Where should housing rank among Brookline's priorities for the next 15 years? At least one member of the Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee thinks the answer is obvious: at the top.
Committee member David O'Connor is pushing to move the housing section from last place in the town's draft goals document to near the front. "Placing the Housing goals last risks giving the impression it is considered least important," O'Connor wrote in feedback submitted to project staff. "Given how important housing has been to the Committee and the citizens who have responded to us with comments, wouldn't it be better to move it up to the beginning or at least near it?"
That debate lands before the full 16-member committee Monday, July 13, at 7 p.m. in Town Hall Room 103 and via Zoom, as the group reviews a revised draft dated June 29. The document organizes Brookline's future into six goal areas: Mobility & Accessibility, Thriving Commercial Areas, Livable Neighborhoods, Community Wellbeing, Climate Action & Resiliency, and Expanded Housing Options. Each goal is framed as an outcome statement describing a desired future condition, not an action item.
The word that bugged O'Connor
Beyond document order, O'Connor zeroed in on a single word in the workforce housing goal. The current H-3 reads: "More Town and school employees can find and afford housing in town." His proposed fix: drop "More" entirely.
"Delete 'More' (which begs the question, compared to what?)," he wrote. His revision: "Town and School employees who want to live in Brookline can find and afford housing here."
He also flagged what he called "too self-congratulatory" language in a parks goal, recommending the committee strike "Building off Brookline's open space legacy" from the Community Wellbeing section.
Written feedback from members Richard Murphy and Linda Olsen Pehlke is also on the agenda but has not been made public.
'Smaller is Better' and 10,000 voices
Before the goals debate, committee member Carol Gladstone will deliver a "Smaller is Better" presentation at 7:15 p.m. The concept has been circulating in Brookline housing circles; the Housing Advisory Board's "Smaller is Better" subcommittee met as recently as Monday, June 22.
The Comprehensive Plan process launched with the steering committee's appointment in May 2024. Community Planner Jake Collins, who manages the project, said the visioning phase drew more than 10,000 individual public comments as of January 2025, according to the Town Newsletter. The committee has been meeting on Monday evenings throughout 2026, working toward a final report targeted for late summer or early fall, according to Brookline for Everyone.
Town Administrator Chas Carey wrote in the June 2026 Town Newsletter that the Select Board aims to align its work with the Comprehensive Plan and the 2030 Roadmap the Board passed in May 2026.
How to weigh in
Public comment opens at 7 p.m. Monday, July 13, with a three-minute limit per speaker. Written comments can be sent to Jake Collins at [email protected]. The committee will review its meeting schedule at 8:50 p.m. More information is available at brooklinecompplan.com.
