The Wellesley Planning Board at its Aug. 26 meeting was paid a visit by the team that at one point was looking to build a condo development along Cliff Road and Rte. 9. The properties at 489 Worcester St. and 14 Cliff Rd. are now being positioned for single-family homes.
The Board agenda item was to discuss and vote on what’s called an Approval Not Required plan based on a state rule for land division. The Board voted unanimously to endorse the plan, highlighted by divvying the large 489 Worcester St. property into two buildable lots (one of 57K-plus sq. ft. and another 22K-plus sq. ft.) that could each support a home. That property currently is the site of a mansion and carriage house that would be razed due to their condition.
The home already at 14 Cliff Rd. is expected to stay. The developers also have another Cliff Road property under agreement, but it was not part of the Planning Board agenda item.
A couple of non-buildable lots were also defined under the plan.
Developer Peter Holland described the Planning Board session as being the first step in a process of using the property for single-family homes and not seeking to change zoning.
A few neighbors called in to the meeting to share their thoughts and concerns, including how driveways might be situated, but the development team said it’s too soon to share details. Many more spoke out during the process last year and earlier this year under which the development team sought to create multifamily housing on its property under the 40R zoning process. The developers were unable to secure key Select Board support for their project, sending the team back to the drawing board.
The developers initially had sought support for a condo complex that would have included 69 units, but was reduced to 40 as they responded to community and local government input. This would have required a change from single-family zoning. The project was pitched by the developers as targeting younger families and older down-sizers, with nearby access to the Wellesley Hills commuter rail station. Affordable units would have been included in the development.
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I don’t agree with this. I think the plan needs to be revisited. Only a very limited number of commuter rail stations around Boston. Very few new stations are being built. We need to maximize Transit Oriented Development around the few existing stations greater Boston has! Progressive planning these days involves less parking & more housing….especially affordable housing! This obviously did not come into play with the expansion of the Whole Foods parking lot. Demolishing a 2 family house in a walk friendly neighborhood for even more parking is definitely not progressive! Am I to assume with lots of Harris-Walz signs around Wellesley, these people are hypocritical NIMBY progressives?
This would have made a difference for a lot of people. When People complain of not finding anything for their kids to move to, if not finding employees for jobs – votes like this are the reason.
Smaller units near transit are the best way to add housing.
NIMBY makes the world burn.