Here’s How Brookline Residents Can Add Input On Harvard Street Zoning

BROOKLINE, MA – Brookline residents can participate in the next round of Harvard Street zoning workshops to help shape the town's proposal to comply with the MBTA Communities Act.

Workshop B, concerning Station Street to Stearns Road, will be held on Thursday, June 29 at 12 p.m. via Zoom. Residents may register here.

In 2022, the state passed the MBTA Communities Act, which requires 175 municipalities – including Brookline – to have at least one zoning district that allows multifamily zoning without discretionary permits.

The town is proposing a zoning update for Harvard Street that would add 3.5- to 4-story main street housing.

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

More than 200 community stakeholders participated in Phase 1 workshops. Participants suggested a focus on better 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 2, which focuses on "Test Fits of Community Inputs for Zoning," will test zoning parameters informed by the community.