• 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

Town Meeting: Wellesley’s Dexter Road in for a change

April 9, 2019 by Bob Brown 1 Comment

Nothing gets Wellesley Town Meeting buzzing like a Citizen Petition, especially when it’s on a topic in which realtors, developers, lawyers and longtime residents have a stake.

That was the case on Monday night when it came to Article 37. Discussion lasted for an hour and a half, blocking Town Meeting members from watching most of the NCAA men’s basketball championship and threatening to drag into Tuesday and mess with opening day plans at Fenway Park.

The article, brought to town meeting on behalf of a group of residents in the Dexter Road/Wellesley Avenue neighborhood, sought to rezone 9 properties from a General Residence District to a Single Family Residence District. This would have prevented the buyers of a home and 13,000 sq. ft. lot at 8 Dexter Rd., from tearing it down and erecting a 2-family home that current residents fear will disrupt the character of the neighborhood. That neighborhood features relatively modest homes that have not changed much in size or style over the past 90 years, according to the article’s proponents, and it sits within walking distance of Town Hall and Wellesley Free Library.

dexgter road

The buyers of 8 Dexter Rd. shared a letter making their argument on the Town Meeting mailing list over the weekend, and cited concerns that they were being singled out with a proposed zoning change. The petitioners shared a letter of their own to counter that of the buyers (both letters are embedded below).  The opposing sides repeated their arguments at Town Meeting, bandying about numbers and claims to support housing stock diversity to bolster their respective causes.

The petitioners argued that we need more relatively affordable single-family homes (we’re talking under $900K assessed value affordable), while the owners of 8 Dexter Rd., argued for more diverse types of housing (to which the petitioners countered that just because you build a 2-family house doesn’t mean that it’s going to be relatively affordable or modest in size).

Some Town Meeting members said they were torn. Some argued that yes, people should be able to do what they want with their property within reason, while others argued that we all need to take the common good into consideration, too. Some Town Meeting members cited the fact that the town has spent lots of money and time on consultants and a housing production plan arguing for more diverse housing stock, and here was a chance to either preserve neighborhood character or allow development in new housing. A former Planning Board member argued that this sort of one-off zoning change is not the right way to go about making changes, which need to be done more deliberately. Another resident  proposed a compromise: Let the buyers of 8 Dexter Rd., do their thing, but change zoning in the area to curtail such future efforts.

In the end, Town Meeting members went against the Planning Board and Advisory Committee and shot down the proposal 106-81, with a few abstentions.

The buyers of 8 Dexter Rd., haven’t detailed their plans, so what becomes of the property remains to be seen. While they bought the property through an LLC, they’ve suggested they might even want to live there.

It’s likely that Article 37 won’t be forgotten soon. The town will keep this in mind as undertakes a comprehensive review of zoning bylaws in the years ahead.

Town Meeting dissolved shortly after the Article 37 discussion. Up next: Special Town Meeting in May.

PRESERVE THE CHARACTER OF THE TOWN BY SUPPORTING SWELLESLEY: Here’s how to Advertise and/or Donate to support our independent journalism venture

Download (PDF, Unknown)

Download (PDF, Unknown)

print

Share

Filed Under: Real estate, Town Meeting

Comments

  1. Barbsara Morgenthaler says

    April 10, 2019 at 12:09 pm

    I feel that the Daileys should have been required to reveal their identity before Town Meeting. They are definitely in the development business by virtue of previous enterprises they have engaged in. Full disclosure could have influenced the TM vote. It just doesn’t seem correct procedure to me having lived in Wellesley for 85 years.

    Reply

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

Wellesley Select Board online office hours

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

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
  • Wellesley man dies while mountain biking in Ipswich

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

  • Gail Marshall on Wellesley’s scenic roads
  • 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

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 (344)
  • 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 (60)
  • 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 (1,207)
  • Volunteering (319)
  • Weather (167)
  • Wellesley Election 2019 (21)
  • Wellesley Free Library (259)
  • Wellesley's Wonderful Weekend (5)
RSS Feed Icon Subscribe to RSS Feed

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