Wellesley Select Board refining Special Town Meeting motion language on MassBay land plans

The Wellesley Select Board on Monday night will continue to refine wording of motions regarding the sale and development of state-owned land at MassBay Community College (40 Oakland St.) to be presented at Special Town Meeting on May 11. It will also convene in executive session (behind closed doors) at the start of its meeting “to conduct strategy with respect to potential litigation regarding 40 Oakland Street.”

(See Wellesley Media recording of April 23 meeting.)

The board last week approved article language for Special Town Meeting, presenting a choice between pursuing litigation or negotiating with the state, with the option of doing something in between based on motion language to come. Later in the week, the board held an initial session to hash out draft motion language. The board had presented the approved article language to the appointed Advisory Committee, which vets Town Meeting articles, on April 22 (see Wellesley Media recording), and got food for thought on the motions from questions raised there.

At the April 23 Select Board meeting, Town Counsel Tom Harrington presented the board with draft motion language, and then board members Kenny Largess and Beth Sullivan Woods shared working drafts of alternative motions.

Modeling civil discourse for Town Meeting, the Select Board discussed possible alternative motions, seeking to find a way to get clear (non-binding) guidance from Town Meeting on the controversial matter of the state seeking to have a developer build 180 units of housing across from the MassBay Campus adjacent to the forest that abuts—and essentially blends into—the town-owned Centennial Reservation. The state is taking its action under the Affordable Homes Act designed to help address the Commonwealth’s housing shortage.

The state’s plans to sell MassBay property deemed “surplus”—roughly five acres of parking lot, roughly 40 acres of forest—has sparked concerns from neighbors and users of the adjacent Centennial Reservation as well as enthusiasm from those who say the state’s plans could lead to needed housing, protections for the forest, and improvements at MassBay.

As discussion has progressed at recent Select Board meetings, talk has focused on possible development on 7-8 acres including the parking lot and surrounding area, based on conversations with state leaders. Draft motion language from the town counsel seeks to ensure that if Town Meeting directs Wellesley to negotiate with the state, that the state adheres to Wellesley bylaws related to environmental protection and affordable housing, and pledges to convey a permanent conservation restriction to the town for land not developed.

The town plans to post the final warrant to the town website soon after it is finalized.

Expand your reach (and support local news) by advertising on Swellesley