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Town administrator defends Brookline’s measured approach to MBTA rezoning, cites four‑story Harvard Street change
Summary
Chaz Carey said Brookline complied with the 2021 MBTA-adjacent zoning law by rezoning part of Harvard Street to allow four-story, as-of-right development with incentives for ground-floor commercial and mixed housing types; he called for balancing state requirements and community interests.
Town Administrator Chaz Carey described Brookline’s approach to the state’s 2021 MBTA-adjacent rezoning requirement and pointed to a specific local change that allows four-story as‑of‑right construction on part of Harvard Street.
Carey said municipalities responded to the law in many ways; some resisted or litigated and others made broad rezonings. Brookline’s approach, he said, was to find a solution “that’s right for us” by rezoning a portion of Harvard Street to permit four-story development as of right while using ground-floor commercial requirements and incentives to encourage mixed housing types, including senior- and workforce‑restricted units.
He described the housing work as a process of balancing legal compliance, market realities and community preferences. “If you just throw the doors open and say anything goes, you get a backlash,” Carey said, arguing that overly permissive zoning can produce political resistance and also fail to produce buildings the town finds acceptable. He added the town is monitoring outcomes and looking for ways to encourage development that meets multiple price points.
Carey also summarized the broader political landscape he encountered when he took the job: communities adopted different strategies (some rezoned actively, others litigated, and some passed ostensibly compliant maps that left no buildable land). He cited the example of Milton’s challenge to the state, which went to the state Supreme Court and was unsuccessful.
Why it matters: rezoning near transit is intended to add housing supply and allow diverse housing types where transit access is available. Brookline’s incremental approach seeks to comply with state law while retaining local influence over design and affordability outcomes.
What’s next: Carey said the town will continue to assess how the rezoning performs in practice and consider further zoning changes if needed to encourage development that serves teachers, firefighters, police officers and other workers who need to live near where they work.
