If there's parking, will they drive?
Hospital lot is hot warrant topic
Though the usual topics - zoning, traffic, and development in this sought-after suburb - will take considerable time when Town Meeting members gather on Tuesday, the agenda will also include the sparks for political fireworks on some less-arcane topics.
Among the more accessible issues on the 32-item warrant are the naming of parks, squares, or greens; capital improvements; and whether owners or neighbors should have the final say on the disposition of one of the town's few wooded lots.
Currently, the item burning up the e-mail ether is whether the town can and should lower the minimum allowable number of parking spaces at Children's Hospital's large parcel development near the Brookline Hills T stop, known as 2 Brookline Place.
Current zoning requires a minimum of 624 spaces, which the hospital has plans to build in an underground lot.
But neighbors, fearing gridlock on Route 9 and surrounding streets, not to mention noise and air pollution, are arguing for a lower minimum. The number during discussions ranges from 412 to 549.
"This will allow the Zoning Board the flexibility to specify the number of parking spaces based on need," said Hugh Mattison, the main proponent of Article 15.
At several hearings, Children's Hospital representative Charles Weinstein has said that parents with an ill youngster will be unlikely to take the nearby T or bus lines, much less walk or bike.
Neighbors say they are talking only of restricting parking for employees and are concerned that with the higher number of garage spaces, Brookline Place could become an attractive satellite parking area for the Longwood Medical Area.
"We will have accomplished a lot just by focusing Brookline's attention on this issue," said Mattison. "We're pushing the debate into the future, not on the past."
Bob Sperber, who sits on the town's economic development board, said he is likely to support the measure.
"This represents smart growth since it's on the T and bus lines," he said. "I do believe that if you build too much parking, you encourage traffic."
Among the four boards that have heard this proposal already, there is not the unanimity usually required for bills to pass.
While selectmen and both the transportation and planning boards back the proposal, the fiscal Advisory Committee voted at its May 15 meeting not to support the proposal.
Any zoning proposal needs a two-thirds vote of the 248-member legislative body, a fairly difficult standard. A close vote is expected on the measure, as well as on the library's request for new equipment.
The library request was supported by the selectmen, but not the Advisory Committee, meaning that, unlike most years, Town Meeting will debate individual items in the budget.
The library has asked for $465,000 to expedite check-in and check-out of all of its materials; it will also work with materials from similarly outfitted libraries in Cambridge, Sudbury, and Wellesley. Eventually, proponents argue, it could cut the time and number of workers needed to process ever-rising circulation.
Another capital proposal that may be disputed is funding for the historic preservation of a gatehouse for the old reservoir on Route 9 at Warren Street. To obtain a grant, the town has to put up $10,000 in matching funds. The Advisory Committee has recommended $5,000.
Another hot topic is a wooded lot at 150 Princeton Road, which owners want to develop and neighbors want to keep as is.
If Town Meeting does not allow the owners to pave part of the property, their attorney, Jefferey Allen, has threatened legal action.
Also expected to be controversial is the naming of the park atop the former landfill. The Deparment of Public Works picked "Skyline Park," which apparently is not melodic enough for some ears. Another possible naming battle involves a triangle of grass and trees on High Street Hill. Some call it a square, others a green. Town Meeting has been asked to choose "green."
