Documentation
Parking Study
Read the Parking Demand Analysis for the Student parking lot prepared for the State.
The 650-space student parking lot is full most days, but has been added to the State's Surplus Land list.
According to the Parking Study conducted for DCAMM, it is estimated that between 130-135 spaces for student parking will still be needed on the lot after housing is built, to be shared with 290 parking spaces needed for the new residents.
It's unclear where the balance of the 370 student cars will be parked. Click here to see additional photos of parking and traffic.
Conservation Evaluation Map
This is a State map entitled Article 97 Natural Resource Site Evaluation showing the MassBay Forest at 40 Oakland Street and adjacent Centennial Reservation. The dark green land throughout Centennial Reservation and the MassBay Forest is identified as Prime Forest Land. The pink lines are Hiking Wilderness Trails with 10 meter buffer. The olive green is identified as Farm Land. The two parcels are indistinguishable from each other, but Centennial Reservation is protected under Article 97, and we are seeking the same protection for this 40 acres.
Click on the map to enlarge.
Select Board Concerns
The Wellesley Select Board sent a letter to the Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance on january 9, 2026, asking 37 broad questions about the project. They are awaiting a response. Click here to read the letter.
Wellesley Water Supply Protection District
The thin black diagonal lines indicate the Town’s Water Supply Protection District.
The forest at 40 Oakland Street sits within a Water Supply Protection District (WSPD) containing six of the town’s ten drinking-water wellheads. Could a development this large negatively impact wetlands, groundwater recharge, and long-term water quality?
The purpose of a WSPD is intended to protect the public health, safety, and welfare by preventing contamination of and preserving the quantity of ground and surface water which provides existing or potential water supply for the town's residents,
institutions, and businesses.
This land is an important natural resource for our town that provides water capture and storage, carbon sequestration, wildlife habitat, stormwater management, natural water filtration, climate mitigation, and natural cooling.
Wetlands Concerns
The Wetlands Buffer Zones are outlined in yellow at the rear of MassBay College’s parking lot on the map above.
The Affordable Homes Act, under which the 40-acre MassBay Forest is proposed to be sold, overrides environmental protections.
This is from a document provided by Town Counsel:
Q: “Is there ANY protection from development on wetlands, i.e. even a buffer?”
A: “DCAMM has taken the position in other communities that the Wetlands Protection Act does not apply to projects undertaken through the AHA process.”
You can find the document here.