Town Meeting said negotiate. Wellesley sued.
Town Meeting said negotiate. Wellesley sued.
Surprise! An extra edition!
There's news on the MassBay project in Wellesley and we know plenty of you are watching it closely.
The full Charles River Regional Chamber newsletter returns tomorrow.
32 communities say yes. Then there's Wellesley.
Thirty-two communities appear to be cooperating with the Healey-Driscoll administration on an effort to build desperately needed housing on underutilized state-owned property.
Overall, the State Land for Homes initiative has advanced plans for more than 5,600 places people can call home across nearly 700 acres, the state reports.
This week, Wellesley became the only one of the 33 currently in the program to sue, challenging the state's authority to build housing under the 2024 Affordable Homes Act.
In doing so, the town also seems to be defying Town Meeting’s wishes.
By now, you know the framework: The state wants to build up to 180 homes on a five-acre MassBay parking lot at 40 Oakland St. while permanently preserving about 40 acres of gorgeous woods. Sale proceeds would be earmarked for campus upgrades.
Last month, 57% of Town Meeting members told the Select Board in a non-binding resolution that they wanted the town to negotiate with the state.
But the Select Board sided with the 36% who wanted to sue the state right away
They’re suing to protect a student parking lot?
Among the claims in the lawsuit, Wellesley says the state can't declare the parking lot surplus property because it is "currently in use" by the college.
However, MassBay has publicly said it can accommodate parking demand elsewhere on campus and has noted that while enrollment is up, remote learning is reducing parking demand.
In a statement, the Select Board said it wanted to "engage constructively" with the state to ensure the development would be "thoughtful, balanced, lawful, and consistent with the town's planning objectives."
"The board would have preferred to continue discussions … and refrain from filing legal action at this time," it said, "but overtures for compromise, aligned with these objectives, have neither been answered nor reciprocated."
The statement also said the board "wishes to emphasize that Wellesley has a strong and well-established record of supporting housing production and affordability."
The Globe, however, reports otherwise.
"While there have been a few notable apartment projects built in the town in recent years, Wellesley has historically built very few multifamily homes, adding fewer than 100 units between 2010 and 2020," writes Andrew Brinker.
(Perhaps a letter like this one best explains the Select Board’s reasoning.)
Meanwhile, the state says it's been “working extensively with Wellesley to find a path forward.”
Just as it apparently has in 32 other communities.
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President & CEO
Charles River Regional Chamber
617.244.1688