• Contact Us
  • Events calendar
Entering Swellesley
Pinnacle, Wellesley

The Swellesley Report

More than you really want to know about Wellesley, Mass.

  • Advertise
  • Contribute
  • Eat
  • Wellesley Square
  • School
  • Top 10 things to do
  • Embracing diversity
  • Charities/Community
  • Arts
  • Camp
  • Kids
  • Environment/Sustainability
  • Events
  • About us
  • Subscribe
  • Natick Report
  • COVID-19
  • Letters to the Editor
  • 2021 Town Election
  • Bulletin Board
Needham Bank, Wellesley
Boston Sports Institute, Wellesley

Wellesley’s Great Plain Avenue development quiet no more

August 9, 2015 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

Great Plains Ave lot layout sheet
135 Great Plain Ave. lot layout sheet from Northland’s submitted plan

The Wellesley Board of Selectmen has on its docket this Monday night (Aug. 10, 8:30pm) an item titled “135 Great Plain Avenue — Subdivision Recommendation,” referring to a project that has proceeded without much fanfare but that promises to turn at least one neighbor’s world upside down.

The town has received a Definitive Subdivision Application for the property and has a Planning Board meeting slated for Aug. 24 to address it.

Developer Northland Residential is proposing to create a subdivision consisting of 12 lots, according to Wellesley Planning Director Michael Zehner, who says the development stands out for this reason: “This project will be the first to trigger the Natural Resources Protection Development Bylaw, adopted by Town Meeting in 2013. In short, this Bylaw requires the protection of at least 50% of the property in exchange for allowing the reduction of the dimensional requirements for lots. Since the property is in the Single Residence District 20, where the minimum lot size is conventionally 20,000 sq. ft. (approx. ½ acre), the lot sizes may be reduced to a minimum of 10,000 sq. ft. In this instance, the lot sizes range from 20,720 sq. ft. to 10,911 sq. ft. With regard to open space, the plan indicates that 306,700 sq. ft. (approx. 7 acres) will be reserved as open space, permanently protected under a conservation restriction.”

The Townsman reported in February that the property was acquired by Northland for $6.5 million. A Northland spokeswoman at the time was quoted as saying: “We’ve made more generous lots and they’re going to be very nice homes, and they’ll have significant setbacks to any neighbors’ homes.”

Word is that the houses will be of the multimillion dollar variety.

Among the open space plans: a trail proposed on the Southeast corner of the lot that would connect to the Sudbury aqueduct. The Wellesley Natural Resources Commission has been in the loop on this.

We didn’t hear back from Northland last month upon inquiring about the project’s status. But we did hear from a neighbor who is hoping other residents will take a closer look at this development (“I’m writing to ask if you might have any insight as to how a proposed 12-house development on a 13-acre property that is taking advantage of cluster development bylaws… can be proceeding so quietly.”). According to this neighbor, various circumstances relative to other abutters (ill health, a recent move, etc.) have resulted in him being the only one asking many questions to town officials about the project. Among other things, he says, the project will likely result in a public trail being laid out right next to his property line and in full view of his dining room window.

“But the saddest part of all this is that I am effectively placed in a 10,000-sq ft lot area with enormous houses crowded on them, hardly the almost rural 20,000-sq ft lot area that I bought into years ago with no one’s house closer than 100-ft to another…  I thought when I saw this house surrounded by tall trees that I was in heaven!  No more, apparently.”

The neighbor figures the town would rather have this sort of development than a Chapter 40B project containing hundreds of units.

He adds: “I hope the town removes the’ Tree City’ sign from in front of my house” in light of the developer planning to whack many of the trees on the property.tree city great plain ave wellesley

Also of interest…

Wellesley teardowns spur move toward Neighborhood Conservation District

Wellesley homes, up and down

 

 

 

 

 

print
Share

Filed Under: Real estate

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Linden Square, Wellesley
Wellesley Youth Lacrosse

Tip us off…

Please send tips, photos, ideas to [email protected]
Wellesley Square ad
Wellesley, Jesamondo
Admit Fit, Wellesley
Sexton test prep
Feldman Law
Fay School, Southborough
Wellesley Theatre Project
image of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
Never miss a post with our free daily Swellesley Report email
Name: 
Your email address:*
Please wait...
Please enter all required fields Click to hide
Correct invalid entries Click to hide

You can subscribe for free, though we appreciate any contribution that supports our independent journalism.

Click here to read our Natick Report

Natick Report

Events Calendar

« March 2021 » loading...
S M T W T F S
28
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
1
2
3
Fri 05

Open House at Boston Outdoor Preschool Network

March 5 @ 10:00 am - 11:00 am
Sun 07

World of Wellesley community book read

March 7 @ 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Wed 10

Open House at Boston Outdoor Preschool Network

March 10 @ 10:00 am - 11:00 am
Wed 17

Wellesley Police Department & Red Cross blood drive

March 17 @ 10:00 am - 4:00 pm
Sun 28

Plunge for Elodie

March 28 @ 8:00 am - 5:00 pm

Most Read Posts

  • Wellesley summer camp listings 2021 — find the experience of a lifetime
  • World of Wellesley community book read, Mar. 7th
  • Newton-Wellesley Orthopedic Walk-In—no appointment needed
  • Wellesley Business Buzz: Free meters ending; Restaurant could fill Gap spot; Semester Off has offer for school & healthcare workers
  • Letter to the editor: concerns about denouncing Columbus

Pages

  • Guidelines for Letters to the Editor
  • How to submit your flyer for the Community Bulletin Board page
  • Wellesley Community Bulletin Board
  • Wellesley coronavirus (COVID-19) updates
  • Wellesley’s 7 official scenic roads
  • Wellesley, Mass., fishing spots
  • Wellesley Choral Society
  • Wellesley College Notable Alumnae
  • Wellesley College, Wellesley, Mass.
  • Wellesley outdoor art gallery
  • Wellesley restaurants offering take-out and delivery
  • Wellesley, Massachusetts restaurant — Amarin of Thailand

Recent Comments

  • Bob Brown on Wellesley Business Buzz: Wellesley Tavern to open; More small business grants; virtual networking coffee
  • Patrick Rafter on Wellesley Business Buzz: Wellesley Tavern to open; More small business grants; virtual networking coffee
  • EM on Wellesley Police log: Road rage leads to coffee toss; overdose on fentanyl patches attempted; window broken, no rock found
  • Lew on Wellesley Police log: Road rage leads to coffee toss; overdose on fentanyl patches attempted; window broken, no rock found
  • William Mitchell on Wellesley loses Everett (“Eddie”) Knowles, RDF volunteer, medical miracle

Links we like

  • Great Runs
  • Jack Sanford: Wellesley's Major League Baseball Star
  • Taquitos.net
  • Tech-Tamer
  • The Wellesley Wine Press
  • Universal Hub
  • Wellesley Sports Discussion Facebook Group

Categories

  • 2021 Town Election (19)
  • Animals (381)
  • Antiques (48)
  • Art (540)
  • Beyond Wellesley (28)
  • Books (343)
  • Business (1,371)
  • Camp (1)
  • Careers/jobs (44)
  • Churches (72)
  • Clubs (209)
  • Construction (280)
  • Dump (113)
  • Education (2,896)
    • Babson College (240)
    • Bates Elementary School (14)
    • Dana Hall School (29)
    • Fiske Elementary School (6)
    • Hardy Elementary School (33)
    • Hunnewell Elementary School (34)
    • MassBay (47)
    • Schofield Elementary School (20)
    • Sprague Elementary School (19)
    • St. John School (1)
    • Tenacre Country Day School (9)
    • Upham Elementary School (30)
    • Wellesley College (598)
    • Wellesley High School (890)
    • Wellesley Middle School (195)
  • Embracing diversity (44)
  • Entertainment (724)
  • Environment (674)
  • Fashion (134)
  • Finance (13)
  • Fire (142)
  • Food (328)
  • Fundraising (561)
  • Gardens (137)
  • Government (410)
    • 2020 Town Election (47)
  • Health (746)
    • COVID-19 (141)
  • History (359)
  • Holidays (365)
  • Houses (120)
  • Humor (45)
  • Kids (816)
  • Law (3)
  • Letters to the Editor (13)
  • Media (63)
  • METCO (5)
  • Military (3)
  • Morses Pond (97)
  • Music (544)
  • Natick Report (28)
  • Neighbors (249)
  • Obituaries (59)
  • Outdoors (585)
  • Parenting (60)
  • Police (696)
    • Crime (351)
  • Politics (545)
  • Real estate (290)
  • Religion (127)
  • Restaurants (303)
  • Safety (142)
  • Scouts (1)
  • Senior citizens (110)
  • Shopping (123)
  • Sports (901)
  • STEM (104)
  • Technology (154)
  • Theatre (383)
  • Town Meeting (22)
  • Transportation (210)
  • Travel (11)
  • Uncategorized (1,206)
  • Volunteering (319)
  • Weather (167)
  • Wellesley Election 2019 (21)
  • Wellesley Free Library (258)
  • Wellesley's Wonderful Weekend (5)
RSS Feed Icon Subscribe to RSS Feed

© 2021 The Swellesley Report
Site by Tech-Tamer · Login