How will 'McMansions' rule work?

Builders who lost a battle against the imposition of new restrictions on so-called "McMansions" in Wellesley now want to work with the Planning Board on the details of how officials will control the construction of oversized homes on undersized lots.

Town Meeting voted overwhelmingly Tuesday night to approve a greater level of scrutiny for plans to build large houses, or additions to existing houses. The new zoning policy, which takes effect Jan. 1, will require anyone building a new house or addition that exceeds a certain size to go through additional layers of review by the town's Planning and Design Review boards.

"We put up a fight but we lost," said Joseph Grignaffini, a Wellesley resident and developer who led the opposition to the proposal. "It was clear Town Meeting really felt it wanted to do something, despite the consequences." Grignaffini said he thinks both homeowners and builders will suffer losses because of the new policy.

"Builders are not going to be paying the kind of prices we used to pay for land," said Grignaffini. "And there's no question about it - homeowners selling property are going to take a loss."

Even so, Grignaffini sounded a conciliatory note, saying he and the coalition of Wellesley builders who opposed the change are hopeful that, if they work with the Planning Board, officials will be willing to consider regulations that will expedite approvals under the new policy, rather than having a process that takes the full 90 days that it provides.

"We're also hoping that, while the Planning Board takes into consideration the comments of neighbors" when conducting the large-house review, "they won't make that critical," Grignaffini said.

Proponents said the regulations address an ever-increasing problem of huge houses being built on small lots and the collateral damage of those projects on neighbors. The problems, they said, include drainage issues, loss of trees, impact on neighborhood character, and lighting.

Builders and some residents opposed the zoning amendment, saying it would add substantially to the cost of projects and violate the right of homeowners and landowners to do what they want with their property.

But the majority of those discussing the issue on the Town Meeting floor Tuesday night said the proposal reflects a fair and flexible solution to a longstanding concern.

In a seldom-used paper ballot procedure, Town Meeting voted, 170-41, with one abstention, in favor of the proposal, easily clearing the two-thirds majority needed to pass a change to zoning bylaws.

Rick Brown, the town's planning director, said the Planning Board will hold at least one public hearing, tentatively scheduled for Dec. 3, to take comments on the regulations for implementing the new policy.

Anyone whose plans call for a new home or addition that exceeds certain thresholds would have to apply for the "large-house review." Those thresholds are based on the number of square feet of "total living space" of the finished dwelling and in what district it is situated. Any proposal exceeding established thresholds would be subjected to additional reviews before a building permit could be obtained.

Brown said applicants would be self-selected, but that the Building Department would do "a bit more checking" of applications for building permits to ensure that plans are safely under the thresholds. The application fee for the "large-house review" will be $2,500.

Owen Dugan, chairman of the Board of Selectmen, which unanimously supported the new policy, said he was "delighted" with the outcome of the vote.

"In the last couple of years," he said, "mansionization has been on everybody's mind. And at past town meetings, the Planning Board has not met with a lot of success."

Planning Board chairman Thomas Frisardi noted during Tuesday night's discussion that Wellesley had been discussing proposals to discourage mansionization since 1988.

"This time," said Dugan, "everybody was ready to listen."

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