[MassHistPres] New Construction inHistoric District

[Dennis De Witt]

In Brookline’s Pill Hill LHD a developer bought a condo property in a twin zone with a side yard big enough to be subdivided into two lots, each with two units.  The proposed lots were between two originally single family houses set significantly further back from the street than the zoning required. (Due to its zoning and size, the originally single family house having the large side yard had been converted into three condos).  

The developer had a song and dance meeting with the neighbors at which he presented drawings showing how nicely his two two-unit properties would fit in — until some of us neighbors pointed out how much of a fiction the drawings were — side elevations made no sense in terms of front, etc. — and other objected to the set back that was as tight as the zoning allowed. 

With very strong neighborhood support for the Commission, the developer was limited by the Commission to a single side-by-side double house set back from the street to align with the houses on either side — i.e. just two dwellings, rather than four, with a total FAR (floor area ratio) well under what the zoning would have allowed.  After a multi-session design review process, the LHD got a nice Shingle Style building that fits comfortable in an immediate setting of diverse building types and styles.

Dennis De Witt
Brookline

> On Mar 20, 2025, at 2:43 AM, PEG DOOLEY via MassHistPres <masshistpres at cs.umb.edu> wrote:
> 
> 
>> 
>> 
>> Any suggestions re a builder planning on using every inch of space on a lot in the center of the District. Retail first floor 18 condos above.  I realize we have a bit of control over the area. How much success has it been out there scaling down such a development?  Thank you.
> 
>> Peg Dooley
> Co Chair Norton HDC
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