2022 Loker Grass Field Project Info Page

412 to 414 Commonwealth Road | 28.20 Acres
photoloker

Loker Grass Project 2022

Table of Contents

2020 Loker Turf Project FAQ Page

Environmental ImpactsZBA Documents
Trees & Planting PlansPublic Forum re: Loker  April 12, 2022DEP /Conservation Permitting
2022 Bid Documents and Bid ResultsTurf Infill MaterialsLighting & Traffic
2020 Turf Field Project Design, Cost, and Bid
2022 Cost Estimate
Historical SignificanceField Needs / Usage

  SITE NARRATIVE
The Loker area is a vacant abandoned lot of land in the Town of Wayland, formerly occupied by Dow Chemical Company. The land abuts 20 acres of Conservation land. The current project aims to construct a 195’ x 330’ multi-purpose grass athletic playing field including all playing surfaces, acessible spectator areas, sports lighting, stormwater drainage, landscaping. There will also be enhancements to the trailhead to the Conservation land. The Town purchased the property at Route 30 and Rice Road from the Dow Chemical Company in 2000 for $1,700,000. The Loker Area has a small portion in Natick too.
Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Middlesex County Registry of Deeds,  Deed Book 31387 PG 175.

All of the property was conveyed with the limitation that it be used only for recreation and conservation. The parcels contain a deed restriction that it shall not be used “for the sale, lease, rental or use as a single family, multi-family, or other type of temporary or permanent residence.”

At Annual Town Meeting in 2004, 8.37 acres of the 28.20 acres of property was delineated for recreational use, the remainder for conservation land.  It has been suggested as suitable location for a new recreation venue, previously studied by the Recreation Commission and the (WRAP) Wayland Real Asset Planning Committee. Nearest neighbors average over 500 feet away from the proposed playing field. After investigating many sites for a new field, sites such as Alpine, Oxbow, Cochituate and the Middle School, the Recreation Commission sought funds to install a field at the site.The Board of Selectman has assigned this project to be managed by the Permanent Municipal Building Committee (PMBC) as it did with the phases of the Wayland High School Athletic Stadium project.

At Special Town Meeting in November 2017, residents approved an article for the allocation of $154,000 of Recreation Stabilization Funds to design a Synthetic Turf Athletic Playing Field at Loker Conservation & Recreation Site, the design was completed in 2018. At 2019 Annual Town Meeting the construction project funding was narrowly voted down 894-468, failing to achieve a 2/3 vote needed to fund the project.

On October 3, 2021 STM voted (327-120) in favor of Article 2 specifically to design a grass field at the Loker site, which was previously designed as a synthetic turf field, but not approved by voters. That design is expected to be complete and bid ahead of the 2022 Annual Town Meeting. 

A Community Field's Forum was held at the Board of Selectmen meeting on Monday, August 30, 2021 that demonstrated a need for new additional playing surfaces in Wayland to alleviate a field shortage. This project would serve the needs for public athletics as well as the community at large. It is expected that youth enrollment and Wayland's senior population with both grow between 2020 and 2030. Another project forum was held on April 12, 2022. The project was approved on May 15, 2022 at Annual Town Meeting. 

HISTORY
The Dow Chemical facility was built in 1962 and remained until 1989 when it was sold to New England Development Corporation (NED). NED is a major developer of shopping malls, who had planned to locate their corporate headquarters there. NED conducted environmental tests and when contaminants were found in the soil and water including organometallic tin and mercury compounds, there began a "long and complex process to achieve environmental cleanup requirements established by the MCP, the state regulations that govern investigation and remediation of hazardous waste sites." A Wayland community group, named NED/Dow Neighbors, Inc., was formed out of concern for the safety of the area, and, between 1989 and 2000, this group monitored the cleanup process. Dow and NED were involved in the cleanup process until early 1995 when NED sold the land back to Dow. Dow finished the cleanup process and the Town of Wayland purchased the property for $1.7M in 2000.

 back to top


 ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REVIEW

Licensed Site Professional (LSP) Environmental Reviews and Soil Assessments

Numerous independent studies, reviews, and opinions by Licensed Site Professionals (LSP) have been completed for the Loker site.  The site has Class ‘A’ Response Action Outcome (RAO) Statement filed with the DEP, meaning that a permanent solution to any contamination has been achieved and there is no activity or use limitation under state regulations. The most recent LSP concurred with previous assessments that a recreation field was an appropriate use of the land. 

See also Loker FAQ

 DocumentDateFromTo
 Executive Summary, Dow Chemical Facility Closure Report04/25/2000Ransom Environmental Consultants, Inc.Dow Chemical Company
 Report Draft: Subject: Due Diligence Investigation and Report to the Board of Selectmen (peer review)
 
04/12/2000Camp Dresser & McKee, Inc. (CDM)
William R. Swanson, PE, LSP
Board of Selectmen
 Acquisition of 33-acre former Dow Chemical Property for Conservation and Recreation05/08/2005Anette Lewis, Wayland residentPublished. University of Massachusetts Boston, Healey Library
 Environmental Health Studies "From Confrontation to Collaboration" 01/01/2004JSI Center for Environmental Health Studies
Anne Marie Desmarais, MSPH, LSP
Irwin Silverstein, Ph.D., P.E., LSP
Collaboration w/ NED/DOW Neighbors Group
Town of Wayland
 

Letter Re: Environmental Conditions Former Dow Chemical Facility

01/15/2019Ranson Consulting, Inc. 
Timothy J. Snay LSP,LEP
Town of Wayland
Town Planner
 Memorandum: Focused Environmental Records Review and Soil Assessment
 
04/04/2018Weston & Sampson Engineers, Inc.
Daron Kurkjian, PE
Sean Healey, LSP 
Weston & Sampson Engineers, Inc.
Brandon Kunkel, Team Leader
cc: Town of Wayland
 Letter: Preliminary Document Review Findings 10/29/2019
revised11/21/2019
CMG Environmental, Inc.
Benson R. Gould, LSP, LEP 
Board of Selectmen
 CMG Environmental Responses to Resident concerns02/10/2019CMG Environmental, Inc.
Benson R. Gould, LSP, LEP
Wayland residents, Public Comments
 Summary of B.Gould testimony to Board of Selectmen02/11/2019Town of Wayland 
 Audio/Video of B.Gould, LSP testimony (WayCAM)02/10/2019CMG Environmental, Inc.
Benson R. Gould, LSP, LEP 
*27 minutes beginning at 1:07:20 and ending at  1:34:13

back to top

Historical Ceremonial Stone and Landscape Survey (Completed 2013)

  •  NITHPO Letter Re: Scope of Landscape Survey Letter (2013)
  •  NITHPO Letter Re: Reassessment Survey request Letter (4/21/2019)
  • Letter To: Brud Wright Co-Chair Recreation Commission from K. Westcott, Chair of the Historical Commission regarding Bid Specification requests 
  • Email to Wayland Historical Commission

412 to 414 Commonwealth Property

 DocumentDateFromTo
 Locus Map [PDF10/30/2018Town of WaylandZoning Board of Appeals
 GIS Assessors Database Map 49 /Lot 064B   
 Map of Existing vs. Proposed Schematic Overlay11/02/2018Weston & Sampson on behalf of Town of WaylandZoning Board of Appeals
 Middlesex County Registry of Deeds
Purchase and Deed: Massachusetts, Deed Book 31387 PG 175
(10/15/1962)
 
Deed March 1958
Deed April 2000
Middlesex Registry of DeedsTown of Wayland
 MassDEP Records, Waste Site # 3-0003866 

Search 412 Commonwealth Road

 
 Memo regarding Deed Restriction MassDEP AUL Status11/29/2018Weston & Sampson Engineers, Inc.
Daron G. Kurkjian, P.E.
Weston & Sampson Engineers, Inc.
Cassidy Chroust

 

 

Special Permit for Illumination (Sports Lighting)

 DocumentDateFromTo
 Updated Musco Lighting, Inc. Photometrics [original 03/05/2018]01/21/2019Musco Lighting, Inc. Town of Wayland
 ZBA as Board of jurisdiction for SPA:
Comments from Building Commissioner in regards to SPR special permit, illuminated athletic field
04/01/2019

Town of Wayland

Building Commissioner G. Larsen

Zoning Board of Appeals
 Weston & Sampson Memo: By-law 198-606.2 Compliance for Lighting and Signage02/26/2019Weston & Sampson Engineers, Inc.
Brandon Kunkel
Zoning Board of Appeals
 

ZBA / Community Site Visit #1, Friday March 15, 2019 at  8:00am
ZBA / Community Site Visit #2, Friday April 5, 2019 at 8:00am


 

03/15/2019
04/05/2019
Zoning Board of Appeals 
 

ZBA Case #21-02 Decision, decided July 13, 2021 filed on July 29, 2021

 

07/29/2021Zoning Board of Appeals 
 Letter to Building Commissioner regarding ZBA Permit #21-0204/05/2022Weston & Sampson Engineers, Inc. Zoning Board of Appeals

 

 

Traffic & Parking Evaluation (and Independent Third-Party Peer Review)

 DocumentDateFromTo
 Technical Memorandum Traffic Evaluation10/31/2018Weston & Sampson Engineers, Inc.
Lisa Slonus, PE, PTOE
Town of Wayland
Town Engineer
 Site Access and Transportation Engineering Peer Review Authorization11/19/2018The Engineering Corporation
TEC, Inc.
Town of Wayland
Town Planner
 TEC, Inc. Peer Review of WSE Traffic Evaluation T0737.1112/3/2018TEC, Inc.
Samuel W. Gregorio, P.E., PTO Senior Traffic Engineer
Town of Wayland
Town Planner
 Weston & Sampson Responses inserted into TEC, Inc. Site Access and Transportation Engineering Peer Review01/21/2019Weston & Sampson Engineers, Inc. Town of Wayland
Town Planner
 Conservation Commission's Condition re: Parking Lot Lights02/26/2019Town of Wayland, Conservation Adminsitrator on behalf of
Conservation Commission
Zoning Board of Appeals
 Sample Projected Schedule for Purpose of Traffic Study06/11/2018Town of Wayland
Recreation Director
Weston & SampsonEngineers, Inc. 
Traffic Engineer
 Parking Lot Capacity Comparison02/28/2019Town of Wayland
Recreation Director
Weston & Sampson, Inc.
Design Team
 Email from WFD Chief McPherson re: Loker plans03/09/2021

Town of Wayland

Fire Chief, Cc Assistant Fire Chief

Town Administrator, L. Miller,
Town Planner, Sarkis Sarkisian
Building Commissioner, G. Larson

 

 

 

 

 

 

back to top


DEMAND ON GRASS FIELDS

More than 6,000 users of all ages benefit from Wayland fields annually. In 2017-2018, over 75% of high school students participated on 61 high school teams, over 2,500 families were involved in youth outdoor activities and Wayland is home to 28 teams for adult men’s, women’s and senior athletics. Wayland Youth organizations alone provide over 1,200 youth enrollees with opportunities to participate soccer, lacrosse, baseball and flag football each season.

Currently Wayland grass fields average over 800 hours of use each year, some top 1000 hours, nearly doubling the recommended usage. Fields are overused.  

Natural grass will sustain good field conditions with 200 hours of play or fewer per year, after 400 to 600 hours of use good field conditions with some wear are expected. Over 1,000 hours of play should expect significant grass turf loss, considerable field surface compaction and damage and increased potential for athlete injury.

Based on these standards, studies show Wayland needs 1-2 more turf fields or up to 7-10 grass fields to accommodate users. Today, Wayland school athletics utilize all the grass and turf fields on school sites afterschool. This leaves just a small number of fields for all other recreation users to share. Many of Wayland fields are in or near wetland areas, resulting in very wet conditions each spring. Wayland fields open weeks later than the communities with whom Wayland athletes compete. The field shortage in Wayland has been exacerbated by recently adjusted school dismissal times, where school atheltic teams use the fields until dark. 

back to top

AttachmentSize
PDF icon CMG Environmental Inc Findings 11.21.2019187.06 KB
PDF icon Memorandum: Focused Environmental Records Review and Soil Assessment (04/04/2018) Weston & Sampson Engineers, Inc. 1.34 MB
PDF icon Letter Re: Environmental Conditions Former Dow Chemical Facility (1/15/2019) Ranson Consulting, Inc. Timothy J. Snay LSP,LEP180.52 KB
PDF icon Report Draft: Subject: Due Diligence Investigation and Report to the Board of Selectmen (04/12/2000) Camp Dresser & McKee, Inc. 187.12 KB
PDF icon Traffic Study Loker Recreation Area3.05 MB
PDF icon Tree Removal - Upland Area104.57 KB
PDF icon Tree Removal - Wetland Area85.09 KB
PDF icon Proposed Planting Plan1.41 MB
PDF icon Tree Inventory Memo333.17 KB
PDF icon CMG Environmental Inc Responses to Resident Questions 02/10/2020278.13 KB
PDF icon Cost Estimates43.17 KB
PDF icon 20 Year Cost Analysis: Synthetic Turf vs. Natural Grass. Captures annual maintenance and 10 year replacement costs590.85 KB
PDF icon Weston & Sampson Engineers, Inc., (04/04/2018) Memorandum: Focused Environmental Records Review and Soil Assessment 1.34 MB
PDF icon Finance Committee Presentation _Complete Loker Overview ATM 20211.93 MB
PDF icon Loker 2020 NOI #338.05 MB
PDF icon Loker Turf Parking Lot Capacity Comparison62.1 KB
PDF icon Vernal Pool Protection Plan: BSC Group, Inc., Matt Burne, PWS, Senior Ecologist422.06 KB
PDF icon NITHPO Letter 201337.75 KB
PDF icon NITHPO Letter 2019957.54 KB
PDF icon Letter to B. Wright from K. Westcott on behalf of the Historical Commission regarding Bid Specification requests124.71 KB
PDF icon Email: K. Brenna to K. Westcott regarding Historical Bid Specification Requests147.05 KB
PDF icon Email to WHC 20229.27 MB
PDF icon Letter: Response from L. Hansen, Conservation to abutter J. Sax 2/22 Comment Letter304.12 KB
PDF icon Notes on the CMG Environmental File Review from D. Hill258.46 KB
PDF icon Kleinfelder MS4 Permit Phosphorus Comments667.41 KB
PDF icon Public Comment: Abutter J.Sax Slideshow1.56 MB
PDF icon Public Comment: Memo and Slideshows re: Loker project, Abutter J. Sax591.8 KB
PDF icon March 2021 ZBA Slidedeck presentation1.95 MB
PDF icon Updated Comments from Planning Board to ZBA re; #21-02 (3/3/2021)199.53 KB
PDF icon Summary from the 3/2/2021 PB Recommendations 407.73 KB
PDF icon WSE Response to 12/3/2019 PB Comments: Loker Conservation and Recreation Facilities121.76 KB
PDF icon Conservation Commission Order of Conditions for 412 Commonwealth Road (Loker Recreation Area)986.95 KB
PDF icon Email from WFD/EMS Chief McPherson to Town Administrator, Town Planner re: Loker Project142.97 KB
PDF icon Weston & Sampson Engineers, Inc. Contract or PO Request for Bid Document Support948.12 KB
File Change of ZBA Hearing Date from May 11 to May 12 due to Town Election168.9 KB
PDF icon Updated Comments from Planning Board to ZBA re: #21-02 (04/06/2021)281.12 KB
PDF icon ZBA Case #21-02 Decision, decided July 13, 2021 filed on July 29, 2021719.19 KB
PDF icon 2022 Loker Grass Field Plans22.81 MB
PDF icon Request for Amendment to Open Order of Conditions and Chapter 194 Permit Loker Conservation and Recreation Area MassDEP File # 351.03 KB
PDF icon Conservation Commission Amended Order of Conditions for 412 Commonwealth Road (Loker Recreation Area) April 2022988.15 KB
PDF icon Letter to Building Commissioners regarding Building Permit 66.31 KB
PDF icon Project Cost Estimates242.51 KB