[{"_1":2,"_100":-5,"_101":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76,88],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6239444,"mediaKeyId","3337692-4165f01e103509373f91696030643031","parentId",3337692,"title","Select Board backs 2% labor settlement, reconsiders warrant articles on brokers fees and budget","audioSeconds",76,"startMs",7105000,"endMs",7181000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3337692-4165f01e103509373f91696030643031&start=7105&end=7181","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3337692-4165f01e103509373f91696030643031/thumbnail_7105000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6239444/Massachusetts/Select-Board-backs-2-labor-settlement-reconsiders-warrant-articles-on-brokers-fees-and-budget","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6239444-2777967d9da100b54c8871712f26ea43/orig.mp4?Expires=1771072363&Signature=lQFIBoCSkArHnqQzDKJyeqhnN2VU8rXMCeyDdMISwjsBuOX52YX1NqkDLwW7Gwg9sodw4vDmQrHzBnYt8WodxEwjxHb4G4R20EurFuo5m2JH1ysPdAqNZlpQiZ9pRFshehfsC~XoOCxSQaA8rk8rIRzb6hlU0~WjSpvRJ~BjBbm~WsHxrZYhvkkegN2yM6Hvw2dSGbhA~wrHZ5zNuVvODpvFfI0kmz-mEcKWgf97ISr3RrPfaLTQXmNW2I5lYEqJ8NvNqhBjyzCZ7zBIU~~lRcOFIK3-c4MWCFipA4My59Vi9AQoYm02cn9ZZ5k0jqw93tN51poSvs7Tkr62Qi9U1w__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Town of Brookline, MA","date","2025-05-16T08:39:58.38Z","article","After returning from executive session, the Town of Brookline Select Board voted to approve proposed collective bargaining settlements and took actions on several warrant articles ahead of Town Meeting.

The board announced an agreement with the Teamsters and three American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) locals that provides a 2% wage increase for a one‑year period, retroactive to July 1, 2024. The board moved favorable action on warrant Article 2 to reflect that settlement and approved the motion by roll call; the vote was unanimous.

Select Board members also reconsidered and voted on warrant Article 26, which seeks to prohibit imposition of brokers’ fees on tenants. The board approved an amended motion consistent with the Advisory Committee’s language, intended to clarify recitals and correct scrivener’s errors.

On Article 9, annual budget appropriations, Town finance staff advised the board of updated information from the School Department on group health savings tied to staffing changes. The Select Board moved to reconsider and then approve Article 9 as amended to reduce the group health budget and redirect the savings to the School Department appropriation; staff said they expect one additional possible technical tweak before the Monday deadline for budget motions.

Town staff summarized the financial adjustments and noted the packet contains draft budget tables. The board recorded its votes on the labor settlement and the warrant items by roll call; the chair and members voted unanimously in favor of the motions recorded in the meeting.

Why it matters: the labor settlement sets municipal compensation terms that affect town personnel costs; the budget adjustments reflect interdepartmental changes and may be revisited if further data arrives before Town Meeting. The amendment to Article 26 reflects the Advisory Committee’s recommended language to clarify the measure before it goes to a vote.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Brookline Select Board Meeting - May 13, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","Following executive session, the Brookline Select Board approved a one‑year, 2% wage increase retroactive to July 1, 2024 for a settlement with the Teamsters and three AFSCME locals, and voted to reconsider and approve warrant articles on broker fees and the annual budget with advisory‑committee amendments and school expenditure adjustments.","taxTitle","Town of Brookline, Norfolk County, Massachusetts","taxId",79239,"location","Massachusetts","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6239450,"Bernard Green reelected chair; David Perlman chosen vice chair of Brookline Select Board",168,1609000,1777000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3337692-4165f01e103509373f91696030643031&start=1609&end=1777","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3337692-4165f01e103509373f91696030643031/thumbnail_1609000.jpg","/articles/6239450/Massachusetts/Bernard-Green-reelected-chair-David-Perlman-chosen-vice-chair-of-Brookline-Select-Board","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6239450-1b99f8b7de2d0076da9ad32a41a19d1a/orig.mp4?Expires=1771072363&Signature=nC3t1Zotn1mUwQAQBzownf2noLvIWiS76i3Ilk3JSMLM7MUqMuhylcMcTF60t4TXy3WmCfNYLyY61IkZ7YV0Gfr-6Yb4it37X2SO2Yfst4cGW1y1urQoA2GD3W19monS1bcGXTKEijWt21OyCs-z7aiVrpy09Jyr6apNSlTjn89tBZ8gekA2teqGx4gke~8aEf7KfQQJ2PySVjfkmdyzir3ErS8LGscRr~pfkjPu~iBXOBbAxuLPjScsBi32TI-nyjZolyN-qURJuS4VLnDQIA897z~YIz2TrwSlK2mWfMtOjxnZNS-fL2HXzSUn3r6ycC1vq56lzCni5UiIqn7WLw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","At the Town of Brookline Select Board meeting following certification of the May elections, members reelected Bernard Green as chair and selected David Perlman as vice chair.

Town Administrator Chaz Carey called the meeting to order and opened nominations for chair. John (select board member) nominated incumbent Bernard Green. The board took a roll‑call vote; Green was reelected chair by a 5‑0 vote.

After Green took the chair, he nominated David Perlman for vice chair. The board voted by voice and roll call; Perlman was elected vice chair unanimously.

Procedure and context: Carey noted the board follows an internal tradition for organization dating to the 1980s. Nominations required no second and the chair called the roll for votes. No other contested nominations were made.

What the votes mean: The votes are procedural selections of the board leadership for the ensuing year; they do not change committee assignments or specific policy positions. Select Board members congratulated both Green and Perlman and moved on to the meeting’s agenda.

Board members present and voting included Bernard Green (reelected chair), David Perlman (vice chair), Michael Rubinstein (newly elected select board member), Paul Warren, and John (select board member). The votes were recorded as unanimous in favor of both leadership nominations.","At its first meeting after the May elections, the Town of Brookline Select Board elected Bernard Green as chair for the coming year and David Perlman as vice chair in unanimous roll‑call votes.",{"_33":89,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":90,"_41":91,"_43":92,"_45":93,"_47":94,"_49":95,"_51":96,"_53":97,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":98,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":99,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6239452,"Neighbors urge delay of Sheaf/Heath/Hammond 40B permit over contamination and drainage concerns",790,2446000,3236000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3337692-4165f01e103509373f91696030643031&start=2446&end=3236","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3337692-4165f01e103509373f91696030643031/thumbnail_2446000.jpg","/articles/6239452/Massachusetts/Neighbors-urge-delay-of-SheafHeathHammond-40B-permit-over-contamination-and-drainage-concerns","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6239452-dd3cc84a4e9bb45e9896f0bdca2234f5/orig.mp4?Expires=1771072363&Signature=MFCJIlZ60kvFD-wIEeP3EWoIKL2gDT3vyIb1GwP7mpxH75yx~JoCIHam2l1EkhSw0G1oTRwQxQzBXUN9YMQem~rMYeIfH3fdYmgA5qhai1xC2YiMn9XIDkT8MctJb9cW40eeF5jLoBTxi8PU5V8Y7zBVLAFeeMY5UUwj4dKTcD6CeRwl~vOvlCvgNp5757RG4i2I~bwTTtwocmMCkgbFPpfbAqmcuFY-Bu8tfMwrxSknleb~1tu2KMEOJB~mu7ejNvn9WhRiu9BdjV9KcUhB8P~io~XwHBSzHN-DlEmbLs9bd2mH67XhziB1WPtBTWnb4h~b5UOxPw5imTUBKz~CxQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Residents near the proposed Sheaf/Heath/Hammond Street 40B development told the Town of Brookline Select Board they want environmental and drainage questions answered before the project’s comprehensive permit moves forward.

Multiple neighbors said the proposed six‑story building with an underground garage would place stormwater infrastructure and a garage entrance too close to adjacent houses and urged the town or Zoning Board of Appeals to require a full environmental site assessment before issuing a comprehensive permit.

The concern first voiced by Kathleen Burton, owner of 22 Sheaf Street, focused on how the developer’s proposed drainage system and driveway would sit adjacent to older homes. “It’s a 6 story building with an underground parking garage,” Burton said, and she told the board that the developer seeks a variance to move a drainage system from the regulation’s 10 feet from the property line to 5 feet, which Burton said could cause her stone‑and‑cement basement to flood more frequently. She also said the developer wants the garage entrance 16 feet from the property line, under a 20‑foot requirement, and that a proposed parking set‑aside would eliminate on‑street spaces in front of her house.

Janice Khan, a town meeting member from Precinct 15, said the site includes long‑standing commercial uses that raise contamination concerns. “The dry cleaners has been at 621 Hammond Street for over 60 years, and the dry cleaner for the vast majority of those years used solvents such as perchloroethylene, PERC,” Khan said, adding that the developer’s Phase 1 and 2 environmental assessments excluded the dry‑cleaner parcel despite the developer having control of that site. Khan told the board that the developer has resisted conducting a full environmental assessment before obtaining the comprehensive permit and urged town officials to press for further analysis.

Nina Crowley, owner of 557 Heath Street immediately adjacent to the project site, said ZBA draft conditions place the environmental‑study requirement on the building permit rather than requiring the study before the comprehensive permit is issued. “With this highly potential, highly polluted land, neighborhood have a right to know what’s the pollution level is. Is that suitable for residential building? And this has to be known before comprehensive permit to be issued,” Crowley said.

Residents said they had secured an independent geotechnical consultant who recommended moving the proposed stormwater system away from neighboring foundations. They said the developer has sufficient land to relocate drainage features but is seeking variances that would place them closer to existing houses and reduce street parking.

Select Board members did not take a formal vote on the project during the public‑comment period. Chair Bernard Green said the board would follow up with staff. After public comment closed, Green said the board would coordinate with staff and the ZBA to “make sure that things are done properly” and indicated staff would follow up with neighbors and developers.

Why this matters: neighbors’ requests raise two distinct process and public‑health questions — whether the ZBA or state 40B process should require an environmental site assessment before a comprehensive permit is issued, and whether proposed variances for drainage and garage access create unacceptable risk to adjacent older homes. Neighbors warned that issuing the permit before those studies are done could remove public oversight during construction and demolition, when disturbance of contaminated soils could create exposure risks.

What remains unresolved: the filing and timing of a complete environmental site assessment for the dry‑cleaner parcel (identified in public comment as 621 Hammond Street), the outcome of variance requests for the drainage system and garage entrance (10 feet vs. proposed 5 feet for drainage; 20 feet vs. proposed 16 feet for the garage entrance), and whether the ZBA or a state reviewer will require additional conditions before issuing permits.

The Select Board meeting packet shows the project applied for state 40B review and submitted an initial applicant checklist to the Massachusetts Housing Partnership; residents said the environmental‑assessment box was not checked in the materials they reviewed. Neighbors asked town officials to delay any final approvals until tests and mitigation plans are completed and made public.","Residents told the Brookline Select Board they are worried a proposed six‑story 40B project at Sheaf/Heath/Hammond Streets could cause cellar flooding and disturb a longtime dry‑cleaning site where perchloroethylene was used. Neighbors urged the town and ZBA to require an environmental site assessment before a comprehensive permit is issued.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Select Board backs 2% labor settlement, reconsiders warrant articles on brokers fees and budget

Bernard Green reelected chair; David Perlman chosen vice chair of Brookline Select Board

Neighbors urge delay of Sheaf/Heath/Hammond 40B permit over contamination and drainage concerns