Wellesley's  Approach and Compliance Model

In order to determine whether an MBTA Community is in compliance with the new law, the State has created a compliance model document. Cities and Towns can enter local zoning information into the model to establish, among other components, an estimate of how many units per acre their proposed zoning would generate and determine whether units are within a 0.5 mile radius to a transit stop. 

Note: compliance with the law does not require the total number of units needed be built. It, instead, requires zoning to be in place to allow the number to be built as-of-right should a builder or developer have interest.

Wellesley has long allowed a density of up to 17 units per acre (meeting the MBTA mandate) in a number of zoning districts, including Business, Business A, Industrial, Industrial A, Lower Falls Village Commercial District, and the Wellesley Square Commercial District, but always a required a special permit for such housing to be built. To achieve compliance with the by-right provisions of the bylaw, the Town amended the permitting structure by creating a new definition “MBTA Community Project” and removed the Special Permit provision these projects. The focus of Wellesley’s approach was the half-mile area around the town’s MBTA Commuter Rail Stations as well as the Wellesley Office Park Smart Growth Overlay District on Williams Street (which is within half a mile of the Waban MBTA Station in Newton).

Among the amendments to the Zoning Bylaw adopted by Town Meeting via a multi-phase approach include:

• Rezone the Wellesley Office Park Smart Growth Overlay District to allow a capacity of 850 units.
• Created a new definition for an MBTA Community Project, which is defined as a construction project within the Wellesley Square Commercial District, Business, Business A, Industrial, and Industrial A Districts that allows multi-family housing as-of-right with a minimum gross density of 15 units per acre, has no age restrictions, is located within a half-mile of an MBTA Station and is exempt from the Project of Significant Impact (PSI) Special Permit. Properties subject to the MBTA Community Projects can be found on this map.
• Modified the definition of Major Construction Project to include MBTA Community Projects.
• Modified the Inclusionary Zoning Bylaw to include MBTA Community Projects.
• Removed the cumulative height cap for the Wellesley Office Park Smart Growth Overlay District to allow housing on all parcels. The individual building 85 foot height limit remains intact.
• Modified the Bylaw to note that MBTA Community Projects must go through the Site Plan Review process, but that Site Plan Review is not a Special Permit.

As a result of these zoning amendments, the Wellesley Square/Linden Street area is zoned for 527 units, the Wellesley Hills area is zoned for 251 units, and the Wellesley Office Park Smart Growth Overlay (Chapter 40R) District is zoned for 850 units. In total, these three areas account for 1,628 units and meet the requirements set by the Commonwealth. See Wellesley's Compliance Model Summary here. A map of parcels subject to the MBTA Community Law can be found here.