Search Results for: 40B

And the first Wellesley 40B sweepstakes winner is… Fieldstone Way

November 3, 2018 by Bob Brown 3 Comments

The Wellesley Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) has given its unanimous blessing — with conditions — to Wellesley Residential LLC, which plans to build a 44-unit residential condo complex at 135 Great Plain Ave. under the state’s 40B statute that allows zoning flexibility for developers in exchange for a portion of their units being offered at relatively affordable prices. This is the first of the slew of 40B projects that emerged last year in Wellesley to get its Comprehensive Permit okayed by the town.

“I would say that of the 4 or 5 40B projects that I’m familiar with just for the last year or so, this one in my view is the least impactful on neighbors of any of them by far,” said the ZBA’s Walter Adams at meeting this week, while addressing comments of an abutter who is unhappy with the project.

The developer originally planned to plunk 12 multi-million dollar single-family homes onto the 12 acres on Rte. 135 nearby the Wellesley Recycling & Disposal Facility — until it determined that wouldn’t generate a big enough payout. It then hatched Plan B (or maybe a plan further down the alphabet…), dubbed Fieldstone Way, marketed as an answer to the town of Wellesley’s true housing prayers in that it will be a haven for down-sizers as well as those seeking affordable housing, such as municipal workers. While ZBA members emphasized that they “haven’t rolled over” during the Fieldstone Way approval process, the developer did get some of its prayers answered in the form of bylaw waivers related to trees, front yard size and structure height.

135 Great Plain Ave. Wellesley 40B — 135 Great Plain Ave., entryway, pre-condos

Wellesley Residential is certainly in better shape than the other 40B developers targeting Wellesley at this point. A handful of such proposals continue to slog their way through the approval process, with the Stearns Road and 680 Worcester St., projects getting their latest hearings earlier this week, and those at 148 Weston Road and Delanson Circle awaiting their next meetings in mid-November and early December, respectively.

As Fieldstone Way’s backers well know, the process is involved (and murky, according to neighbors). The project’s road has included the site eligibility approval process, and a seemingly endless series of meetings, studies and reports on topics of concern to the town and neighbors involving everything from traffic to wetlands to storm water management. And this project remains an undone deal.

Wellesley Planning Director Michael Zehner said that once the ZBA’s decision on the Comprehensive Permit is filed with the Town Clerk, there is a 20-day appeal period before the decision can be recorded at the Registry of Deeds. Then the developer will need to adhere to the more than 6 dozen conditions stuffed into the decision document.

Fieldstone-Way-Site-Plan- — Northland’s vision of how Fieldstone Way might look (as of August)

We’ve reached out to Wellesley Residential LLC via Northland Residential (these projects are almost always handled through a layer of LLCs for reasons beyond my business knowledge) to get a sense of when they hope to begin construction and even get people moved into its 1-to-3 bedroom condos, understanding that such project timelines can be slippery. We haven’t seen any mention of possible pricing for the condos yet.

Meanwhile, the torrent of 40B proposals in Wellesley has slowed to a trickle, and the state’s recent approval of Wellesley’s Housing Production Plan should keep it that way. The plan shows that the town is taking a thoughtful approach to getting at least 10% of its housing stock to the affordable level, as defined in the 40B rules.

For its part, Fieldstone Way will contribute 11 affordable units to the mix.

Fieldstone Way, Wellesley — This gives you a sense of how Fieldstone Way is situated among existing neighbors

MORE: Wellesley’s affordable housing challenge

Wellesley 40B housing development action about to heat up again

August 22, 2018 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

At least publicly, the 40B scene in Wellesley has been much quieter than last summer. But a rapid fire series of meetings next month will bring 40B developments aimed at boosting the town’s affordable housing stock and developers’ bank accounts back to the forefront.

Of course this time around, the 40B developments are being discussed while a housing production plan designed to give the town more say over how affordable and other housing is fast moving toward completion. The public is invited to weigh in now, and the Board of Selectmen and Board of Planning hope to formalize the plan by the end of next month.

As for the 40B projects that have been proposed, here’s the status of all pending 40B Comprehensive Permit Applications being considered by the Zoning Board of Appeals:

16 Stearns Road and 680 Worcester Street:
- Two applications were recently received for these projects.
- The public hearings for these applications are scheduled to be opened at the ZBA meeting on Thursday, September 6 at 7pm in the Juliani Room in Town Hall. Deliberations on these applications are not expected at this meeting. Rather, the hearings would be continued to a future to-be-determined date.
- Materials are currently posted on the ZBA web page, and will be added soon to the 40B page.

148 Weston Road:
- The public hearing on this application will be reopened at the ZBA meeting on Tuesday, September 11 at 7pm in the Great Hall in Town Hall. A full discussion, deliberations, and opportunity for public comments is expected at this meeting.
- 148 Weston Rd. site as seen from aqueduct

135 Great Plain Avenue
- The public hearing on this application will be reopened at the ZBA meeting on Thursday, September 13 at 7pm in the Juliani Room in Town Hall. A full discussion, deliberations, and opportunity for public comments is expected at this meeting.

Delanson Circle:

- The public hearing on this application will be reopened at the ZBA meeting on Thursday, September 13 at 7pm in the Juliani Room in Town Hall. Given other agenda items, approximately 30 minutes is expected to be dedicated to this application; however, discussion, deliberations, and opportunity for public comments is expected, too.

Planning Director Michael Zehner says that one other possible 40B, at 136 Worcester St., that’s pending project eligibility.

MORE: A look back at Wellesley’s early 40B (Anti-snob Zoning Act) disputes

Wellesley’s Affordable Housing Challenge video)

Developers secretly eyeing more Wellesley 40Bs?

April 1, 2018 by Bob Brown 1 Comment

(Editor’s note 4/2/18: OK, April Fools’ Day is now over)

Having proposed a slew of 40B projects in Wellesley over the past year that have been deemed “unfriendly” by some residents and town officials worried about the impact on traffic and neighborhood character, developers reportedly continue to explore possible sites where they can exploit the town’s shortage of affordable housing stock before a housing production plan kicks in.

One fresh opportunity could be the now unoccupied base for the giant and historic Babson Globe, which Babson College is relocating to a new showcase park in 2019. There’s also talk of the 25-ton Globe itself being an apartment building opportunity.

Former home of Babson Globe, Coleman — Former base for the Babson Globe behind Coleman Hall at Babson College

“We’d start at the South Pole and work our way up,” said one developer who asked not to be named, pending any formal proposal. “Every Antarctica Apartment would also come with 1 complimentary parka per tenant.”

Temporary home of Babson Globe, Trim parking lot, March 2018 — New temporary home for the Babson Globe — a parking lot

Given that the base for the Babson Globe once held… the entire Globe, developers say they should not have any issues getting approved by one of the state’s quasi-public housing outfits for a measly 200 units, easily reduced to 195 if when the town pushes back.

Greener Pastures

The Wellesley College Botanic Gardens, temporarily closed while the school reimagines them through its Global Flora Project, is also seen as fertile ground by 40B developers chastised for the negative environmental impact some of their proposals could have. One possible complex, tentatively dubbed Wellesley Green-er, would provide a naturally lush environment for empty nesters.

Wellesley daffodils, March 2016 — Wellesley College greenhouse

“As longtime Wellesley residents progress into the falls and winters of their lives, our condos would offer virtual spring and summer living,” according to preliminary marketing material.

Storefront Solution

Chances are that the colleges are not going to go for developers’ pitches, but it could be a different story with property owners whose storefronts across town have sat empty for months. These centrally-located sites are tempting 40B-hungry developers.

“At least no one would complain about us causing traffic problems there,” one developer said. “Our team conducted extensive studies over several summer weekends and we found traffic flow in downtown Wellesley to be quite light.”

Former Talbots location, Wellesley Square

For more about where developers are contemplating 40B projects, see here.

A look back at Wellesley’s early 40B (Anti-snob Zoning Act) disputes

February 27, 2018 by Bob Brown 2 Comments

Ardemore Apartments Wellesley — Ardemore Apartments on Cedar Street in Wellesley

40B housing developments are nothing new in Wellesley. While a new generation of Wellesley residents is coming up to speed on the Massachusetts 40B law in light of a slew of proposed housing developments here since last year, the town has been dealing with 40Bs since the 1970s, not long after the so-called anti-snob zoning statute went into effect to push communities to increase their affordable housing units to at least 10% of overall stock.

About 10 years ago the town tussled with developer Michael Connolly over a 5-condo unit at 65 Washington St., as Connolly looked to stretch the 40B rules as far as they could go.

But the first big 40B battles in Wellesley actually involved the 5-story brick building on Cedar Street near Walnut Street known as the Ardemore Apartments (also often referred to as Ardmore — no “e” in the middle). In the 1980s, Wellesley was only about halfway to the 10% affordable housing stock goal, and today the town’s percentage hovers in mid-6% territory.

The 36-unit apartment building on Cedar Street opened in 1986 with a mix of 1-, 2- and 3-bedroom apartments, half affordable and half market rate, and according to a Townsman story at the time, about twice as many applications were filed by prospective tenants as there were apartments. Then-Gov. Michael Dukakis was invited to attend the groundbreaking, though I’ve found no indication he went.

That celebration of the new building was a long time in coming, with developer Cedar Associates applying for a permit in 1977 to erect a 48-unit complex. As is often the case with such projects, this developer sought approval for more units (48) than it wound up getting (36). All part of the negotiating game.

This game went beyond the town of Wellesley. A couple of legal cases involving this complex, currently assessed at $8.2M, went all the way to the state’s Supreme Judicial Court.

In one case, Wellesley’s Zoning Board of Appeals denied Ardemore’s 40B comprehensive permit, but the developer appealed to the Housing Appeals Committee (HAC), which overruled the ZBA. On further appeal, the SJC in 1982 agreed with the HAC and against the ZBA. The court declared that “the Legislature never intended that a proposed development be exclusively reserved for low and moderate income families to qualify as low and moderate income housing.”

In the other case, also involving Ardemore in 2002, the SJC agreed with Wellesley that where a 40B financing arrangement had a limit on the length of time that the apartments were to remain affordable, the ZBA comprehensive permit contained no such limitation. So to this day, all 36 units at Ardemore remain on Wellesley’s subsidized housing inventory according to Wellesley Planning Director Michael Zehner, and that’s a key count that contributes to the percentage of the town’s housing stock that’s deemed affordable.

Wellesley is currently working on a Housing Production Plan that aims to get the town’s affordable housing stock up to at least 10% — and to shield Wellesley from what it sees as unfriendly 40B proposals that don’t take scale, neighborhood character and other factors into account.

Wellesley plays some 40B defense with properties near Hardy School

February 21, 2018 by Bob Brown 6 Comments

40B 818-822 wellesley Rte. 9

In Wellesley’s latest effort to take more control of development in town, the Board of Selectmen on Tuesday said it’s exploring the possibility of buying three properties on Rte. 9 East that are adjacent to Hardy Elementary School.

Purchasing the properties at 818, 822 and 826 Worcester St., would both enable the town to play some defense against a proposed 40B project at two of those properties and also open the possibility for municipal uses for the land. Wellesley is becoming increasingly proactive about land development in light of a slew of 40B proposals launched over the past year designed to exploit the town’s shortage of affordable housing stock. Among other things, Wellesley has a Housing Production Plan in the works.

The town is cryptic about what possible municipal uses of 818-822-826 Worcester St., might be, but for those holding out hope that the Hardy school will not be done away with under the much discussed Hardy-Hunnewell-Upham plan, such a land grab holds great promise. The Board of Selectmen and School Committee will seek funding at a Special Town Meeting this spring to conduct further analysis of the Hardy and Upham Elementary School sites as the town plots its educational future.

“The Board [with the School Committee’s backing] believes that the purchase of these properties will substantially improve the long-term usefulness of the site to the Town by providing for a means of access and egress directly from Route 9 as well as adding over an acre of land. We are currently in discussions with the owners of these parcels and look forward to providing an update to the community as soon as we are able to,” according to a statement issued by the Board.

What’s murky here is that a developer says he already has a purchase and sale agreement in place with the owners of 818 and 822 Worcester St., and has aired plans to use the properties to construct a 4-story, 28-unit 40B condo complex. The developer’s lawyer spoke briefly at Tuesday’s Selectmen’s meeting to share his client’s objection to the town’s intentions, especially in light of there not being a solid plan for Hardy’s future.

An additional threat by the town to possibly take the properties by eminent domain, if a valuation on the properties can’t be agreed upon, no doubt has rubbed the developer the wrong way. This same developer has already had challenges with plans for a couple of 40B proposals near the Sprague Elementary School.

The town is negotiating separately with 826 Worcester St.’s owner.

Wellesley’s Great Plain Avenue 40B condo plan takes step forward

February 10, 2018 by Bob Brown 1 Comment

135 Great Plain Ave. Wellesley 40B

The Concord, Mass., developer that last year ditched a plan to build big single-family homes at 135 Great Plain Ave., in favor of a 44-unit condo complex has received a key blessing for its proposal. The quasi-public MassHousing outfit, which both vets and finances affordable housing projects, has granted developer Northland Residential site eligibility approval for its location down the road from the Wellesley dump.

Northland is smacking its lips over what it describes as a robust condo market that’s seen the likes of the Belclare complex across from Church Square fetching an average of $2M for its units in recent years. It’s hoping empty nesters will flock to the development.

The Great Plain project, which would include 11 affordable units, is being proposed as a 40B plan that could give the developer leniency on the zoning front. The developer now has a couple of years to wade through a gauntlet of town approvals. All this will take place against a backdrop of Wellesley putting a Housing Production Plan in place designed to give it more control over where affordable housing gets built in light of the onslaught of 40B proposals.

The town has already had plenty to say about the Great Plain Avenue plan. It has aired concerns about the development’s potential impact on everything from traffic to open space to safety to stormwater management. Oh, and the town thinks the project will basically look unattractive, too, if it goes through as planned.

MassHousing notes in its eligibility letter: “The Municipality expressed concern that the proposed conceptual site plan lacks creativity, is too regimented, and that it does not provide variation in the height or siting of structures.”

Neighbors have also voiced their concerns about the project, citing many of the same issues the town has raised.

Neighbors have banded together in Wellesley to express their support for well-planned affordable housing but have argued against squeezing such developments into areas where they will be disruptive (see Wellesley’s Affordable Housing Challenge).

The 135 Great Plain Ave., site eligibility approval follows those for other proposed Wellesley 40B projects, including at 148 Weston Rd. and Delanson Circle.

The next step is for Northland to seek a comprehensive permit via the Zoning Board of Appeals.

Update: Housing Production Plan — Wellesley taking 40B control

February 8, 2018 by Deborah Brown Leave a Comment

In September 2017 Wellesley, through the Board of Selectmen, Planning Board, and Housing Development Corp., issued a request for proposals (RFP) to craft a Housing Production Plan (HPP) that would give the town more control over its housing development destiny. Last summer’s influx of 40B proposals for developments that include affordable housing led residents whose neighborhoods are being targeted by 40B developers to pressure the town to move swiftly on this effort.

How to 40B, how not to 40B, that is the question

The Town set a deadline of Oct. 13, 2017 for RFPs, with the goal of making a decision on a proposal within 90 days of that deadline. Although things are not moving that quickly, the Town has awarded the contract to Barrett Planning Group, LLC to prepare the HPP. In addition, JM Goldson Community Preservation and Planning will work closely on the project as sub-contractors to Barrett.

According to Wellesley Planning Director Michael Zehner, “The contract with Barrett Planning Group, LLC is for $35,000. The funds for this project are made up of $15,000 from the Planning Board/Department Operating Budget (funds for “Other Professional Services”) and $20,000 from the Housing Development Corporation’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund.”

As sub-contractors, JM Goldson will be paid by the lead on the project, Barrett Planning Group. The Town’s contract is solely with Barrett.

Those who fail to plan, plan to fail

The Town will hold three public meetings on the key components of the plan: Needs Assessment; Housing Plan Goals; and Strategies and Implementation. During the meetings, representatives from Barrett and will be there to lead the meetings and answer questions. “For the Plan to be successful we need residents to involve themselves in the development of the Plan. At a minimum we would hope that people would plan to attend one or more of the Workshops being held in March, May, and June,” Zehner said.

The meetings will be held on the following dates and locations:

Tuesday, March 13, 7pm, Sprague School gym

Thursday, May 3, 7pm, Sprague School gym

Tuesday, June 12, 7pm, WHS cafeteria

It’s all about follow-through

As far as timing goes, the Town’s tentative schedule anticipates a joint meeting of the Planning Board and Board of Selectmen on September 10 to consider adoption of the HPP. That’s not too far off the originally targeted time frame of mid-2018. Once the HPP is in place, the Town expects to begin implementation of the recommendations to effect the development of more affordable housing within the Town. Wellesley seeks to get on track to having at least 10% of its housing stock deemed affordable, so that it can defend against hostile 40B proposals.