The Wellesley Planning Board this week voted unanimously to support a Special Town Meeting article put forward by the Sisters of Charity to amend the zoning bylaw in such a way that they should be able to more easily sell their property at 125 Oakland St. (see Wellesley Media recording of Oct. 2 meeting). The Sisters say they urgently need to sell the prized 14-acre property, which houses them as well as skilled nursing and rehab facility clients, to ensure the Sisters can afford to live out their lives there.
The Board previously had voted against sponsoring the article, but agreed to simply place it on the warrant and alert the Select Board to that fact—this approach allowed the Sisters to forego securing 100 signatures to put a citizen petition on the warrant.
The proposed amendment has been met with resistance by some in town who fear redevelopment after a sale of the property could negatively affect adjacent Centennial Reservation, a popular park among walkers and dog owners. There has been a push to get the Sisters to put conservation restrictions on parts of the property, and the Wellesley Conservation Land Trust this week extended an offer, to be funded through raising private and public monies, to purchase a conservation restriction of up to 6 acres at the property’s appraised value (see Letter to the Editor from the Trust).
Even those against the proposed zoning bylaw change acknowledge the Sisters’ many contributions to the town and emphasize that they want the Sisters to be able to sell their property.
The zoning bylaw amendment is proposed through Article 15, which has been an agenda item over the past couple of weeks not only for Planning, but for the Advisory Committee (see Wellesley Media recording of Sept. 27 meeting) and Natural Resources Commission (see Wellesley Media recording of Oct. 3 meeting). This amendment would allow any property owner—for-profit or non-profit—to continue with current uses within this Educational District.
The most recent development with the proposed amendment is requiring that any expansion of existing use, buildings or facilities would require a special permit through the Zoning Board of Appeals. This would involve a public process.
This update to the proposal seemed to assuage some Planning Board members to an extent, paving the way for the favorable vote. Board Chair Tom Taylor said “For me it boils down to ‘Are there reasonable restrictions, not absolute restrictions, that would keep the property relatively similar in terms of green space and density?’… I think we have reached a point that it is fair, and I’m in support of the article.” He added that it’s incumbent upon the Board to make clear to Special Town Meeting that Planning members did struggle with their decision based on pros and cons of the proposed amendment.
The Advisory Committee will soon vote on recommendations for Special Town Meeting articles. During its meeting last week, to borrow from baseball, local Sisters of Charity attorney David Himmelberger started the game, Sisters of Charity Director of Finance Krista Thibault pitched middle relief, and Congregational Leader Sister Mary Margaret Fitzpatrick was brought in as the closer, firing a history-and-compassion-filled 10-minute argument for the Sisters’ approach to trying to sell the property.
“We are asking you to trust us,” Sister Fitzpatrick said, after detailing the Sisters’ past sales of property to the town and MassBay Community College. “That we will continue to do what we have done all along, the right thing. We have a very long history of doing that, and a clear self interest—we’re going to be living in our home for decades to come.”
Advisory members asked a series of questions covering such topics as the value of the property (the Sisters are keeping that private so as not to tip their hands to possible buyers), conservation restrictions (“The Sisters do not believe that one is needed at this time,” per Attorney Himmelberger. “There is opportunity for that later.”), and clarifications on the limitations that exist under current zoning.
The NRC at its meeting this week chewed on the topic of 125 Oakland St., for more than an hour. Several members said they felt the addition of language in the article regarding a special permit is good but doesn’t go far enough to protect the property’s forested perimeter during whatever future development might happen. “What the special permit does, which is a productive and helpful thing, is that ensures any changes will go through a public process. It doesn’t dictate outcomes, but it ensures a public process,” said NRC Commissioner Michael D’Ortenzio, who added that there still might be “additional avenues to achieve a mutual goal.”
The group agreed to craft a statement for Advisory to weigh that would at least spell out what a special permit does and doesn’t do. NRC Chair Bea Bezmalinovic said the group still has work to do on defining what it actually wants to happen.
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