For those tracking the Commonwealth’s plan under the Affordable Homes Act to sell MassBay Community College property to support new housing and help fund campus upgrades, there have been a couple of new developments. The state’s designation of 45 acres at 40 Oakland St. as surplus (this includes about 40 acres of forest adjacent to Centennial Reservation and 5 acres of parking lot) has raised questions from town leadership, concerns from forest users, and hopes for housing advocates.
One development is that the state’s Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (EOHLC) has proposed draft regulations for Surplus Real Property and is asking for public comments. The purpose of the regulations is “to establish a framework to guide municipalities and developers in the residential development of surplus real property…”
You’ve got until 11:59pm on April 13 to submit comments to EOHLCRegulationComments@mass.gov (with the subject line “Comments on 760 CMR 77”). Don’t send the comments to the town of Wellesley—as the town of Wellesley emphasizes on its MassBay Proposed Land Disposition web page.
A second development is that a group has been formed called Friends of Centennial, which describes on its website how the organization came to be and how it hopes to proceed.
“For several months, a small group of concerned residents has quietly laid the groundwork to protect the 40 Oakland Street parcel and the surrounding shared natural spaces that have been used and cherished by thousands for many decades. With our own funds, we took the time to research, consult experts, and build a strong factual and legal foundation before asking the broader community to get involved. To date, we have invested more than $35,000, which has allowed us to move forward with focused confidence.
“The next phase requires wider financial and community support. We hope you will join us by donating to our new nonprofit organization, Friends of Centennial, so that we can take the necessary action to stand up against this proposed project.”
The group has retained Hill Law, “a firm with specialized land use expertise to evaluate and pursue legal strategies to eliminate or significantly reduce the scope of development.”
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Friends of Centennial needs funds to pay law firm. Time for folks to step up, write a check PLEASE.
As soon as lawyers get involved, the state has a big reason not to be forthcoming with the town during what should be a collaborative visioning process over the future of this site. That would be a step in the wrong direction in my view.
Instead, the Select Board should change their tune and start good-faith negotiations with the state. The state wants housing on the parking lot. The town wants to preserve the forest. These outcomes are not mutually exclusive. Both are desirable.
The state should certainly be more transparent about their priorities, but the neighbors need to stop inventing worst case scenarios here. No one currently involved in this project wants to build on the forest. Pretending that some people do just makes it harder to achieve an outcome that benefits all stakeholders – MassBay, the town, the Healey administration, and new and existing residents.
If the state wanted to negotiate in good faith, wouldn’t MassBay have approached the town first to discuss options rather than shock us late in the game?
It’s not late in the game. The RFP has yet to be written.
I agree that the state could have handled this better, but a communication and coordination issue between several state agencies is not the same as malicious intent.
Stop building! Protect the land!!!!!
We can protect the forest AND build housing on the parking lot. Why not both?