A Strategic Housing Plan identifies new policies and strategies to create housing options for individuals and families of all socioeconomic levels. It is similar to a Chapter 40B Housing Production Plan, which Wellesley last completed in 2018. However, a Strategic Housing Plan looks beyond the 10% affordable housing goal under Chapter 40B to larger, systemic barriers to housing stability, fair housing, social equity, and having access to decent, affordable housing as a matter of choice, not chance.

Since completing the 2018 Housing Production Plan, Wellesley has successfully met the 10% minimum under Chapter 40B. Even with this success, Wellesley does not have many options for housing to serve a broad range of household types and income levels. Adopting multifamily incentive zoning at the Wellesley Office Park paved the way for “The Nines,” a luxury multifamily development that includes affordable apartments, and Wellesley has rezoned a few other locations for smaller multifamily residences. Compared with the overall composition of Wellesley’s housing market, however, these changes are limited and not really designed to meet the needs of a broader range of incomes.

A Strategic Housing Plan will identify potential limitations and best strategies for developing diverse housing that fits in a variety of settings, from Wellesley Square or Wellesley Hills to Linden Street, or the town’s older suburban neighborhoods, the colleges, or the major roadway corridors running through town.

The Strategic Housing Plan process began with a public engagement process that includes community surveying, interviews, and forums. There will be a review of market analytics and development of a barriers assessment, during which community engagement will continue. After preliminary presentations to the Wellesley Select Board and Planning Board, a Draft Plan will be submitted for public comment.

Initial research and public engagement begins in May 2024, with an anticipated finish date in December 2024. Please see the Key Dates and Timeline sections for more detailed information on public engagement events.

Cottage housing is receiving increased attention as a way to address the needs of empty-nesters, seniors, and other smaller households. Cottage housing allows for typically 2-4 detached units to be built on a single site. Cottages are smaller units by design, and examples have a maximum floor area of about 1265 square feet. Cottages cluster around shared open space, blending components of single and multi-family building design.

General considerations

Entitlement - provisioning for cottage-style development in single family neighborhoods through conditional use permits allows for developers to confidently pursue potential plans while maintaining town authority to accept or deny certain aspects of the plan.

Making cottage development pay - Suitable for the infill of single family zones rather than occupying land in multi-family zones based on the price of land. Cottage ordinances should be designed so as to encourage development of multiple smaller units on one parcel rather than continuing single family unit development.

Redefining density - While the units per acre of cottage parcels will be higher than the surrounding single family parcels, reimaging density in terms of population, where cottage style developments will likely have the saem of fewer [people than the single family home suitable for the same site, will have similar impacts on cars and traffic than a single family home with residents of blended ages.

Limitations - Cottage developments are not often suitable for families with children, and the size limitations influence the ideal residences of cottage developments. Smaller size limits eliminate couples and small families, multiple-floor cottages limits accessibility. Finally, cottages are not necessarily inexpensive to build.

More resources:

Hamilton, MA Cottage house ordinance

The Town of Wellesley currently has a Design Guideline handbook, which is not part of the zoning bylaw and offer existing conditions of different neighborhoods and instructions on how to maintain neighborhood charcter.

Design Standards can be incorporated into the zoning bylaw and ensures that key features of local buildings are established at a policy level.

Resources:

The City of Beverly, MA published Design Standards in 2022 that provide visual standards for the development in the downtown area.

Wellesley must have zoning for 1,392 units, of which 90% of those units must be located within a ½ mile of the transit area. Wellesley’s minimum land area for zoning must also equate to 50 acres.

Proposals to meet compliance were accepted at 2024 Town Meeting:

1. Create a new definition for MBTA Communities in the Zoning Bylaw and define key districts which would be implicated
2. Modify definition of Major Construction project to include a trigger of projects that meet the definition of MBTA Communities
3. Modify the trigger for Inclusionary Zoning to add MBTA Community projects

Suggested steps include expanding RIO District, with distinction of as-of-right and special permit projects based on RIO site location.

• Waterstone at Wellesley as Special Permit
• 148 Weston Rd, Delanson, etc. as of right

Below zoning districts allows for 17 units per acre, meeting density requirements:

• Williams Street 40R District at Wellesley Office Park
• Wellesley Square Commercial
• Wellesley Hills
• Wellesley Farms
• Linden Square
• Lower Falls Village/Walnut St Comm District
• Cedar/Route 9

Construction and demolitions waste accounts for about 40% of the US waste steam - amounting to 600 million tons of construction and demolition debris across the country in 2018. The US Green Building Council estimates 40% of global use of raw materials goes to constructing buildings, equating to about 3 billion tons of resources.

Simply put, the greenest building is one that is already built.

Considerations

Community identity - Reusing historic single family homes offsets materials and energy consumption and makes progress towards conserving the character of Wellesley. Initial surveys and interviews suggests that the cornerstone of the allure of Wellelsey is its town feel, comprised in no small part by the design of the homes that have been a part of its single family neighborhoods for generations.

Cost - Evaluating a historic building for its performance of the building envelope and energy systems may prompt efficiency and structural improvements that cost a lot of money. The improvements to historic homes energy systems to be compatible with single or multi unit needs also fall in line with Wellesley's Climate Action plan, where building-focused targets are based on the electrification of residential buildings.

More resources:

Hamilton, MA Cottage house ordinance

Massachussetts' Executive Office of Elder Affairs released its most recent Age Friendly Action Plan in 2019. The plan defines tangible and measurable goals while recognizing that becoming age-friendly is a fluid process and ongoing journey that requires direction from community members and partners. It emphasizes private-public collaborations to increase affordable housing options for older adults, including service enriched housing, assisted living, in-home services, and other amenities.

The Wellesley Council on Aging could develop strategies and goals for how age-informed housing can be developed in town.

The most recent version of Wellesley's Affordable Housing Policy was amended in 1997, establishing that "Wellesley is an outstandingly attractive residential community, enriched by the diversity of its residents. Wellesley seeks to maintain and enhance its present character by preserving a mix of housing stock that includes low income, moderate income and market rate housing."

Updating the Affordable Housing Policy would require an evaluation of the current criteria Wellesley holds for the development of affordable housing to determine if it is still consistent with the values and goals of Wellesley in 2024. The existing criteria includes:

1. The predominantly single-family residential character of Wellesley shall be preserved.

2. Urban-scale projects are to be avoided.

3. Preferences shall be given to projects where 100% of the units satisfy Town housing goals, however, the Town recognized the potential necessity of including mixed income housing in order to ensure a development's overall economic viability.

4. Any affordable housing shall, to the maximum extent possible, remain affordable in perpetuity.

5. Insofar as it is legal, Wellesley residents shall be given priority in the marketing of affordable housing units.

6. Preservation of open space and protection of natural resources shall be important considerations in the Town's land use planning.

7. Development of affordable housing should not overburden existing utility systems or other public facilities that serve the Town, including services, streets, the public water supply and sewers to a greater extent than would any other development.

8. Wellesley's Fair Housing Policy shall be respected.

More information can be found at the Wellesley Housing Development Corporation's page.

From the Town of Wellesley site, "Large House Review was adopted by the Town to provide pre-construction and post-construction review of single family dwellings which meet the applicability standards set forth in Section 5.9 of the Zoning Bylaw."

As community input has revealed concern for the mansionization of the more affordable starter homes in town, a potential strategy to evaluate the efficacy of Large House Review in its mission could be deployed.

To preserve historic housing stock in Wellesley, the Town has adopted a Demolition Review Bylaw that requires the application for the demolition or envelopment of more than 50% of an eligible building to be reviewed by the Historical Commission. If the Historical Commission determines that the eligible building should be preferably preserved, a 12-month period demolition delay is applied.

More information can be found on the Town's page about Large House Review.

Strategies that target the development of housing options for mid-range income levels, as determined by the Area Median Income (AMI), help provide rental and ownership options for households that, while not in the lowest income level, still cannot afford market-rate housing in Wellesley.

"Missing middle" housing types can address the housing preferences for those households, prioritizing affordability and amenities like walkability and connectivity.

Learn more about the missing middle through the Opticos Design site.

There are several state, regional, and municipal programs that provide mortgage financing for first-time homeowners, making it easier for households to buy a home. While Wellesley does not have a town-based program, local and regional options to promote household-based homeownership attract neighbors rather than developers to town.

Learn more about existing federal, state, and regional options for Wellesley residents, as well as examples of municipal programs, here.

From the Massachusetts Housing Partnership, a local housing trust "allows municipalities to collect funds for affordable housing, segregate them out of the general municipal budget into a trust fund, and use the funds for local initiatives to create and preserve affordable housing."

Creating a housing trust requires the Town designating certain funds to the trust and appointing a Board of Trustees to oversee its use. While Wellesley does have a Housing Development Corporation that oversees affordable housing goals of the Town, restructuring as a Trust shifts the ultimate responisbility of the organization from the financial wellbeing of its members and to the wellbeing of the beneficiaries.