Brookline To Host Meeting On Transit-Oriented Zoning Efforts

BROOKLINE, MA — The Town of Brookline is hosting a meeting next month as part of the third phase of its work related to the MBTA Communities Act.

The meeting will be held on Tuesday, Aug. 1 at 12:30 p.m. via Zoom. Town Administrator Chas Carey is encouraging all Brookline residents and community stakeholders to participate.

The town is proposing a zoning update for Harvard Street that would meet the Town's affordable housing goals, reinforce its 3.5- to 4-story main street character, and facilitate modestly paced housing and commercial growth with objective design standards for more predictable outcomes.

These design standards are informed by four phases of community workshops, facilitated by zoning expert Opticos Design and the Department of Planning and Community Development (DPCD).

Nearly 300 community stakeholders participated in phase one and phase two workshops, which covered topics like improved accessibility, quality building materials, human-scale building heights, preservation of historic structures, protection of public shade trees and richly varied uses on the ground floor.

Phase four of the project will consist of the following public meetings with town boards, where community members are invited to attend and provide feedback about the draft zoning language:

• Planning Board: Wednesday, Aug. 2
• Preservation Commission: Tuesday, Aug. 8
• Select Board: Tuesday, Aug. 15

Additional dates may be scheduled at the discretion of the boards. Town boards may vote to support or authorize a Warrant Article for Harvard Street zoning for Town Meeting by the August 31 deadline.

More information about the Harvard Street MBTA-CA zoning proposal is available here. To register for the Aug. 1 meeting, click here.