Labor Day marks the end of summer for many of us, notably our children. It also marks the beginning of many things, including a political campaign season and an increasingly active Town and Brookline for Everyone calendar.
Join us for the Brookline for Everyone Fall Happy Hour on Monday, September 9!
Join Brookline for Everyone on Monday, September 9 at Grainne O’Malley’s, 201 Harvard Street (at Marion St.), from 5:30 to 7:00. Come relax together, clink a few glasses; talk housing, the Red Sox playoff push, and national politics; and catch up as we gear up for Fall Town Meeting season. It’s a chance to meet new and old friends, and just schmooze. All are welcome, and bring your friends! Register for the event here.
Volunteer for Brookline Day to Talk to Our Neighbors About Housing
September 8 is Brookline Day, a celebration of all things Brookline at Coolidge Corner, organized by the Brookline Recreation Department, with “vendors, games, inflatables, trucks, food, face painters, bands, prizes, and special activities,” and, best of all, you can volunteer at the Brookline for Everyone table! Come to have fun, meet your neighbors, say hello, and learn about town affairs. Sign-up to volunteer here.
Yes! In Brookline Forum: “Housing for All in Brookline: For-profit and Nonprofit Developer Perspectives”
On Wednesday, September 18 our friends at Yes! in Brookline are sponsoring a forum on Housing for All in Brookline: For-profit and Nonprofit Developer Perspectives. Two Brookline residents who are active housing builders, Amy Schectman and Zeina Talje, will discuss the obstacles they face, and overcome, to build housing for us all. Cathleen Cavell, Town Meeting Member Precinct 1, will moderate. The forum will be from 7:00-8:30 pm, Brookline Town Hall, Select Board Hearing Room, 6th floor. This in-person event will be live-streamed by BIG. The event is co-sponsored by GBIO Brookline, Brookline Community Development Corporation, Brookline for Everyone, the Brookline Housing Authority, Brookline Planning Board, and Brookline Housing Advisory Board. Register to attend here.
Town Meetings of Interest This Week (all on the same day!)
On Wednesday, September 4 at 8:30 AM, the Planning Board will make a final review of proposed zoning amendments for the Fall Town Meeting. These include revisions to our new Accessory Dwelling unit bylaw and a proposal to limit the height of buildings to 2.5 stories in all single-family and two-family zones. Zoom registration is here, the rather vague agenda is here and the link to the draft articles is here.
On the same day, Wednesday, at 5:30 PM, the Housing Advisory Board will also discuss housing-related Warrant Articles, discuss procedures for Affordable Housing Trust Fund requests, and will hear a presentation of the Brookline Housing Authority’s plan to completely rebuild its housing at Walnut/High Street. The agenda is here and the Zoom link is here.
Also on that day, Wednesday, at 6 PM, there will be a meeting on the Washington Street Complete Streets project. There will be a report on the meeting with business owners (short version: they’re worried about parking) and a report on designs for major intersections. Agenda is here and Zoom link is here.
Housing Policy on the Presidential Stage
Housing may not be issue number one, but it does matter. Here is a PBS report on both presidential candidates’ proposals, and here is a more extensive analysis of the Harris campaign’s proposals, which include funding to encourage local governments to remove the regulations that prevent additional construction and tax breaks for housing construction. Former President Obama articulated the urgent need for more housing in his speech at the Democratic National Convention when he said “If we want to make it easier for more young people to buy a home, we need to build more units and clear away some of the outdated laws & regulations that make it harder to build homes for working people in this country.” The Trump/Vance campaign’s unserious housing proposal primarily centers around ending illegal immigration and removing millions of undocumented immigrants.