Planning Board Grills Large House Review 'Posterchild'

Exactly one month before the newly-amended definition of a home's total living area plus garage (TLAG) takes effect, the Planning Board Tuesday night grilled designers of a grand renovation project that member Neal Glick labeled "a posterchild for Large House Review."

The subject of the 90-minute discourse was a property at 33 Wachusett Road, a 1.59-acre parcel that currently contains a 7,200-square foot English-style house, long owned by Douglas Krupp. Last fall, Krupp sold the mansion, built in 1938, to Nick and Sangita Thakore for $4.75 million.

The Thakores, in collaboration with the design firm Ahearn Shopfer Associates, have planned a 12-to-14-month renovation effort that would expand the home to more than 15,000 square feet, adding indoor athletic facilities and an indoor pool, among other changes.

During his presentation to the board, architect Patrick Ahearn said builders would strive to preserve the land's natural beauty. He attempted to soften the planned home's apparent opulence by comparing it to several large, nearby houses and said the neighborhood is "in transition."

Glick, however, argued Ahearn was "cherrypicking" the comparison properties and pointed to a series of more modest homes.

"I don't see the effort to relate to the scale of the overall neighborhood," he said.

Board Chairman Don McCauley added even the new, expansive homes in the area are only two-thirds the size of the one proposed at 33 Wachusett.

"This may be a neighborhood in transition, but I think you're leapfrogging here," McCauley told Ahearn. "Some of the new builds in the neighborhood have been about 10,000 square feet, in what was traditionally a 5,000-square-foot, on average, neighborhood. It seems like you're using those newer, 10,000-square-foot homes as the basis to now go to 15 or 16 thousand."

Ahearn countered that his design is, in fact, considerably less impactful than it could be; according to the town's zoning regulations, he noted, the owners could split the property into two parcels and build matching 5,900-square-foot homes on either portion.

Diagramming this hypothetical project on an easel, he said, "I think you'll find that all of these pieces add up to something significantly more, in terms of footprint, than retaining a single-family usage," as the Thakores plan to do.

Even under a scaled-back plan, the 33 Wachusett project clearly will be subject to a Large House Review. It is part of a 20,000-square-foot property regulation district, in which the LHR threshold is 5,900 square feet. The other thresholds are 3,600 square feet in a 10,000-square-foot property regulation district, 4,300 in a 15,000 district, and 7,200 in a 30,000 and 40,000 district.

The method by which a Wellesley home's square footage—its total living area plus garage—is calculated is about to change.

Prior to the passage of Article 31 at Town Meeting May 4, a home's TLAG did not include unfinished attic space or attic space accessible only by ladders or pull-down stairways. In fact, just 25 percent of the floor area of finished attic space counted toward TLAG.

Beginning July 1, however, a home's TLAG will include all attic space—finished or not—in which the height from floor to ceiling is at least seven feet. The height threshold is five feet for sloped interior roofs.

The amendment to the Large House Review process marks the first significant change to a nascent system.  Created in 2007, LHR was a reaction to residents' concerns that some expansive single-family homes "are out of context with surrounding houses and are having detrimental impacts on neighborhood character," according to an explanation on the town's Web site.

"The intent of this review process is not to mandate certain designs or restrict house size, but to ensure that a new large house or addition will be compatible with the scale and character of nearby properties," the document continues.

LHR emerged as the Planning Board's favorite among several recommendations presented within the 2007 Wellesley Comprehensive Plan to address those qualms. The board proposed LHR as a new section of the town's zoning bylaw, and residents approved it at Town Meeting that November.

Ahearn cited the "not to mandate certain designs or restrict house size" portion of the LHR explanation when making his case for the proposed renovations. Neighbors in attendance Tuesday, however, seemed less concerned about the home's size than about its potential to exacerbate an existing problem.

Carole Wiley, who lives at 34 Wachusett, across from the debated property, delivered an impassioned plea to the board and Ahearn, asking that any construction include adequate water drainage provisions. Wiley already experiences occasional flooding at the foot of her driveway, she said, and she fears a larger house might make things worse.

Other neighbors, including Larry Rowe, Frank Rowbotham and Steve Fessler confirmed drainage problems in the area. Their testimonies influenced board members.

"I have problems with this design, and I will not support it," Vice Chairman Stephanie Wasser declared.

"I'm concerned about this house, as well," Rose Mary Donahue added. "I think there are some drainage issues that need to be addressed. … You talk about the park-like value of this property, and I look at the plan, and it's gone."

Glick and other members also criticized what they see as a lack of sustainable considerations in the plan.

The board continued the 33 Wachusett hearing to June 28, two weeks after it will hold a public hearing about LHR June 14.