Wellesley freshened up its zoning map in December, and it’s a good idea to take a peek at it just so that you’re aware of the rules for you and your surrounding area. You don’t want to be surprised when that pool hall opens next door.

Copies of this map, along with the zoning bylaws, are also available through the Town Clerk’s office. Educational, parks/recreation and large-scale solar districts have been fleshed out in the latest changes. You can also read rules applying to everything from antennas to neon signs to retaining walls.

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The zoning map and bylaws can give you a sense for where possible growth could occur in town, and make for complementary reading alongside Wellesley’s Housing Production Plan.

One thing we noticed didn’t make it into the zoning map or bylaws: The No B.S. Zone over at the Weston Road Community Gardens.

 

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MORE: And the first Wellesley 40B sweepstakes winner is…

The developers of proposed 40B projects at 148 Weston Road (near the community gardens) and Delanson Circle (off Linden Street) aired non-40B alternatives that would greatly reduce the size of the buildings and number of units. The nearly 30 affordable units included in the original plans to gain the developers possible zoning breaks under the state’s 40B statute would largely go away under the revised scheme for condos to be offered at market rate (i.e., $$$) prices. This would allow developers to still make a profit while providing far fewer 1-, 2- or 3-bedroom units overall.

The plans, making their way through state and town approval processes since 2017, have been criticized by residents and town officials for being too dense for the existing neighborhoods. Concerns include worsening traffic,  pedestrian safety and more. Developers have sought to take advantage of Wellesley’s relatively small affordable housing stock under 40B rules in light of many surrounding communities already having safeguards against unfriendly developments in place, and the town has taken steps over the past year or so to gain more control, such as by creating a housing production plan.

Town officials and neighbors of the proposed 148 Weston Road and Delanson Circle projects have applauded efforts by the developers to drastically revise their projects, though would still like to see smaller buildings and fewer or smaller units. The developers say they have begun receiving OKs from fire and other officials on their original plans, but still are open to revised projects. The Board of Selectmen set in motion on Monday the crafting of possible placeholders on the warrant (regarding amendments to zoning bylaws) to be discussed at this coming spring’s Town Meeting.

“I don’t believe we have the option of avoiding anything” happening at the locations, said Board of Selectmen Chair Jack Morgan. Getting placeholders in place on the warrant will put pressure on the town and developers to move things forward, he said.

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For the Wellesley Crossing project on Delanson Circle, the developer’s proposed changes would include slashing the number of units from 90 to 42 and the number of parking spaces from 132 to 76. Setback space would double and the overall building volume would decrease by 25%. The developers have also snapped up a couple of properties on bordering Hollis Street, and they would used for affordable units as part of the complex. The average size of units under the condo plan would be closer to 1,700-1,800 sq. ft., about double the

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Developers are pitching a new 40B project on 2 and 3 Burke Lane, which is located near Cedar Street and Rte. 9, behind the Wok restaurant.

The project leaders are seeking to gain site eligibility from the quasi-public MassHousing organization, a precursor to going for a comprehensive permit from the Wellesley Zoning Board of Appeals.

The developers will look to build a mixed-income apartment complex consisting of 16 units, 4 of them affordable as required under the 40B statute that can give developers leniency on zoning rules. Fifteen units will be newly created in a 2.5 story walk-up building sized at 17K-plus square feet. An existing 1880s single-family home will be preserved as a market rate three-bedroom apartment, and an existing  accessory unit will be converted to a management office. Amenities at the Cedar Place Apartments would include a fire pit and picnic area. The developers claim the property will be nicely obscured from abutters via existing trees.

The application for site eligibility was filed with MassHousing at the end of November. If all goes as expected for the developer, it will be meeting with the ZBA by May. That could be optimistic given how long some of the existing 40B plans have dragged out over the past couple of years in Wellesley, but then again, maybe we’ve got this process down.

Wellesley has attempted to gain more control over housing development through the creation of a housing production plan, which was approved recently by the state.

A 40B project on Great Plain Avenue recently secured the town’s blessing, and several other projects are weaving their way through the approval process, with the developers of the 148 Weston Road and Delanson Circle projects earlier this week laying out new non-40B options before the Board of Selectmen.