[MassHistPres] FAR single family zoning

[Dennis De Witt]

FAR (Floor Area Ratio) zoning is commonly used for nonresidential  
zoning.  Brookline is somewhat unusual in the state in using FAR as  
zoning tool to control single family house sizes in relation to lot  
sizes.  (Brookline also has a famously "rich and varied" zoning  
ordinance, but that's another story.)

Recently a developer challenged Brookline's use FAR for single family  
houses in the courts.  He went all the way to the SJC and lost.  For  
those who have been fighting McMansions and teardowns -- and we  
probably haven't seen the last of them -- FAR zoning is another tool  
worth considering.

Dennis De Witt
Brookline