Happy Lunar New Year! We had a great time celebrating at the Coolidge Corner Library; thank you to the Brookline Asian American Family Network, the Brookline Library Foundation, and The Friends of the Brookline Public Library for sponsoring a really fun event!
I’m sure many of you noticed that the Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration at the Coolidge Corner Theater was not broadcast live as we thought it would be. For those who missed it, the video is currently available on the Brookline Interactive Group’s YouTube page at this link.
We’ve got a quick one this week as folks are getting back into the swing of things and thinking about plans for the quickly approaching local May election. If you’re interested in running, or just curious about the election, please reach out, we love to hear from you!
Learning Opportunity No. 1: Thank you to everyone who has reached out to the various Brookline boards and commissions to express support for the Planning Department’s request for funding to move forward with complying with the state MBTA Communities requirement. So far, the Housing Advisory Board, Economic Development Advisory Board, Planning Board, and Preservation Commission have all voted to support the department’s request! Next up is likely to be the Select Board, and we’ll be sure to provide more details when they become available. In the meantime, we recommend familiarizing yourself with what MBTA Communities is all about with this quick video from Massachusetts Housing Partnership, and check out the planning department’s presentation to the Housing Advisory Board here.
Learning Opportunity No. 2: This week’s Housing Advisory Board meeting, on Wednesday, January 25 at 5:30pm, includes important discussions around updating Brookline’s Inclusionary Zoning and accessory dwelling unit by-laws. Both of these local ordinances create opportunities to add new, lower cost homes. There’s room for improvement in both cases, particularly our accessory dwelling units, so they can more successfully achieve their aims. Register here to attend via Zoom.
Thanks and have a great week.
Jeff Wachter, on behalf of Brookline for Everyone