Greetings,
On Tuesday, the Select Board held its regular meeting, but with a new look. Amanda Zimmerman (the first woman on the board in over three years) and Anthony Buono took their seats at the ends of the table. The board’s senior member, Bernard Greene, stepped aside as chair, to be replaced by David Pearlman, with Michael Rubenstein as the new vice chair. We look forward to working with this new board.
Among its other duties, the Select Board is finalizing its Warrant Article recommendations, as Town Meeting approaches. Town Meeting dates are May 26, 27, 28 & June 3, 4, 5 – as many of those nights as necessary to work through a long list of Warrant Articles; at this point, the “best guess” is that a total of four nights will be needed. On the agenda, the most important article is Special Town Meeting Warrant Article 1, the rezoning of the Chestnut Hill Commercial Area. For good information about this detailed plan, we recommend a webpage put together by Select Board member Michael Rubenstein. And we recommend that you urge your Town Meeting Members to support the rezoning in its entirety, so that it can provide the fullest range of benefits: new housing, much-needed commercial tax revenue, and a large Housing Trust Fund payment among other amenities promised by the developer of the Chestnut Hill Office Park area. Your Town Meeting Members’ emails are here, and stay tuned for our full list of Warrant Article endorsements.
Meetings of Note this Week
On Monday, May 18, starting at 6:00 pm in front of the Citizens Bank at 1330 Boylston Street the Town Meeting Member Association (TMMA) and the Brookline Neighborhood Alliance (BNA) will conduct a “guided walking tour” of the Chestnut Hill Commercial Area. While everyone is welcome, this may be an especially good opportunity for newly-elected Town Meeting Members and other TMMs who are not familiar with the site to better understand the neighborhood and the potential of this exciting rezoning proposal. No pre-registration is required, just show up with your walking shoes.
Also on Monday, May 18, at 7 PM, the Planning Board-appointed Design Advisory Team will hold a Zoom meeting to examine revised plans for a major housing project in Brookline Village at 40 Kent Street/40 Webster Place. This is a proposed 5-story residential building, now designed to include 116 (previously 79) units, including 15% affordable units mandated under our Inclusionary Zoning By-law. Register here.
On Thursday, May 21, at 7 PM, the full Planning Board (on Zoom) will hold a site plan review on the adaptive reuse of the former Maimonides School building at 2 Clark Road. This is a project made possible by a rezoning approved by Fall Town Meeting, with 35 new homes a short walk from the Green Line. We are pleased to see it advance. Register here.
Also on Thursday, at 6:30 PM, the Transportation Board will resume a discussion of pedestrian and bicycle improvements to accompany the repaving of Chestnut Hill Avenue. Agenda and Zoom registration here. The repaving is necessary, and neighbors have raised the alarm about speeding cars and dangerous conditions that could be remedied with protected bike lanes and improved crosswalks, which have been discussed as possible alternative plans. A public comment period will open the meeting. You can see five alternative plans here, of which Option 5 includes completely protected bike lanes.
Abundant Housing MA’s Lobby Day at the Statehouse
Our statewide partner, Abundant Housing Massachusetts, is hosting their Lobby Day on May 27th to advocate for more homes for all residents across the state. This is a great way to connect and meet with advocates, speak directly with our elected officials, and lobby for more homes. The day will begin with a noon rally on the front steps of the State House featuring guitarist David Modica, Lt. governor Kim Driscoll, State Senator Brendan Crighton and State Representative Andy Vargas, followed by scheduled meetings with state officials. You can sign up for Lobby Day here and watch a Training Session here. Contact Mike Kriesberg at AHMA with questions.
What we’re viewing this week
If you are on social media, you may have seen a viral video out of Marblehead, one of the towns that has continued to resist the housing mandates of the state’s MBTA Communities Act. The town’s newest plans comply with the letter of the law in a cynical fashion, by designating the land of a thriving golf course as its multifamily zone. At a public meeting, a citizen named David Modica came to the microphone for a minute and a half to make his point in a memorably Massachusetts fashion. You should be able to watch him here or here. The Globe covered the story, and even the Wall Street Journal did. The Marblehead Independent profiled him more thoroughly.
This week, I was in New York and able to see a new Broadway play, a sharp-edged comedy called The Balusters. It is about a neighborhood association, historic preservation (including the porch support posts of the title), traffic, and the inevitability of change, as well as political influence, class, race, and microaggressions. No one comes off especially well. Some of the issues, and some of the characters, were oddly familiar. I have no idea if the play will run for long or be produced elsewhere. But watch for it. Among many reviews, two that touch on the issues it raises are here and here.
Thanks, and have a great week,
Brian Ladd, for Brookline for Everyone