State’s housing policy is taking shape, brick by brick

Give both Brookline and Newton credit for advancing

A recent op-ed by Greg Vasil, CEO of the Greater Boston Real Estate Board, compared Newton and Brookline regarding their respective zoning updates to address the regional housing shortage (“Massachusetts can make housing more affordable,” Dec. 27, 2023). Brookline is framed as the housing hero that “adopted one of the most significant zoning reforms in town history” while Newton is described as passing “a watered-down housing plan.” As a former Brookline Town Meeting member and a recently elected Newton city councilor, I challenge this juxtaposition.

When you look beyond the headlines and see how Newton and Brookline responded to the MBTA Communities

Act, a state law that requires Massachusetts municipalities to zone for increased housing near public transportation, you see similar stories. Both communities were initially strongly divided between those who wanted significantly more housing than what the state required and those who wanted to meet but not exceed those same requirements. Both communities, through debate and discussion, arrived at compromise proposals that passed and received near unanimous support. Brookline Town Meeting voted 207-33, with seven abstentions, and Newton City Council voted 21-2-1. That’s 84 percent support in Brookline and 88 percent support in Newton, but who’s counting?

Sure, there are differences. Brookline’s zoning reform goes up to four stories, while Newton’s goes up to four and a half stories (and even five and a half for buildings that have 50 percent of the units affordable). For larger projects, Brookline requires 15 percent of the units to be affordable, while Newton’s inclusionary zoning starts at 15 percent but goes to 20 percent depending on the number of units in the building. With those numbers, it’s hard to argue that Newton is behind Brookline when it comes to housing efforts to create a more accessible and affordable community.

Differences aside, the bigger story is that the MBTA Communities Act, a law written by housing advocates, was a big ask, and both municipalities should be recognized for complying and for taking a serious step forward in addressing our regional housing shortage. Newton’s requirement was 8,330 by-right units and Brookline’s was 6,990 — both Newton and Brookline ultimately met and exceeded those requirements in what was the biggest zoning reform for either community in generations.

Give Brookline credit where it’s due. Give credit to Newton too. DAVID MICLEY Newtonville

The MBTA Communities Act was a big ask, and both municipalities should be recognized for complying and for taking a serious step forward.

The writer represents Ward 2 on Newton City Council. A version of this letter first appeared in Fig City News.