Wellesley observes 17th anniversary of September 11th attacks

September 11, 2018 by Deborah Brown 2 Comments

Wellesley this morning observed the 17th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks. At the Wellesley Hills Fire Department Headquarters on Route 9, a crowd of about 60 first responders and other town employees, residents, Fire Chief Rick DeLorie, Board of Selectmen members, State Representative Alice Peisch, and others gathered to remember the events of September 11 and the 2,977 who died in New York City; Washington, D.C.; and outside of Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Of those who died, 343 were New York City firefighters, 23 were New York City police officers, and 37 were officers at the Port Authority.

Chief DeLorie vowed to keep the ceremony going as long as he is Chief. “It’s important that we demonstrate our care and support for the family members left behind as we observe this day in ceremony.”

September 11, 2018, Wellesley — The September 11 remembrances took place on a gray day, with temperatures in the upper 60s. The United States flag, the Massachusetts State flag, and the Prisoners of War/Missing in Action flag all are at half-staff. The ceremony took place inside the station. Emergency vehicles were parked out front in case a call came in during the observance ceremony.

September 11, Wellesley — Wellesley Police Department’s Lt. Jeff Renzella read the Police Officer’s Prayer, which asks for “Courage to take me where others will not go”, “strength of body to protect others”, and “…dedication to my community, to keep it safe…”

Wellesley to observe 17th anniversary of September 11, 2001 attacks

September 8, 2018 by Deborah Brown Leave a Comment

The Town of Wellesley will honor first responders at its annual Memorial Observance on Tuesday, September 11 at 9:45 a.m. at the Wellesley Fire Department Headquarters at 457 Worcester St. All are invited to attend. Here are some pictures from last year’s ceremony.

Wellesley design meeting to focus on town’s character

August 26, 2018 by bbrown Leave a Comment

odd fellows

Wellesley’s Design Review Board is joining forces with a consultancy and the public to develop updated comprehensive design guidelines that would apply to all projects, aside from one/two-family homes.

The public is encouraged to attend the Design Review Board meeting on Sept. 5 at 7pm at Town Hall to share input on everything from building height and density to open space.

According to the town, it has made “a commitment to maintaining and enhancing the ‘character’ of Wellesley. In 1976 the Town adopted a design review section in the Zoning Bylaw and established a Design Review Board to review sign permit applications. Since that time, the review process has been expanded to also require review of applications for site plan review, exterior commercial façade changes, antennas, and Large House Review projects, to name a few. The Design Review Board evaluates projects based on the Design Guidelines Handbook (last updated in 1989) and sections of the Zoning Bylaw pertaining to Design Criteria.”

Wellesley already has plenty of characters in town, though we’ve seen lots of lamenting in recent years about the loss of the town’s character as chain stores replace unique businesses, McMansions replace older homes, and longtime residents are priced out of staying. So here’s a chance for people to save at least some of what’s worth maintaining, while also looking forward.

For more information, please visit the Design Review Board website or contact Jeanette Rebecchi, Planner, at [email protected].

Is humble Wellesley news site an “Enemy of the People”?

August 15, 2018 by Deborah Brown 16 Comments

typewriter

The call to take up words and defend the very bedrock of journalism came from no less an institution than The Boston Globe. Marjorie Pritchard, a deputy managing editor of the 146-year-old daily publication was fed up with the press as a whole being called an “Enemy of the People.” Taking a fight-back stance, she reached out to editorial boards nationwide asking them to join in a kind of write-in. The idea is that newsrooms would collectively publish editorials on August 16 denouncing what the newspaper called a “dirty war against the free press.”

What Pritchard has done here is ask for back-up as she leads an effort to push back against a bully. You know who that bully is, right?

In case you’ve been in parts unknown, unplugged, surrounded by family and friends, blissfully unaware of Tweets and tirades, here’s a brief. Earlier this month President Donald Trump said via Twitter that the press was the Enemy of the People. Again. Apparently, he noted with glee, the Fake News hates it, just hates it, when he trots out that Enemy of the People label. According to the president, Fake News journalists and their pesky fact-checking toadies at the copy desk “cause great division & distrust.” They’re responsible for war, too, the dangerous sick-os.

So which news outlets, exactly, are Fake News operations? Well, just like there are no always-good children, every news agency is at least sometimes naughty by the standards of the president. Therefore every news agency of note ends up in the president’s Fake News time-out corner eventually.

OK, maybe not The Swellesley Report. Because we’re so very local, the news we cover is about as real as it gets. We’re fly-under-the radar types who post about school events and other around-town doings. Hard-hitting journalism for us: “Will Wellesley College ban dogs on Lake Waban path?” A close second: “Local reporter (me) almost hit by car in Wellesley.” Yes, that’s almost.

As you already know, nothing much happens in Wellesley. That’s why you moved here and love it. That’s why you read Swellesley, to have this knowledge confirmed and to bear witness to our daily documentation of, well, the dailiness of a quiet community.

What’s important about this isn’t so much what we do, it’s that we can do it. Bob and I learned all about the sacred principles of a free and independent press at Boston University. He was a journalism major, I went for the major the less-focused types embraced, “Communications.” We learned all about the holiness of our calling and how freedom of the press was enshrined in the Constitution. When you get to the very end of that august document, keep reading. We journalist types are the ones covered by the First Amendment, the one that says, “Congress shall make no law…abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press…”

Heady stuff, to be backed up by historical documents and Congress itself.

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Indeed, because of this back-up no one tries to stop us from publishing the weekly police log, or about car crashes, or the occasional tragedy that of course touches even our quiet corner of the world. We are a free and independent press, and it hardly gets more free and independent that what Bob and I do every day.

nytimes swellesley quote

In fact, we started out doing it about 13 years ago literally for free, just a public service from two people curious about what blogging was all about, posts sent out over the internet to whoever might be reading. We started out by putting up a list of Wellesley’s sledding hills. Then we wrote about businesses opening and closing. School plays, Little League sign-ups, pictures of the noteworthy or unusual — no story was too small then, nor is it now. Post by post we got more and more readers.

What started out as the “Hey kids, let’s put on a show” model of journalism eventually turned into A Thing, if I can be so immodest. Best of all, there was nobody around to stop us. We didn’t have to appear before the Wellesley Board of Selectmen for approval. We didn’t have to wring our hands and hope that Wellesley’s 240 Town Meeting members would vote yes on a proposal sanctioning our right to exist, just as long as we followed a few simple rules. We just started pecking away at our keyboards and sending our reports on the front-lines of Wellesley out into the world. We appreciate that thousands of you subscribe to Swellesley and follow us across our social media accounts.

Now we find our colleagues, especially those who report nationally and internationally, toiling in an Orwellian-type workplace, where their right to write is under attack, and the analogies get weird. In this world, journalists are Enemy of the People. Fact-checking is fake. Constitutional shrines are false idols. Go right ahead and tread on me, the Fourth Estate, right into the ground if you can get away with it.

To get all this to work, all you need do as an informed public is sit back, relax, open your hearts and minds and welcome the rise of the Fifth Estate: Propaganda. It’s a new branch of government that isn’t really a branch at all, it’s more something grafted onto a mighty trunk. That mighty trunk is Government Control.

Here’s how it works: start with a long-standing tree. Envision its branches, reaching out. Because those branches are healthy and strong, the massive tree stands tall and powerful. Now chop off the Legislative Branch of the tree. Next, chop off the Judicial Branch of the tree. Finally, the Fourth Estate goes, a Fake Branch if ever there was one, until finally we’re left with one thing standing — an Executive Trunk.

Careful, there. It’s a massive trunk, it comes with a lot of baggage, and it thinks it can stand alone. That form of government can’t be good for any of us.

Thanks to the New York Times (A Free Press Needs You) and Boston Globe (Journalists are not the enemy) for giving us some love in their editorials.

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MORE: The closest we get to Fake News

Here in Wellesley: Historic John D. Hardy house to go under review for tear down

August 11, 2018 by Deborah Brown Leave a Comment

The Wellesley Historical Commission (WHC) on Monday, August 13 at 7pm in the Great Hall at Town Hall will review an application for demolition for 10 Livermore Rd, likely the most significant house from a local historical perspective to come before the WHC to date.

10 Livermore Rd., Wellesley — 10 Livermore Rd. Photo credit: Caleb Brown

What makes this 132-year-old building historically significant is that it was the home of noted Wellesley civic leader John D. Hardy from its completion in 1896 until his death in 1924. Its association with Hardy is an important factor making it among the most historic houses in the Belvedere Estates/Wellesley Country Club area, and therefore Wellesley.

It’s so historically significant that it has triggered a review as an “Eligible Building” under Article 46 C. As WHC Chairman Grant Brown explains, “The article says that, with a few exceptions, any structure built before 1949 must put in an application to the Commission for a Preferably Preserved determination. If 10 Livermore is determined to be a structure that is Preferably Preserved, then a one-year demolition delay would be imposed. The article states that a building should be “…Preferably Preserved if tearing it down would be detrimental to the historical or architectural heritage of the Town because such Building is importantly associated with one or more historic persons or events.”

The 7 bedroom, 5 bath, 7,800 square foot home built in 1886 sold earlier this summer for $2,500,000. Like many who buy homes in Wellesley — some new to town, some long-time residents, and some who left for a bit and are now returning — the owners wish to tear down the house and build a new one. The design team we’ve been told is involved has a reputation for delivering to clients high-quality homes that fit into historic neighborhoods. Sometimes this is delivered by the team through renovation. Sometimes this is delivered by tearing down a home to make way for a new one.

You can go online and see a lovely Zillow slideshow of 10 Livermore Road. This is no pokey cottage that’s been neglected for decades. It’s a lovingly tended gem. The hardwood floors gleam, it’s light and bright, the rooms are spacious, and there are period details throughout. Still, homeowners want what they want. The argument here isn’t that current beauty shall be forced to give way to a cookie-cutter monstrosity. The argument here is over history on the one hand, and what owners want on the other hand.

What is the Wellesley Historical Commission?

The WHC is the primary advocate for the protection of Wellesley’s historic properties, both public and private. Their mission is to ensure that the historic structures and spaces that define the character of Wellesley are not lost for future generations. The WHC frequently collaborates with Town boards and departments, builders, realtors, and residents, providing expert advice on projects involving historic resources to ensure that growth can coincide with preservation. The group also advocates for public bylaws and private actions that encourage the preservation, restoration, and innovative reuse of historic properties. The WHC also oversees Article 46C of the Town Bylaws, Historic Preservation Demolition Review Bylaw (a/k/a the demolition delay bylaw), that went into effect July 1, 2017.

Can the WHC stop steel wrecking balls with their bare hands?

No, but the WHC can make it take a little longer than it would for a home built after 1949. One of the goals of the article adopted by the Town is to assure the preservation and enhancement of the Town of Wellesley’s historical and cultural heritage by preserving, rehabilitating or restoring whenever possible, buildings that have distinctive architectural features or historical associations that contribute to the historic fabric of the Town.

While the WHC has no power to permanently stop tear downs, it does try to at least make property owners aware of any historical significance if it becomes aware of possible changes to buildings. Grant says one of the goals is to “…begin a dialogue to consider alternatives such as renovations or additions, thus preserving the core structure.” So although the bylaw does not give the WHC the power to stop a tear down from happening, it does formalize a review process during which town officials and property owners might work out agreements that would preserve at least components of such structures.

If a building gets a “Preferably Preserved” status, owners are then encouraged to come back to the WHC through the waiver process. In that second step, the WHC would encourage the property owner to consider creative efforts to preserve as much of the house as possible which, if successful, would waive the one-year delay period.

Out with the old, in with the new

It’s a classic case of homeowners who insist on new vs. preservation-minded types who refuse to believe that an addition wouldn’t work to address 21st century living needs. At 10 Livermore, it’s not impossible to envision that tearing down earlier additions to the home, such as the one that includes the indoor pool, would ruffle fewer historical feathers while still allowing the new owners to enjoy all the advantages of new construction while preserving an important part of Wellesley history.

The general consensus seems to be that the design team involved has the experience and sensitive mindset to come up with a new house that fits the neighborhood architecturally. However, that’s only part of the point to some who say a new structure, no matter how beautiful and sensitively designed, could never replace the associative value of the old house.

Make new friends, but keep the old

The WHC has lately been working proactively in an effort to encourage the preservation of Wellesley’s older historic homes by rolling out the first awards in what is expected to be an annual thing for the “best” historic renovation(s) of the year. Here are the 2017 homes that were given the award. They feel that this could be an effective way of slowing the torrid pace of tear downs of historically significant buildings in town.

“While we all painfully aware of the exceptionally high number of tear downs in Wellesley, there are also impeccable renovations that celebrate and preserve the architecture and quality of our earlier homes and structures,” says Brown.

Presenting awards is one way the WHC can catch some of its flies with honey. However some say the good dousing of vinegar in the form of a one-year delay before removing history is necessary to temper tear-down enthusiasm. One thing is certain, the WHC says it’s a challenge to maintain Wellesley’s character in the face of tear downs and mansionization, noting that Wellesley’s Large House Review process hasn’t done much to stop the tear downs.

The likely scenarios

The WHC could look at the presentation for 10 Livermore and green-light a tear down. Or the WHC could look at the presentation and say that it should be “Preferably Preserved.” We will have to wait and see how it all goes on August 13.

As the WHC likes to point out, all of Wellesley’s surrounding communities such as Natick, Dover, Needham, Newton, and Weston have demolition review bylaws. Also, a survey conducted by the Wellesley Planning Board’s Residential Development Working Group late last year found that almost three quarters of respondents said they were concerned about the number of tear downs in town and the impact of new construction on the town’s character.

A 2016 Wellesley Townsman review showed that 95 tear-down permits were issued in 2015, way up from 13 back in 1991 when a demolition delay bylaw nearly passed at Town Meeting.

What about YOUR house?

An option that homeowners, neighbors, and the town can consider is the “Single Building Historic District” designation. There are four homes in Wellesley that fall under this designation. It is a voluntary way to permanently protect structures from demolition. Contact the WHC if you are interested in this for your home. According to Grant, some Massachusetts towns have forced this designation on property owners given the significance of those structures, but it’s not something Wellesley has ever done.

Persons interested in the August 13 matter are encouraged to call the Planning Department for more information: 781-431-1019 x2230. The application and related materials may be reviewed at the Planning Department, Town Hall, 525 Washington Street, Wellesley MA 02482. Michael D. Zehner, AICP (American Institute of Certified Planners) Planning Director.