250,000 for a bike trail and $120,000 for a parking lot for a municipal building so that the funds can be spent for any municipal purpose. The timing of the payment of these gifts was accelerated so that they were received when the settlement documents were signed.

• Additionally, 20 Wayland has agreed to waive its right to challenge the August, 2014 wastewater treatment plant sewer betterment assessment, at any time, and sewer usage charges for 3 years (June 2011 to June 2014) on the grounds that the infrastructure costs used to calculate these charges were excessive.

• Separate from this agreement but in parallel, The Board of Selectman voted unanimously to use gift funds to voluntarily pay (in lieu of betterment) the Town’s proportional share ($500,671) of the capital costs of the new wastewater plant.

The judgment issued by the court against the Town centered on the Town’s ability to provide wastewater capacity to the owners of the property as specifically provided for in a contract between the Town and the property owners that was executed when the Town took over the septage facilities operations in 1999.

The Wayland “Town Center Project “is a mixed use development sited in central Wayland on the 54 acre former Raytheon property. For nearly a decade the former 410,000 S.F. office building at this location had remained vacant as Raytheon performed an extensive environmental cleanup on the site.  The project is transforming this large vacant commercial office complex with 50+ acres of asphalt into a cohesive, village-like environment, it is strongly supported by the community, and has been driven by the desire to have “Main Street” scaled development, bordered by wide sidewalks and accessible store fronts, a Town Green, commercial offices and residences, all within walking distance to one another.

The development when completed will include some 395,000 S.F. of mixed use retail and residential property including a grocery store, many restaurants, salons and boutiques, clothing stores, dental and medical spaces, gym facilities, a hardware store, office space, affordable apartments, and luxury condominiums. A municipal space is planned as well; the town is currently considering an initiative to create a combined Council on Aging and recreation/community space on the land west of the Town Common.

Board of Selectman Chair Joseph Nolan said:

“The town is very happy to have negotiated a fair and equitable settlement to end the legal case with 20 Wayland.  The settlement and associated agreement with the WWMDC were all passed by unanimous votes of the Boards involved and reflect the fact that this is the very best way to settle the Town’s legal obligation without placing the financial burden on either Wayland’s taxpayers or WWMDC users. 

Additionally, the separate vote of the BOS to voluntarily contribute over $500,000 to pay the Town’s proportional capital share of the wastewater facility further reduces the burden on wastewater users.  

10 years ago town officials negotiated with the property owners a large gift to Wayland for any types of eventualities, these gifts amount to over $3 million dollars plus additional funds for affordable housing.  After the allocation of gift funds to resolve the lawsuit and the voted contribution to the wastewater plant, the town can still expect over $520,000 in dedicated affordable housing funds, has secured $250,000 for use on the new bike path and $120,000 toward a future municipal space, and will receive additional payments up to approximately $1.6 million dollars in additional gift funds for future use at the town’s discretion. 

We look forward to working closely with the property owners to insure that the Town Center development continues to be an integral part of our community.  This development is already providing very popular and much needed amenities on a former underperforming property, while at the same time reducing the overall residential tax burden for our citizens by adding some $120+ million dollars to the Town’s tax base. The completion of additional retail, housing, and municipal space in this project will only add to its success.”