The Wellesley Select Board this week (see Wellesley Media’s April 27 meeting recording) came to agreement on the motion language to be discussed and voted on at the May 11 Special Town Meeting to be held at Wellesley High School at 7pm. The board is seeking input from Town Meeting members and residents on non-binding questions about the designation as surplus land and subsequent land disposition of 40 Oakland St. at MassBay Community College.
The April 27 meeting further refined motion language discussed at an April 23 Select Board meeting.
The state is 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 MassBay issue has been hugely controversial in in town, with some worried that the housing development will infringe on the forest and worsen traffic in the area, while others say the housing is needed, that an agreement with the state will actually protect the forest, and that funding from the development can be used to support MassBay.
(The Swellesley Report was the first to report on this issue, all the way back on June 2, 2025.)
In a letter to Town Meeting members, Moderator Mark Kaplan wrote “This is not a traditional Town Meeting. The Select Board is seeking Town Meeting’s non-binding advice on three possible options in response to the State’s proposed development on and/or in the immediate vicinity of the Mass Bay Community College’s parking lot at 40 Oakland Street. There is a lot of work, and it needs to be completed in just one session…” The state has set a deadline of May 13 for feedback on
The warrant for Special Town Meeting includes just two motions on which Town Meeting will be asked to weigh in.
Article 2, Motion 1 reads as follows, giving Town Meeting members a choice of three ways (A, B, or C via an electronic vote) to direct the Select Board on the MassBay matter:
OPTION A
That Town Meeting advise the Select Board to approve the framework proposed by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in its April 13, 2026 letter to the Town for the disposition and development of the property located at 40 Oakland Street as follows:
- a. development of 180 units;
- b. concentrating development on and around the parking lot area (7 to 8 acres);
- c. requiring the developer to deliver a conservation restriction to a qualified entity of the Town’s choosing on the remainder of the site (37 to 38 acres); and
- d. requiring the developer to comply with inclusionary zoning requirements
OPTION B
That Town Meeting advise the Select Board, exercising its powers, discretion, and judgment, to negotiate with the Commonwealth for the disposition and development of the property located at 40 Oakland Street maximizing the benefits and minimizing the impact to the Town and emphasizing the following conditions as important to the Town:
- a. that the development shall consist of multifamily housing and be located on or immediately adjacent to the existing parking area so as to minimize the overall footprint of disturbance;
- b. that the developer offer a conservation restriction to be held by the Town on the remainder of the property so that it is permanently preserved as publicly accessible open space for passive recreation;
- c. that the scale, massing, and architecture of the development be designed to blend in with its surroundings;
- d. that the number of units be reduced to the greatest degree possible;
- e. that a range of housing types be considered, including age-restricted/senior housing, workforce housing, and housing for the disabled;
- f. that all parking for MassBay be removed from 40 Oakland Street;
- g. that the Commonwealth assist the Town by improving circulation, ingress/egress and pedestrian safety along Oakland Street and turning movements at the Route 9 and Oakland Street intersection;
- h. that the Commonwealth provide primary ingress and egress to and from the MassBay campus directly from Route 9;
- i. that the development be subject to the Town’s Wetlands Protection Bylaw and Water Supply Protection Overlay District;
- j. that the development comply with the Town’s Inclusionary Zoning Bylaw;
- k. that the Town enter into a Development Agreement with the developer with binding conditions;
and further, that the Town preserves all available legal rights and options, including litigation.
OPTION C
That Town Meeting advise the Select Board to proceed directly to litigation against the Commonwealth on any legal issues available to the Town to challenge the disposition and development of the property located at 40 Oakland Street
The town’s appointed Advisory Committee, which vets articles and motions ahead of actual Town Meetings, voted largely in favor of Option B (see Wellesley Media recording of April 29 meeting).
Special Town Meeting Article 3, Motion 1 is a more straightforward, and binding motion focused on funding litigation:
That the Town transfer the sum of $900,000.00 (NINE HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS) for legal and related professional services, said sum to be taken from Certified Free Cash and added to the amount appropriated to Select Board – Shared Services – 151 Law under Motion 2 of Article 8 of the Warrant for the 2026 Annual Town Meeting, said funds to be used only for matters related to 40 Oakland Street.
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