Select Board debates motion language for May 11 vote on 40 Oakland Street

WELLESLEY -- April 23, 2026, Wellesley Select Board splits over how to frame 40 Oakland Street question for Town Meeting. With the May 11 Special Town Meeting two and a half weeks out, the board on April 23 weighed three competing drafts on the sale and development of the state-owned parcel but took no vote. Member Kenneth Largess pitched a two-part motion ending with seven conditions on siting, open space, scale, traffic and municipal rights, while member Beth Sullivan Woods proposed a "building blocks for negotiation" slate of survey questions on unit counts, affordability and zoning. Town Counsel Thomas Harrington's draft deliberately omitted development metrics to preserve negotiating room. Largess called it "nonsense" that the governor cannot direct MassDOT to fix traffic infrastructure at the site. Chair Marjorie Freiman said the town's consultant and subconsultants Beta and Kamoyne are preparing a schematic of the 4.4-acre parking lot site for Town Meeting members. The board will continue refining language April 27.