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Brookline Select Board enters executive session on Bellingham Road litigation as neighbors urge upholding preservation decision
Summary
The Select Board went into executive session Sept. 24 to discuss threatened litigation over properties at 90–100 Bellingham Road; neighbors and public commenters urged the board to honor the Preservation Commission’s demolition‑delay rulings and to keep the process transparent.
The Town of Brookline Select Board voted Sept. 24 to go into executive session to discuss strategy regarding threatened and imminent litigation by Shabad Liovic involving 90 and 100 Bellingham Road, saying discussion in public could harm the town’s litigating position. Chair Bernard Green made the motion and the board took a roll‑call vote, which carried.
The board’s action came before an extended public‑comment period in which several neighbors of the Bellingham Road properties urged the Select Board to uphold the Preservation Commission’s earlier demolition‑delay decisions. “I’m a neighbor of 90 and 100 Bellingham Road and I just want to say that I hope the select board supports the decision made by the preservation department for the demolition delay,” said Sarah Raner during the public‑comment slot.
Iris Alpert, who identified herself as a neighbor, told the board she and others “are in support from Bellingham Road” and asked the board to “work with the neighbors to make this more of a community effort rather than adversarial.” Ray Chong and other residents reiterated that the Preservation Commission had voted twice in favor of findings of historical significance and asked the Select Board to respect that outcome.
Board members declined to discuss litigation details publicly, citing the executive‑session motion’s rationale that open deliberation “may have a detrimental effect on the town’s litigating position.” The Select Board did not take any publicly disclosed substantive action on the merits of the preservation rulings at the Sept. 24 meeting.
What happens next: Because the board met in executive session on the legal strategy, there is no further public record of deliberations from that closed session. Residents were advised to submit further comments by email to the Select Board office; several speakers said they plan to follow up in writing and at future meetings.
