NRC debriefs North 40 charrette, weighs land swap

Natural Resources Commission · Meeting of October 6, 2026

Wellesley's Natural Resources Commission debated a possible Morton Park land swap tied to North 40 fire station talk and reviewed Morses Pond playground designs. Chair Steve Park, fresh off the Select Board's North 40 charrette, asked whether the board should revisit a draft 2025 position statement and consider swapping its roughly two-acre Morton Park for other town purposes. Commissioner Bea Bezmalinovic pushed back, saying she worried about losing green space "to build something," while Commissioner Tom Hammond said charrette attendees showed "no support with the exception of one table for a fire station." Separately, the board heard the Advisory Committee reached no consensus on Town Meeting Article 16, a citizen's petition to fund legal work toward acquiring Wights Pond, amid new concerns from a trust beneficiary about public-access conditions.

Weston and Sampson's Amanda Gall presented a 50 percent playground design for the Morses Pond Beach and Bathhouse project, fielding board requests to reconsider a neon-green slide color and a log crawl tunnel flagged for safety concerns. No formal votes were taken on any substantive item.

In the full story:

• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report — 2,939 words

Source: the Natural Resources Commission meeting of October 6, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.