By District Planning Council Member Jonathan Davis (Precinct 10)

At the January 10, 2007 CCDPC meeting I suggested that it might be helpful for Council members to try writing one page lists of the future they desire in the CCIPOD area. Because I suggested it, and because I still think it’s an OK idea, I will give it a try. (Unfortunately, I have failed to limit my thoughts to one page .)

I’ll start with the following premises – all of which are verifiable and true.

  • Per the “Visions” statement that was favorably voted by the Council on Aug . 16, 2006 – “Living in Coolidge Corner should involve : . . . Not increasing the residential population .”
  • Without incentives to developers, the residential population of the CCIPOD area will increase because developers already want to build additional condos and rental apartments in the CCIPOD area. We saw that from the Bluestone report that projected residential development as being more profitable than commercial in the CCIPOD area. We also know that from our daily observations, including St. Paul Arms, the mostly residential mixed use building across from Stop & Shop, and the new luxury condo buildings on Longwood and Sewall Avenues .
  • Commercial development is better than residential for the Town because for each dollar of assessed value the tax rate is 175% of the residential rate .
  • Commercial development is better than residential for the Town because it imposes a lesser burden than residential on Town services .
  • Commercial development is better than residential for the CCIPOD area because customers and commercial employees generally go home to their own neighborhoods at the end of the business day (which, except for weekends, is the same time as many CCIPOD residents are returning to this neighborhood at the end of their business and school days).
  • Stand alone structured parking is cheaper than underground parking – by at least $1 0,000/space and possibly as much as $15,000/space. (See Bluestone report).
  • Traffic Consultants refused to say that there is inadequate public parking for commercial uses . Rather, Traffic Consultants recommended better traffic management to get the most out of existing public parking before considering building additional structured or underground parking to serve existing commercial needs.
  • The CCIPOD area already has large amounts of so-called “smart growth” housing built without on-site parking, near public transportation and near the commercial area. This existing smart growth was not built above one story commercial strips, but it is the next best thing. Also, the CCIPOD area already has more smart growth than any other part of Town except, perhaps, for Brookline Village .
  • Despite the abundance of existing smart growth housing in the CCIPOD area, and contrary to smart growth theory, the residents of the CCIPOD’s existing smart growth condos and apartments have not given up their cars . Also, the number of cars housed in the CCIPOD area has increased. (I suspect that the reason for these facts, which fly in the face of smart growth theory, is that residents need their cars to commute between home and work. This has become especially important asjobs are no longer focused in downtown Boston and as many residents change jobs frequently.)
  • The CCIPOD area is the most densely populated part of Brookline, produces more tax revenue per square foot for the Town than any other part of Brookline, and already is home to more than 90% of the Town’s affordable housing .
  • The CCIPOD area has the least amount of green space per resident than any other part of Town .
  • We, the Council, are not obligated to solve the Town’s problems by burdening the CCIPOD area. The CCIPOD area is doing enough for the Town already, including leading the way in “smart growth” .
  • The CCIPOD area does not have to do more or bear more burdens unless it is both good for the Town and also, fits our vision of what we, the Council, want our neighborhood to become.
  • This is our opportunity to guide the future of our neighborhood . We should be bold in putting forth what we want . Stated another way – if we will it, what we will has a better chance of becoming reality than if we keep still and passively accept the “received wisdom” and current academic fashions . Consistent with the foregoing propositions here is what I would like to see for the CCIPOD area:
  • A traffic management plan for commercial parking, including high tech intelligent signage that conveys real time information of parking options to motorists, wireless distribution of real time information to motorists of available parking options, the Board of Selectmen requiring that a condition of licensing commercial establishments is that they prominently post for their customers all available public parking options, and other parking management steps consistent with the Traffic Management report. It is quite possible that there is already enough commercial area parking for the existing development without the Town’s having to build expensive new structured or underground parking just to handle existing commercial parking needs.
  • Free parking for commercial area employees on the Beacon Street median between Fairbanks and Washington Streets combined with local businesses providing subsidized T passes to employees who take this option . Apart from this subsidy by the Town, no other parking breaks for commercial area employees . If a commercial area employee does not utilize the free parking option and parks in the commercial area or on the neighborhood streets he/she should be prepared to risk parking tickets for feeding meters or parking overtime .
  • A serious initiative by the Economic Development Department, working with CC Merchants Association and with the Chamber of Commerce, to reach out to the Longwood Medical Community to advertise Coolidge Corner as a destination for shopping and eating .
  • This would include not just advertising but coordinating bus stops and schedules with the LMAT buses .
  • The appropriate Town agencies should vigorously explore whether the Post Office would be willing to develop the Waldo Street site – and, if the Post Office would be, the appropriate Town agencies should vigorously try to broker a swap between the owner of the Waldo Street site and Post Office. Perhaps this won’t work, but it’s worth a try .
  • Vigorously explore Harold Brown’s proposal and, if the details work out, accept it or some reasonable variation of it.
  • The attraction (for me) of Harold Brown’s proposal is not so much the additional commercial area parking it would provide . (Traffic Management is not willing to say that the CCIPOD area actually needs additional commercial parking.) Rather, what I find most attractive about Harold Brown’s proposal are the upper story public spaces which, with the Coolidge Corner Theater, could form the nucleus of a Coolidge Corner cultural district – something that was still born when the BCCA lost its lease on Green Street several years ago.)
  • Nevertheless, Harold Brown’s proposal should not be a stalking horse for further development of residential upper stories.
  • The Iargest feasible green space on the Centre Street East lot, including a children’s wading area/fount ain, an ice skating rink, and a public bandstand/performance area . (Hey – this is my vision; at least I’m not proposing a zoo .) This means not sacrificing 50% or more of the Centre Street East lot for commercial development. The CCIPOD area needs as much green space as possible . Our vision should be consistent with that objective and not undermine it .
  • Encourage commercial development off. The market will take care of additional residential development.
  • We should not make it easier for developers to build new residential construction by reducing the existing zoning bylaw parking requirements, by increasing allowable FAR, or by permitting residential development without sufficient onsite parking as required by the zoning by-law.
  • Only commercial development along the upper stories on both sides of Harvard Street north of Beacon, between Beacon and Williams Street, but
  • Not exceeding a total of 4 stories from the sidewalk to the roof line.
  • The 4th floor set back so that it is not easily visible from the street . (Compare the 4th floor setback on the mixed use building across from Stop & Shop) .
  • At the street level, the buildings would have to be broken into small spaces usable only by small retail establishments .
  • Upper stories would have no such limitations .
  • Developers would have a choice – either they could elect to build on-site parking as required by the zoning bylaw (with a modification to the zoning bylaw noted below), or, instead, they could elect to not build on-site parking and pay into a fund used by the Town to build new structured parking to be located at the Babcock Street lot and on a portion of the Centre Street East lot.
  • The structured parking would be large enough to provide bylaw required parking for the new commercial development + replace the existing parking at Babcock Street and Centre Street East .
  • The price for developers who elect to contribute to the municipal structured parking would be less than the cost of underground parking but more than if the developer were to build its own structured parking .
    • The zoning bylaw modification referred to above would be to delete sec. 6.02-1(b) from the zoning bylaw with respect to commercial development along the North side of Harvard Street. Between Beacon and Williams. This bylaw permits the Zoning Board of Appeals to waive up to 6 parking spaces for nonresidential development in a business area if the bylaw otherwise requires 6 or fewer on-site parking spaces for the nonresidential development. The effect of deleting this bylaw would be that if a developer of commercial upper stories along Harvard Street chooses to not pay into the fund for structured parking the developer should not be able to obtain parking relief for on-site parking under sec . 6.02-1(b).
    • Even if a developer elects to pay into the structured parking fund, commercial development could not begin until the Town also breaks ground on the structured parking . This would help to keep the Town’s feet to the fire to move forward the structured parking and the conversion into green space of the remaining space on the Centre Street East (and Centre Street West?) lots .
  • The Town would finance the structured parking and the conversion to public open space of the remaining space on the Centre Street East lot (and possibly the Centre Street West lot) with a combination of the money from those developers who choose to accept the option of contributing to the fund for structured parking + a bond issue supported in part by parking revenues and by some or all of the additional revenue created by the new development + a general obligation bond of the Town (much like the bonds that support new park land at the former transfer station) + soliciting private fundraising like the Library fundraising . (E.g. – it could be as little as endowing a tree, or selling the naming rights for the band stand and bandstand lighting, etc .).
  • If the Harold Brown proposal or some variation of it is not acted upon, a very serious public-private fundraising effort (like the Library fundraising effort) for the Town to acquire a building that can be used for performance classes and performances by nonprofit music, drama and dance organizations, and for fine arts displays . The goal would be to form a nucleus, with the Coolidge Comer Theater, of a Coolidge Corner cultural district.
  • Do nothing to make additional residential construction easier in the CCIPOD area. Left to their own devices developers of residential projects will find a way to live with, and still make a hefty profit, from the restrictions they must currently deal with .
  • The residential zoning changes recommended by the Council and proposed at the November, 2006 Town Meeting should be pursued to adoption.[NOTE – The foregoing is not necessarily everything that I would like to see for the CCIPOD area. As I listen to others and as my thinking evolves (hopefully matures) I may later try to impose on you by emailing additional ideas .].