Greetings, everyone. Mid-October seems to mark the peak fall season for gathering citizens’ opinions on many Town issues, and we hope you will find a chance to make your own voice heard. So let’s look at some.
Events of interest this week:
- For the true fans of increasing housing supply, our statewide ally AHMA (Abundant Housing Massachusetts) is holding a fundraising reception on the new roof deck at Esmai’s (1306 Beacon St.) on Tuesday, October 14, 6-8 PM, where you can enjoy beer, seltzers, and appetizers in the company of other housing advocates while supporting electing pro-housing candidates around the commonwealth. Details and ticket sales here.
- One outcome of last spring’s agreement to rebuild Washington Street as a “complete street” was a promise to study parking at both Brookline Village and Washington Square. Those parking studies are underway, with “pop-ups” this week for you to visit, learn, and offer your thoughts: Tuesday, October 14th, 11AM – 3PM (Rain Date: Oct. 22) at the Washington/Harvard Street intersection; and Wednesday, Oct. 15, 3PM-7PM (Rain Date: Oct. 23) at Washington Square, opposite Bartaco. More information here. We especially encourage you to fill out the online parking surveys for Brookline Village and Washington Square, where you can express your support for making sure that walkable and bikeable neighborhood access is given priority alongside the demand for car parking.
- The HAB’s Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) Subcommittee will have its next meeting on Wed., October 15 at 12:30 pm to continue its review of how best to adapt our Town’s recent ADU ordinance to the even newer state ADU requirements that prohibit imposing some of the restrictions we currently have in place. The details are complicated, but the possibilities are great. Agenda and Zoom link here.
- Many of you attended Jeff Speck’s great talk at the Coolidge Corner Theater in September. (If not, the recording is here.) The Centre Street Lots Committee will take up his exciting proposals for the lot at its meeting on Thursday, Oct. 16, at 6pm. No info or link available yet; look for it here.
- Also on Thursday, at 7pm, the Planning Board will hold a public hearing on Warrant Article 7, the proposal to rezone a former Maimonides School building at 2 Clark Road so the building can be converted to 33 units of much-needed multifamily housing. The Board will also hold a hearing on WA8 to reduce excessive lighting. Agenda and Zoom link here.
- Finally, the Beacon Street Bridle Path Design Review Committee just met for the first time, and in the coming weeks the public will have a chance to learn more about the project to restore a shared-use path in the Beacon Street median. This Thursday, 5PM-7:30PM, will be the first of these Neighborhood Talk & Walks, a brief site walk at 5:00 PM followed by a presentation at 5:30 PM, at BU Wightman Mansion, 43 Hawes Street. More information here.
Since parking and ADUs are on our agenda this week, here is a little good news from our region on each issue:
- The city of Salem voted to eliminate all mandatory parking requirements for new housing developments, making those developments less expensive and more feasible where developers find it appropriate to dispense with unnecessary parking.
- The state announced tangible results from the newly relaxed restrictions on the construction of Accessory Dwelling Units: In the first six months of 2025, homeowners in 170 communities filed 844 applications to build ADUs on their properties, of which at least 550 had been approved as of July.
- The state-supported One Commonwealth organization also launched an upbeat 30-second ad promoting ADUs.
Thanks, and have a great week,
Brian Ladd, for Brookline for Everyone