The Wellesley Select Board on Tuesday approved language for a Special Town Meeting article regarding the state’s proposed sale of land at MassBay Community College to support the creation of 180 housing units and partially fund future upgrades on the MassBay campus (see Wellesley Media recording).

The board is set to make a presentation about the article at the Advisory Committee on Wednesday, April 2s at 6:30pm, and then reconvene for a Select Board meeting on Thursday, April 23 at 6:30pm to discuss the motion language under the article.

The Select Board, on the heels of the latest communication from the state regarding the future of 45 acres of MassBay property, last week called for a Special Town Meeting on May 11 where the issue will be addressed. 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.

The Select Board’s plan for Special Town Meeting is to put a non-binding question or questions to Wellesley’s elected legislators to gauge what course they and their constituents would like the town to take on the MassBay land matter.

Article 2 language reads as follows:

To see if the Town will vote to advise the Select Board to take the following actions:

A. Pursue an agreement with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts wherein the Town will accept the construction of 180 units of housing on and around the parking lot at 40 Oakland Street on approximately 7 to 8 acres of land in exchange for a permanent conservation restriction for passive recreation on the remaining 37 to 38 acres of land at that location; or

B. Pursue litigation against the Commonwealth of Massachusetts seeking a declaration that some or all of the land located at 40 Oakland Street is not legally available for housing use, and seeking to limit, to the greatest extent feasible, the amount of housing that may be constructed on any portion of the property determined to be eligible for such use; or to take any other action in relation thereto

Town Counsel Tom Harrington presented the draft article language. The Select Board has been meeting behind closed doors for months with attorneys to explore possible litigation over the MassBay matter (the board has also provided public updates and allowed for public comment).

Select Board member Kenny Largess, one of numerous lawyers at Town Hall that night, proposed broader language, fearing that the draft language from Harrington was too narrow. He described a scenario where people who might not be inclined to vote for negotiating with the state might feel forced to do so without having a real sense of how litigation might go. Harrington assured that Town Meeting members would be able to make motions that focused on something in between the goalposts set out in the article language.

Beth Sullivan Woods favored the Largess proposal, and took exception to specifying acreage amounts in the language.

“This sets up a premise that it’s fight the definition of ‘surplus’ or agree that 180 is the right number,” she said. “I have never heard from this community that 180 units on the parking lot is acceptable to anyone…”

Board Chair Marjorie Freiman said that what she has heard from the public over the past year is that the town’s priority is protecting the forest.

“If we can get 37 or 38 acres can we live with the result?” she asked. “Well, that’s essentially the question, that’s the bottom line question. What’s your priority? What are you willing to live with? What are you willing to risk? What are you willing to give up?”

Board member Tom Ulfelder backed the language from Harrington, arguing that it “sharpens the debate.” He stated, “that stark difference between [A and B] is exactly what we want the community and Town Meeting to understand. That we don’t have fine gradations of the state’s offer realistically in front of us that we can push forward. Board member Colette Aufranc also supported the original article draft language, seeing it as “not binary, there’s a sliding scale” within the parameters.

Freiman emphasized a reason for holding Special Town Meeting on May 11 and keeping it to one night is that it will give the town a chance to hit the state’s May 13 deadline for submitting comments on the disposition and reuse of the property at 40 Oakland St. “We don’t want to lose the opportunity to respond to the state within the time that they have given us. Again, they are the state and we’re the town…”

Wellesley Conservation Land Trust retains counsel to protect MassBay forest

Separately, the non-profit Wellesley Conservation Land Trust (WCLT) has retained Hill Law “to represent its interests in matters relating to the MassBay Community College Forest. Among other reasons, WCLT has asked Counsel to determine whether that land is protected under Article 97, which guarantees for all the ‘right to a clean environment including its natural, scenic, historical, and aesthetic qualities for the citizens of the Commonwealth.'”

According to the group, “At this time, WCLT is focused on evaluating the situation and supporting efforts aligned with its mission. The organization remains committed to working constructively with stakeholders and will provide updates as appropriate.”

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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

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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.

Swellesley welcomes letters to the editors on Wellesley-focused topics.

The town of Wellesley on Thanksgiving Eve announced postponement of the visioning workshop it planned for Dec. 8 to provide the state with input ahead of requesting proposals from developers to build housing on MassBay Community College property. The move was prompted by the town’s consideration of legal action against the Commonwealth.

While the town has been promoting the Dec. 8 session since early November, as we reported earlier this week the Select Board also included an executive session (aka, behind closed doors) item on its Nov. 24 meeting agenda “to discuss strategy with respect to potential litigation with the Commonwealth regarding the disposition of surplus MassBay Community College land.”

The state has deemed 45 acres of  MassBay property—a 5-acre parking lot and 40 acres of forest—as surplus and ripe for redevelopment under its Affordable Homes Act aimed at addressing the region’s housing shortage.

Some in town see the state’s plan as a win for housing, the school, and possibly the environment, if a conservation restriction is put on the forest land. Many of those who live in the area have raised concerns about traffic and more that could result from any such plan. (A lawn sign campaign has begun urging protection of the entire 40-acre forest.)

State legislators representing Wellesley recently shared a brief update on the Commonwealth’s developing housing plans for the MassBay property that abuts Centennial Reservation. The state is well aware of concerns in town about protecting the forested land that makes up about 90% of the 45 acres in question, and is open to protecting much of it, per the update.

According to the update provided on Wednesday by the town, “there is significant uncertainty regarding the role the Commonwealth intends the Town to have on the vision for the project including density, design, and open space. The Town has also received conflicting and incomplete information from the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (EHOLC) and the Department of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance (DCAMM). At this time, Town officials have determined that delaying the visioning workshop is the only option.”

Due to potential litigation, the town says it can’t provide additional information. Updates about a possibly rescheduled workshop will be shared if and when a new date is set. Questions or comments can be directed to OaklandStreet@wellesleyma.gov

More: Wellesley Trails Committee to host guided walk of MassBay forest and Centennial Reservation trails on Nov. 28

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