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Brookline ZBA approves $87,500 payment option in lieu of pedestrian work at Marion and Park streets
Summary
The Town of Brookline Zoning Board of Appeals on Feb. 11 determined a proposed modification to the comprehensive permit for 32 Marion Street is insubstantial and approved language allowing the Brookline Housing Authority to pay $87,500 to the Department of Public Works instead of directly constructing pedestrian improvements at the Marion and Park Street intersection.
The Town of Brookline Zoning Board of Appeals on Feb. 11 determined a proposed modification to the comprehensive permit for 32 Marion Street is insubstantial and approved language allowing the Brookline Housing Authority to pay $87,500 to the Department of Public Works instead of directly constructing pedestrian improvements at the Marion and Park Street intersection.
The change affects condition 47(o) of the comprehensive permit issued Dec. 1, 2021, and allows, “In the alternative, the BHA may make a payment in the amount of $87,500 directly to the Brookline Department of Public Works to satisfy this condition,” with the board adding that the payment must be made prior to any application for a certificate of use and occupancy.
The modification matters because condition 47(o) requires the applicant to fund and oversee design and construction of ADA-compliant wheelchair ramps at all four corners, a curb cut extension at the southeast corner, crosswalk markings, and pedestrian stanchion signs. The board’s determination of insubstantiality means the change is administrative and does not trigger a new full hearing under state comprehensive-permit rules.
Jennifer Depazo Gilbert, representing the Brookline Housing Authority, said the Department of Public Works agreed in multiple meetings to accept a payment in lieu of the housing authority performing the work. She read the proposed alternate sentence into the record: “In the alternative, the BHA may make a payment in the amount of $87,500 directly to the Brookline Department of Public Works to satisfy this condition.”
Chair Jesse Geller said he viewed the addition permitting payment rather than direct construction as “not what I would view as substantial,” and that it does not change the pedestrian improvements the town will receive. Board member Randolph Meiklejohn asked whether the modification should specify the timing of the payment once money is involved; Depazo Gilbert proposed requiring the payment prior to any application for a certificate of use and occupancy, saying the project is well underway and could even make the payment earlier.
The board voted to approve the modification as amended. The record includes confirmation from Department of Public Works commissioner Erin Shute by email dated Jan. 30, 2025, stating she has no objection to the change. The applicant previously filed the modification request on Feb. 5, 2025. The board noted the project is scheduled for completion in January 2026.
No formal motion maker or seconder was recorded in the public portion of the transcript; roll-call votes were taken and the three members present approved the amendment. The board’s insubstantial determination means the change will be processed administratively rather than by a reopened public hearing under Chapter 40B procedures.
The board recorded the revised condition language in the hearing minutes and confirmed the Department of Public Works will receive the payment and undertake the specified intersection work if the BHA exercises the payment option.
