Brookline Passes Rezoning Plan To Allow Over 1,500 New Units

The first of the 12 Boston-area communities required to adopt new multifamily zoning plans by the end of the year as part of the state's MBTA Communities law has voted overwhelmingly in favor of new guidelines.

In a special town meeting on Tuesday, Brookline voted 207-33 in favor of passing zoning guidelines that could produce more than 1,500 new housing units, the Boston Globe reported. 

For a town that has historically focused on community preservation rather than building new housing, the vote is a testament to the changing times and a response to the state's housing crisis.

Brookline hadn't updated its zoning in decades, saw fewer than 900 units of housing built between 2010 and 2022, and has skyrocketing housing values averaging $2.5M for a single-family home and $927K for a condo, according to the Globe's Spotlight Team.

The new rezoning will focus on the town's Harvard Street, a main corridor that includes Brookline Village, Coolidge Corner and JFK Crossing. The plan allows four-story condo and apartment buildings to be developed as of right along the thoroughfare.

The state law requires Brookline to zone for 6,990 housing units around its Green Line stops, but it already has some existing multifamily zones that are built out and comply with the law, Brookline.News reported. 

The town has also called for 15% of any new housing built along Harvard Street to be set aside as affordable, although the state doesn't have a mandate to zone for affordable housing in the law.

Ahead of this historic vote, the plan faced a series of hurdles. Many changes and drafts of the plan came about in the months before the vote, from residents, housing advocates, local business organizations and the town's select board.

Eleven other communities that fall under the state's rapid transit designation still have to approve new guidelines by the end of the year, and the other 165 communities need to approve guidelines by the end of next year.

Brookline officials and residents had shared concerns over a previous version of the zoning law that didn't include ground-floor retail as part of the zoning, which could have impacted its Coolidge Corner area that boasts many eateries and shops. In August, the state tweaked the housing law to include retail options, a change town officials said they spearheaded. 

Though the town is the first rapid transit community to approve its rezoning plan, seven other communities have already passed draft guidelines ahead of their Dec. 31, 2024, deadline, the Globe reported. These communities are Salem, Lexington, Pembroke, Northbridge, Haverhill, Wareham, Lowell and Arlington.