Brookline's Coolidge Corner neighborhood. iStock photo
Voters approved zoning amendments that could spur redevelopment of Brookline’s main commercial corridor from low-rise retail buildings to multifamily housing complexes.17
Addressing fears that local businesses would be displaced by redevelopment, Brookline officials updated the proposal this fall to provide financial incentives for developers to include more commercial space.
Linda Olson Pehlke, founder of the Brookline by Design group, opposed the original proposal unveiled last spring by town planners but spoke in favor of the compromise version presented Monday.
“Did either side get everything they wanted? No,” Pehlke said. “Were all concerns addressed? No. But nonetheless, through dialogue, compromise and collaboration, we achieved something truly remarkable.”
The 207-33 town meeting vote rezones large portions of the Harvard Street corridor for 4-story multifamily buildings.
The MBTA Communities law requires 175 municipalities to rezone land within a half-mile of transit for multifamily housing at a density of at least 15 units per acre.
“Brookline’s bylaw is particularly inspiring because it is a consensus plan agreed upon by not only pro-housing advocates but a broad coalition,” Abundant Housing MA Executive Director Jesse Kanso-Benanav said in a statement. “We hope this action, along with recent success in Arlington and Lexington, will galvanize other town meeting communities to comply and create more welcoming communities for people of all incomes and backgrounds.”
Activists lobbied Brookline’s 255 town meeting members on both sides of the issue for months after town planners unveiled the proposal. Currently, housing projects with four or more housing units are required to go through a special permit approval process, and are subject to density regulations that make housing developments impractical, Brookline officials said.
The new bylaws allow multifamily buildings up to four stories by-right, and require ground-floor commercial space. Developments are required to include 15 percent affordable housing component reserved for households earning 50 percent of area median income for apartments and 80 percent for condominiums. Developers could receive incentives to build out more ground-floor commercial space as a trade-off for more flexible affordability requirements, subject to standards to be devised by the Economic Development Advisory Board. The new zoning could reportedly allow around 1,000 new multifamily units to be built in the coming years.
Housing activists attribute Greater Boston’s high housing prices partly on suburban communities’ zoning that discourages multifamily projects and stifles new supply.
Supporters said the town’s plan embraces the goals of the MBTA Communities law, which attempts to rein in Greater Boston’s housing prices by eliminating zoning barriers to multifamily development in suburban communities. Median single-family home prices in Brookline were $2.4 million in 2022, according to The Warren Group, Banker & Tradesman’s publisher.
During a debate throughout the year, opponents’ objections included potential displacement of local businesses if commercial properties are acquired by housing developers. The objections, echoed by the Brookline Select Board, prompted the state Office of Housing and Liveable Communities to amend the regulations and allow communities to require ground-floor retail in new developments in the MBTA Communities rezoning districts.
The form-based zoning code will regulate building sizes and shapes, while doing away with existing technical standards such as floor area ratio. It also includes a design review process for new buildings.
“This vote is representative of the overwhelming public support for adding more homes here in Brookline,” Brookline for Everyone Co-Founder Amanda Zimmerman said in a statement. “The [rezoning] is an important start to creating more multi-family housing near transit. But while it is a very important step, it is just a step. Brookline for Everyone will continue to advocate for more homes in Brookline, at all price points and all configurations, in order to promote economic diversity, environmental sustainability, and racial inclusion in our town.”
Editor’s note: This report has been updated to reflect that housing projects with four or more units are currently required to go through a special permit process.
