The Wellesley Select Board agenda for Dec. 16 featured two items related to legal services regarding the state’s proposed MassBay Community College land disposition, though the topic also bookended the meeting during citizen speak and Chair Marjorie Freiman’s report. (See Wellesley Media recording.)

Longtime resident Andrew Hoar said he and his wife walk in the MassBay forest and adjacent Centennial Reservation almost daily. “I’m struck by the number of families and individuals I meet on those walks not just from Wellesley, but from surrounding towns like Brookline, Newton, Needham, Dover, Sherborn, Natick, and Weston. Make no mistake: The legislation passed regarding the state’s surplus property and the resulting disposition of the MassBay land has ramifications far beyond Wellesley.” He urged the town to “aggressively pursue litigation to protect the MassBay woods and the legacy we will live behind for generations to come.”

Whether the town actually pursues legal action against the state over this matter—a tall order—remains to be seen, as the state seeks to use some portion of the 45 acres of surplus land for housing (a parking lot on the property takes up about 5 acres, forest land and open space accounts for the rest). MassBay would benefit from the project, receiving funds to partially pay for envisioned campus upgrades.

During an agenda section on 2026 Annual Town Meeting prep, Executive Director Meghan Jop proposed a motion under Article 7 for the board’s consideration regarding a transfer of free cash to cover possible legal services related to the MassBay proposal. Jop recommended setting aside $200k for the FY26 supplemental budget.

As Jop referenced during that segment, the board later in the meeting would be discussing the hiring of special counsel (Phillips & Angley) to assist in the MassBay development proposal. The board had discussed hiring legal counsel previously in executive session behind closed doors. The board at an October public meeting also got legal opinions on various questions regarding the MassBay proposal under the state’s Affordable Homes Act. On Thanksgiving Eve, the town announced postponement of a planned Dec. 8 visioning workshop that would help it provide the state with input ahead of requesting proposals from developers to build housing on MassBay property

Stay informed: Sign up for Swellesley’s weekday email newsletter
Support your local news source: Consider making a tax-deductible donation
Keep us in the loop: Message us with tips, ideas, photos etc.: theswellesleyreport@gmail.com

Before the board voted to hire the firm, member Beth Sullivan Woods proposed that the points of contact for the board with counsel be Chair Freiman and member Kenny Largess. But Freiman said candidates for counsel last week were told their points of contact would be Jop and herself. Further discussion on the MassBay matter with the entire board will be conducted under executive session, she said.

The most new light shed regarding the state’s planned disposition of MassBay land came at the very end of the meeting during Freiman’s chair report. She, along with Jop and Assistant Executive Director Corey Testa met last week with a group that included leaders from the state’s Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (EOHLC) and Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance (DCAMM, aka, the state’s real estate arm), MassBay President David Podell, and Sen. Cynthia Creem and Rep. Alice Peisch and staff members.

“The meeting was convened in response to this board’s postponement of the town-wide visioning session and our statement that the town had been given conflicting information from different representatives of the Commonwealth,” Freiman stated.

EOHLC Secretary Ed Augustus, who stated he was aware meetings have taken place in Wellesley, emphasized the state’s goals to boost housing as well as achieve environmental ones. Not everyone in town is sold on the state’s environmental commitment in this case, and a sign campaign has sprouted in town to emphasize that “This land is not surplus.”

“Very importantly he sees this as an opportunity to preserve the conservation area that residents seem most concerned about,” Freiman said, elaborating that this would be the roughly 39 or 40 acres of wooded space. “The vehicle for that preservation has not been spelled out yet, but that is directly from the secretary.”

EOHLC and DCAMM leaders stated they were pretty firm at 180 housing units being built on what the state has deemed to be surplus property.

Freiman said she, Jop, Creem and Peisch “suggested they really should be more flexible…” given that it’s a constrained area and that traffic mitigation would be needed. “We are continuing to consider [180] as a number that would be too high.”

Freiman said during the meeting with state leaders that “litigation is not the town’s preferred method of resolution, but that the level of emotion in town is running very high, and the board will explore all options to protect the town, the residents, and to comply with the statutory requirements.” She added that Wellesley has complied with 40B, accessory dwelling unit, and MBTA Communities rules, and that several new projects are in the works that will add housing units.

“We left it that the town will discuss collectively points of concern, questions, and issues that we would like confirmation of in writing in order to support rescheduling of that visioning,” she said. Wellesley officials said they would need four or five months to complete the visioning and analysis, and work with the state to hone the request for proposals before that RFP is released to developers.

Freiman summarized: “I thought we made some progress in some areas, and no progress in other areas. But our work will continue… Residents should take some comfort in the decision makers’ secretary-level confirmation that they are not looking to develop the forest…”

The state’s rules on its Affordable Homes Act are expected to be out by year-end.