We start out today with a Hearty Happy Hanukkah to all who celebrate — may the light continue to increase!
Before we get to anything else, please check your calendar and then sign up here for the Fabulous Brookline for Everyone + Yes! In Brookline Holiday Open House on Monday, December 18, from 6:30-9:00 pm (location near Coolidge Corner). We have lots to celebrate, including B4E’s winning slate in last May’s Town elections and the Yes! in Brookline Coalition’s overwhelming success in passing meaningful MBTA-CA compliance at Town Meeting last month. We will have plenty of food, drink and good cheer, as well as a “preview of coming attractions” of our 2024 pro-housing agenda. Come join us! You can find more information and RSVP here.
As things quiet down for the holidays, we have two meetings to call to your attention this week:
- The Affordable Housing Overlay District (AHOD) Study Subcommittee will be meeting Monday, via Zoom, at 7:30-8:30 pm (register here). This month’s meeting includes final review of a “Request for Proposals” (RFP) for a consultant to assist the Committee identify where and how an affordable housing overlay (which would provide zoning incentives for 100% affordable developments) would be feasible in Brookline. You can see the draft RFP here, and can see all the Committee’s background documentation and work to date here in their “Rolling Meeting Agendas and Minutes.”
- On Thursday, December 14 at 7:00 pm the Zoning Board of Appeals will be meeting to review a special permit request for construction of 8 new homes at 80 Vernon Street (precinct 10) to replace a single family home. This property is surrounded by multi-family buildings, and 8 new homes in a new building at this location is a great way to create more homes within a block or two of transit and Coolidge Corner shopping (more information about the project can be found here); the development is also expected to contribute approximately $1.5 million to the Town’s Affordable Housing Trust, and already approved (after significant community ll,input at several meetings) by the Planning Board. In addition, when complete the building will be a significant new source of real estate taxes for Brookline. We encourage you to submit brief comments to the Zoning Board via Beccah Mapure (imapure@brookline.gov), expressing support for a multi-home building to be built at this location. If you prefer to submit comments live at the public hearing, the registration link is here and the full evening’s agenda is here.
What we’re reading: This week we recommend a short, provocative article by NYT columnist Nicholis Kristof, The Old New Way to Provide Cheap Housing, suggesting that cities reconsider allowing old fashioned rooming houses (sometimes called SROs, for “single room occupancy”) as a way to address the impossible cost of housing for so many. The idea of converting single family homes to rooming houses would likely be controversial, but we think it is an idea worth considering as a way to address the pervasive challenge of homelessness and housing prices that no one can afford. We love the way that Kristof is willing to consider and explain challenging issues. You might also like his recent article entitled Here’s How Houston is Fighting Homelessness — and Winning.