Greetings everyone,
As the holiday season begins, Town activity ebbs. But we are asking for your participation in one important meeting this week. On Wednesday, December 17, at 7 pm, on Zoom, the Zoning Board of Appeals will hold a public hearing on the proposal under Chapter 40B to replace the vacant Citizens’ Bank building and parking lot at 429 Harvard Street with a mixed-use building including ground floor commercial space plus 40 residential units (8 of them income-restricted at 50% area median income). Agenda is here; registration is here.
Our recent Harvard Street zoning would permit a four-story building here without requiring further permission. Unfortunately such buildings have not proven feasible. Therefore the developer is pursuing this alternative 40B process, which permits more homes and additional affordable units.
It is crucial for those of us who care about creating new affordable housing and adding commercial development on Brookline’s Main Street to be there and speak up on behalf of the broader Brookline community.
Written comments are also helpful; submit them to the ZBA c/o Maria Morelli, mmorelli@brooklinema.gov.
The ZBA and the broader public need to understand why this project matters.
- It replaces a vacant building and a surface parking lot with new homes and active commercial space.
- It will help enliven Harvard Street and strengthen the local business district.
- If we want to support sustainable living and reduce car dependence, this is exactly where new housing should go.
- The 8 permanently affordable homes at 50% AMI offer opportunities for seniors, workers, and families who otherwise cannot afford to live here.
- A well-designed six-story building is appropriately scaled for the corridor, with other midrise buildings nearby.
Here are some additional talking points you may find useful.
And, for even more explanation, this is the letter Brookline for Everyone submitted to the state in August urging it to grant its preliminary approval, which it did, allowing the Brookline ZBA hearing to proceed.
We hope to see and hear from you there. Otherwise, best wishes for the beginning of Hanukkah and the rest of the holiday season.
Brian Ladd, for Brookline for Everyone