Taking development in hand

New director sees potential

Kara Brewton, who will be paid $83,000 per year, will start Nov. 10 and was chosen from a pool of more than 15 applicants. (Suzanne Kreiter/Globe Staff)

There's hardly a more divisive topic in Brookline than development - unless perhaps it is where to cut the budget.

And selectmen stepped boldly into both issues when they hired a new economic development director this month, filling an $83,000-per-year job in tight economic times.

But after two searches of more than a year, Kara Brewton was selected from a pool of more than 15 applicants.

"We couldn't have done better," said Jeff Levine, director of planning for Brookline.

Levine was referring to the 32-year-old's decade of experience in the private development sector as both a project manager and civil engineer, tackling thorny issues of sustainability, transit, and community appropriateness in several South Shore communities.

But residents who have fought current development projects voiced caution.

"I don't think the town has a handle on its priorities," said Merelice, president of the Brookline Village Coalition, who goes by her first name only.

"If all we do is focus on commercial development, we're in danger of compromising the residential quality of life. It's a very narrow point of view."

While hiring a new director may seem extravagant in a time when even the salaries of street sweepers are being weighed for their efficacy, selectmen argued forcibly for the position.

"This is the most important time to have this position," Selectman Robert Allen said, referring to the expectation that Brewton will find developments that will increase the town's commercial tax base. (Brookline is overwhelmingly residential, about 90 percent of its property value.)

He echoed earlier comments by members of the Economic Development Advisory Board .

"This is the sole position in town that generates taxes," said Robert Sperber, who sits on the board and was part of the search committee.

He and fellow board member Paul Saner noted that the work of his committee and past development directors have generated $2 million annually in nonresidential taxes since 1995, mostly from the construction of a successful hotel in Coolidge Corner.

Selectman Richard Benka said that at a time when the efficiency committee, which he chairs, is asking each department head to justify every salary, Brewton's will also be scrutinized.

"This position is justified on the grounds that it will pay for itself many times over," he said.

Brewton said she understood the selectmen's concerns about the budget, and also about developing more taxable commercial property. She said that 2 Brookline Place could be one such opportunity.

She is also interested in discussions about parking around town and whether there's untapped income there.

But while raising income without increasing property taxes may sound good to many residents, those closest to the new developments have often been alarmed by their size and scale, selectmen said.

"This position should address one of the festering issues in town - the tension between development and the neighborhoods," Benka said.

Benka said he hoped that Brewton could "serve as a conduit for constructive dialogue" and find creative solutions to development conundrums such as the recent one about the proximity of residences to a pending medical office building at 111 Boylston St.

Brewton's résumé indicates that she has been involved in public disputes before. Her portfolio includes the development of 1021 Kingston's Place, a 109-acre, mixed-use development of 700-plus units near the newly reopened commuter rail station in Kingston.

The project was highly controversial, but Kingston's Town Meeting eventually passed the rezoning after Brewton's development company held more than 100 community meetings over two years, Brewton said.

But for those who were hoping for less noise and dust on newly repaved Boylston Street, there's bad news. The Children's Hospital Project at 2 Brookline Place is slated to break ground shortly, 111 Boylston St.'s developers plan to go ahead despite a lawsuit, and the economic development board has the street in its sights for even more.

"This part of town is ripe for development," said Saner.

"Portions, some would say, are even blighted. A good project, well conceived, with a lot of community process, will proceed" no matter the economic times.

Brewton starts Nov. 10.