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Since 2005: More than you really want to know about Wellesley, Mass.
SPONSORED CONTENT:
For more information on the market, recent changes in the industry, or for a complimentary and confidential home market evaluation, please call 781-710-3993
by Bob Brown
More than 100 people attended a June 18 kickoff event for Wellesley’s strategic housing plan, a Town Meeting-approved effort to address the need for more housing options in town. (See Wellesley Media recording.)
The plan would succeed Wellesley’s housing production plan, released in 2018 to help the town achieve a 10% threshold of affordable housing stock that would fend off unfriendly 40B projects.
The strategic plan is being crafted against a backdrop of increased urgency across the town and state to address housing needs, as illustrated by the emergence of the MBTA Communities Plan and other efforts. Wellesley is well along toward meeting its MBTA Communities Plan requirements, and has also made updates to its inclusionary zoning bylaw and taken steps to encourage building of accessory dwelling units.
Despite such efforts, buying into Wellesley’s housing market keeps getting harder. Since 2018, the median price of single-family homes has risen 52% and for condos, the median price is up over 200%, according to a presentation shared at the meeting. The prices and availability of rentals are bleak too for those seeking a place to live here.
Consultancy Barrett Planning Group worked on the now expired housing production plan and is back for the strategic plan. Judy Barrett presided over the June 18 meeting at Wellesley High School’s cafeteria, attended by plenty of familiar faces from town government (some on the town’s Housing Task Force) as well as residents interested in the subject. Some attendees expressed concerns about what they see as the town’s efforts to overdo it on new housing, while others acknowledged a need to address housing needs of all types and at different price points.
Barrett shared a brief update on the plan, took some questions, then sent attendees off to complete an intricate sticker project that entailed sharing their thoughts on six main subjects at stations positioned around the room. Attendees could place stickers representing different housing types, for examples, on a map of the town to indicate where they thought such housing would be appropriate or desired. Other stations focused on issues such as barriers to housing, strategies, and what still works from earlier plans. For variety, sticky notes were also available for those looking to do some explaining.
A half hour into the exercise, posters were covered in stickers, and it will be up to the data crunchers to make sense of the results.
The community meeting was part of the first phase of three, all of which will include public participation. The goal is to present a final plan by year-end.
Next up will be an assessment of housing barriers.
A website for the planning process has been published where you can learn more, share feedback, and get updates on future meetings and developments.
by admin
by admin
Help shape the future of housing in Wellesley.
The Wellesley Housing Task Force and Barrett Planning Group will hold an in-person community meeting on Tuesday, June 18 from 6:30pm-8pm at Wellesley High School, 50 Rice Street.
The public, and especially residents, developers, business owners, and service providers are encouraged to attend. The meeting will include a presentation on the current state of housing in Wellesley and the opportunity for all participants to provide insight on a new Strategic Housing Plan for our community.
Wellesley’s existing Housing Production Plan was approved in 2018 and was intended to guide the Town for five years.
Despite meeting many of the recommendations in the 2018 plan, the housing market in Wellesley has evolved and Massachusetts has passed new regulations, such as the MBTA Communities Law, that impact housing.
As a result, the Town has determined it needs to develop new strategies to create the varied housing needed to support our community.
This meeting is part of a planned community engagement program to gather input and feedback as the Town develops its new Strategic Housing Plan.
The latest on Wellesley sustainability news:
Wellesley’s Municipal Light Plant, Wellesley’s Climate Action Committee, and Sustainable Wellesley are hosting the 5th annual Wellesley EV Test Drive and Showcase on Thursday, May 9, 4pm-7pm, at MassBay Community College parking lot, 50 Oakland St., Wellesley. Register here.
Rain date: Thursday, May 16, 4pm-7pm
TOPIC: Building more community housing AND protecting more open space
FORMAT: Panel discussion
DATE: Monday, May 13
LOCATION: Wellesley Free Library and online
TIME: 7pm-8pm
ORGANIZERS: Wellesley Conservation Land Trust, presented in partnership with the Wellesley Free Library, Building a Better Wellesley, and Sustainable Wellesley.
The objective of the panel is to provide a forum for ideas as to how pro-active collaboration between community housing proponents and land conservation advocates can lead to successful outcomes. To start the panel, three individuals—one each from a land trust, a housing interest group, and a planning perspective—will describe their experiences along the way to a successful collaborative project. Each will describe their specific project and lessons learned.
After the presentation of the examples, three local responders—one each from Wellesley’s housing, land trust, and planning communities—will respond to these examples. What lessons can be applied to pro-active planning for Wellesley’s community housing and land conservation needs?
Questions from the audience are welcomed. Register here for this hybrid event.
Take part in the Rules of the Ride event on Saturday, June 1, 10am-11:30am, Wellesley High School parking lot. The free event is open to students in grades 5 through 8.
The goal of his fun, smart cycling event is to create a mindset that bikes should be treated as vehicles. Participants will learn important bike safety skills and confidence so they can ride safely and legally to school and throughout Wellesley. The guided ride will take place along the Brook Path and streets.
Register in advance using the QR code.
Supporters of Rules of the Ride
The annual Wellesley Kitchen and Home Tour fundraiser put on by the Wellesley Hills Junior Women’s Club showcased seven amazing homes where guests were invited to visit the first floor and outside spaces last Saturday.
Architects, interior designers, contractors, landscape designers, and builders were on hand to rake in the compliments and answer questions specific to the homes. The creatives were easily identifiable as those wearing high-style footwear instead of the little blue booties the rest of us donned at the entrances.
The mix of houses included those recently built; historic homes, including one selected by the Wellesley Historic Commission for a prestigious Historical Preservation Award; and interior designer Erin Gates’ own home.
Funds raised from Kitchen and Home Tour ticket sales, along with the Club’s other events throughout the year, allowed Juniors to give $170k in grants and scholarships in 2023.
Tour-goers were strictly prohibited from taking pictures, and indeed, I was tattled on a couple of times for my rogue behavior to Juniors standing sentry. But it was all on the up-and-up—The Swellesley Report had received prior permission to capture the beauty.
Here’s what I saw when paying my calls at a couple of the homes:
The long driveway leading up to this 2019 Wellesley Farms Colonial gives visitors plenty of time to enjoy the bucolic setting. Landscape architect Matthew Cunningham kept his design plan natural with an emphasis on native shrubs and trees, and clumps of ferns that thrive in the dappled sunlight. What little grass there is on the 1.25-acre property shares space with clover and crabgrass. If a bare patch appears, grass seed is thrown down and told, “Good luck.” No green sod carpet treatment here. The small front-yard pond wouldn’t appreciate the fertilizer run-off.
The Juniors took a greener approach to the Tour this year. Gone were the hundreds of lawn signs that used to clutter the town ahead of the Tour. They weren’t needed as the tickets sold out faster than a Taylor Swift concert. Also, the co-chairs dispensed with balloons in front of the houses to signal their location. Ticket holders (and their GPS systems) were trusted to figure it out.
The four-floor structure built into a steep hill in 1876 has always looked like it had stories to tell. Held by one family for 50+ years before going on the market in 2022, the home was for over 100 years an owner-occupied inn/lodging house. The 8k sq.ft. building could easily have become another Wellesley teardown. But the new owners instead brought a creative spirit and plenty of attitude to what is now a quirky single-family, set on 2/3 acres.
First thing to know is that this house is pure fun. The homeowners are art collectors, but that doesn’t mean they’re above a matchbook collection displayed in a glass jar, or leaving the family silver to tarnish on the top shelf in the bar nook. They’re into high-low messaging. Original contemporary art shares visual space alongside a collection of old and well-worn books. A hand-painted mural on the dining room ceiling coexists with the whimsy of an acrylic mannequin, gazing out the window at the street scene, dressed only in a fur coat. “I always jump when I see her,” a Club member whispered.
Interested in joining the WHJWC? Learn more about the Club here.
by Bob Brown
The town of Wellesley will make its newest push to encourage homeowners to go the heat pump route for heating and cooling at a webinar on Thursday, March 21 at 7pm. Registration is open for the event, co-sp0nsored by the Town of Wellesley’s Climate Action Committee, Municipal Light Plant, Health Department, and by Sustainable Wellesley.
Air source heat pumps have now had a few years to prove their worth as an efficient alternative to heating and cooling systems reliant on fossil fuels, and the webinar will include first-hand experiences of those that have made the move. Reducing carbon emissions from residential buildings is a big part of Wellesley’s efforts to hit net-zero goals under its Climate Action Plan.
This table supplied by Marybeth Martello, Wellesley’s Sustainability Director, shows the boom in heat pump installations in town, fueled to a great degree by adoption at multifamily buildings.
Air Source Heat Pump | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
Residential | 27 | 48 | 58 | 398 |
Comm/Non-profit | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 |
Ground Source Heat Pump (Geothermal) | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
Residential | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Comm/Non-profit | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
The webinar will also go over government financial incentives to install heat pumps, and provide information on Wellesley’s new energy coach program. Among the speakers will be a heat pump expert from Abode, a non-profit that partners with Wellesley’s MLP.
Sustainability Director Martello says air source, air-to-water, and ground source heat pumps, all of which are feasible with new incentives, will be covered at the webinar.