The Town of Brookline is currently updating our Comprehensive Plan, as requested by a nearly unanimous vote at Brookline Town Meeting. The Comprehensive Plan is the leading policy document that will guide land use and Community priorities through 2040. Through analysis and public engagement the Plan will assess impacts, articulate trade offs and develop a shared vision for our Town. Careful planning allows us to be smart and efficient by locating any new growth where it can best be supported by existing facilities and infrastructure. Setting expectations for future land use after careful analysis makes clear to developers and residents just what Brookline can support and wants to see. 

However, instead of participating in this planning process, the owner of the parking lot at 26 Pleasant St. has decided to pursue a plan of their own, namely to quadruple the size of a building allowed on this parcel. They want to build an 85 ft., 7-story, 103 unit building with 60 underground parking spots, with little to no open space.

Coolidge Corner is already the densest part of Brookline. There are several very large projects already in the development pipeline right at the intersection of Pleasant and Beacon St. including: Waldo-Durgin (10-18 Pleasant) with a 160 room hotel, 132 apartments and 300 parking spots, and 1299 Beacon, 8-9 stories with 55 apartments and 57 parking spots).  We need to look at the cumulative impacts of all these projects together. The Brookline Housing Authority building at 50 Pleasant St. is a 9-story building with 100 apartments housing elderly and disabled residents who currently struggle to get across Pleasant St. safely. With this level of density, careful planning is necessary to prevent un-safe and overcrowded roadways, sidewalks, parks, shops and services. We could easily be overbuilding in terms of the capacity of our basic infrastructure (think water & sewer, roadways, electrical grid, etc.)  

By signing this petition, you are asking Town officials to honor their commitment to the public by following through on the Comprehensive Planning Process and rejecting one-off developer led re-zonings.  Community voices need to be heard! 

Susie Roberts, Susan Park, Jonathan Davis, Bruce Levin and Linda Olson Pehlke, Town Meeting Members, Precinct 17