Advisory hears Select Board pitch 40 Oakland Street negotiate-or-litigate warrant

WELLESLEY -- April 22, 2026, Wellesley Advisory previews May 11 Special Town Meeting on 40 Oakland Street development. Select Board Chair Marjorie Freiman, Town Counsel Tom Harrington and the full Select Board presented two warrant articles asking residents to choose between negotiating with the state over MassBay Community College's 45-acre parcel, slated for at least 180 housing units on a roughly seven-to-eight-acre envelope, or funding litigation. Article 3 would authorize $900,000 in legal spending atop $200,000 already appropriated, for $1.1 million total. Freiman called it "a bird in the hand or something you don't know." Three residents spoke in opposition, including Doug Youngen of Friends of Centennial, citing 3,400 petition signatures and counsel retained at Hill Law. Advisory will hold a public hearing April 29; comments to DCAMM are due May 13.