The Select Board is seeking public input on articles to be considered during Wellesley’s 2021 Annual Town Meeting.
Due to the continued pandemic, Town Meeting will take place remotely via Zoom and will begin on Monday, April 26. Town Meeting members will consider 36 articles on the Warrant.
In preparation for Town Meeting, the Select Board invites the community to review and offer comments on three Select Board-sponsored articles that require capital appropriation and changes to the Town’s General bylaw and Zoning bylaw.
The specific articles are:
- ARTICLE 17. Wellesley Town Hall interior renovation
This article seeks approval to appropriate or borrow money to finance the schematic design and permitting through bidding of planned interior renovations to Wellesley Town Hall. The project, if approved, would return to a fall 2022 Town Meeting to request a debt exclusion for construction funds. Read the full Warrant article here.
- ARTICLE 21. Alcohol licensing
This Article seeks approval to change the Town bylaw to allow locations with less than 50 seats to apply for an alcohol license. Read the full Warrant article here.
- ARTICLE 26 and ARTICLE 27. Wellesley Affordable Housing Trust Fund
Article 26 and 27 are companion articles. Article 26 seeks to amend the Town bylaw to eliminate the now defunct “Wellesley Housing Development Corporation” and instead establish a trust, known as the “Wellesley Affordable Housing Trust Fund”, to provide for the creation and preservation of affordable housing in Wellesley for low and moderate income households. The article also details the composition and powers of the trust fund. Read the full Warrant article here.
And Article 27 seeks to amend the Zoning bylaw to delete every reference to the term “Wellesley Housing Development Corporation” and replace it with either “Affordable Housing Trust” or “Board of Trustee” as applicable. Read the full Warrant article here.
The Select Board will discuss these articles at its meeting on Monday, March 22 at 6 p.m. Residents may email comments in advance directly to all Board members at sel@wellesleyma.gov or may call in to speak via telephone during the public comment portion of the Select Board meeting.
If you would like to speak during the Select Board meeting, email sel@wellesleyma.gov to receive your call-in number.