Our state legislature adjourned this past week without completing work on many pressing matters, notably on energy, climate, and economic development. BUT there was one big success: a Housing Bond Bill that includes $800 million for affordable housing and $375 million for infrastructure grants in addition to $2 billion to modernize public housing, a threefold increase from the previous five-year bond bill. Some of this money will undoubtedly flow to Brookline. The bill also permits accessory dwelling units (ADUs) in all single-family districts statewide. We beat the state to the punch with our spring ADU warrant. However, the state law will require us to be more liberal in permitting ADUs, and the town will have to revise its rules to comply. While disappointed that the Real Estate Transfer Fee was not included in the final version, this bill will still make a significant impact for many people across the Commonwealth.
Also, in a Brookline-specific piece of legislation, Rep. Tommy Vitolo shepherded through the final approval of the Pierce School geothermal heating/cooling project, previously approved by Town Meeting and other Town boards.
Town Meetings of Interest This Week
On Monday, August 5th, at 6 pm, the team proposing a rear addition to 71 Harvard Avenue, adding 5 new units to an existing two-family home, will be hosting a virtual neighborhood meeting about their proposal. As one supporter has written, “This is a great example of in-fill/missing-middle development that will provide housing without changing neighborhood character. The transit-dense neighborhood will reduce dependency on cars, which will hopefully dampen concerns about parking.” Here is the Zoom link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82806333101
Also on Monday, at 7:30, the Affordable Housing Overlay District Study Subcommittee will meet to hear its consultant, RKG, present possible scenarios for an economically feasible proposal to speed affordable housing construction. Here is the agenda and here is the Zoom link.
At its meeting at 6 pm on Tuesday, August 6 (agenda here), the Select Board will consider a draft statement on the relation between zoning changes and the Comprehensive Planning process. (Register here.) The Select Board states that ongoing Town planning and zoning efforts (including, for example, the Affordable Housing Overlay District study) should proceed unimpeded, while coordinating with the Comp Plan process. The statement also strongly encourages individuals who wish to propose zoning changes to bring their ideas into the Comp Planning process while that proceeds. Brookline for Everyone has some concerns about how this request by the Select Board may play out in practice, so we will be following this issue closely.
November Town Meeting Warrant is Opening for Submissions
This Thursday marks the opening of the Warrant for the Fall Town Meeting. From now until September 5, warrant articles can be submitted. From the rumor mill, we’re hearing about some exciting proposals for the November Town Meeting, which we’ll preview in depth once they’re all official. In the meantime, let us know what you’re hearing about what might be proposed, and what changes to the Town you’d like to see.
What We’re Reading
Why is housing, especially multifamily housing, so expensive? A recent New York Times article gives us a piece of the answer that we may not have thought of: elevators. The unnecessary rules that drive up their costs are a particularly bad example of overly complicated building codes that can inflate construction costs enormously. Reforms are possible but not easy.