The Wellesley Planning Board on Monday night approved the volunteer members of a 15-person Residential Incentive Overlay (RIO) Task Force designed to look at making improvements to the increasingly controversial RIO bylaw (see Wellesley Media recording of the meeting at the 2-hour, 37-minute mark).

According to the town bylaw, the RIO is aimed at providing “a residential reuse incentive for a parcel or parcels greater than one acre located in close proximity to the Town’s Commercial Districts and public transportation.”

Opposition to proposed uses of the bylaw came to a head in October, 2024, when a pair of proposed multifamily housing developments got shot down at Special Town Meeting. RIOs were also a hot topic at Annual Town Meeting in April thanks to a citizen petition that sought to return the RIO bylaw to its original state. As the proponent explained during presentations, the focus of RIOs would again be on allowing multi-unit residential development in commercial areas but not in single residence and general residence districts.

The citizen petition to change the RIO bylaw narrowly failed to gain approval at Town Meeting, but did spark discussion at the Planning Board about forming a RIO Task Force to take a fresh look at the bylaw. The Planning Board in March voted to form a task force, and the Board earlier this spring put out a call for members, with hopes of getting representatives from all eight precincts.

The Planning Board received interest from 22 people to be on the Task Force, though no one from Precinct B. Many of those who applied have been vocal on housing issues at Planning Board, Town Meeting, and other forums. Among them, Peter Welburn, the resident who submitted the RIO bylaw citizen petition, and Joe Hassell, the developer behind the proposed Washington Court and Walnut Street RIOs projects that did not get Town Meeting approval in 2024.

The Task Force will include the Planning Board’s Tom Taylor and Marc Charney, the latter of whom initially raised the idea of creating such a Task Force. The list of candidates was narrowed down by Taylor, Charney, and the Planning Department with an eye toward having a range of skills, viewpoints, and residences represented. So, for example, the members include homeowners, a tenant, a real estate financing person, a senior housing expert, both Town Meeting and non-Town Meeting members, and more.

The rest of the members:

Kara Rheinhardt Block (Precinct D)
Ed Chazen (E)
Paul Criswell (H)
Amy Gottschalk (C)
Joe Hassell (G)
Sherri Kassirer (D)
Mary Kloppenberg (A)
Joan Minklei (F)
Mary Prosnitz (F)
Odessa Sanchez (E)
Heather Sawitsky (H)
Donald Shepard (C)
Peter Welburn (C)

The Planning Board was mostly on board with the Task Force’s formation and its make-up. The exception was Jim Roberti, who spoke against it on Monday night, as he has done in the past. He criticized that lack of direct zoning bylaw or planning expertise among most members, as well as the amount of staff and Board resources that would be consumed. He also said the effort is even less important now that the Strategic Housing Plan is being rolled out publicly on Tuesday night at a joint Select Board-Planning Board meeting. “The big issue is ‘Does Wellesley want multifamily or not, and where?’ This overlay district is just a minor dot on a big screen,” he said.

Among those supporting the effort were Board member Patty Mallett, who said “I think we were clearly given direction that people were interested in doing work on the RIO…” Board member Kathleen Woodward said she was thrilled so many people volunteered, and felt reassured that town counsel and staff resources would be available to support the Task Force. “I think the value of this goes beyond just maybe refining the RIO and is an opportunity to have a meaningful and robust public conversation about housing issues, and what we can do as a town that a larger group can agree upon to build more housing in Wellesley.”

The Task Force will hold public hybrid meetings starting this summer, with the goal of bringing proposed changes at a future town meeting.